Zoo News Digest

LA PRIMATOLOGIA EN EL PERU

2011-09-02T06:51:00.000+01:00

LA PRIMATOLOGIA EN EL PERU

Historia, Estado Actual y Perspectivas

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ZOOQUARIA - 75 - Autumn 2011

2011-08-30T10:42:00.000+01:00

- Introducing the Southeast Asia Campaign

- Opinion: Radoslaw Ratajszczak on the Available and wanted list

- Leipzig's new tropical experience Gondwanaland

- Breeding programmes: Barbary macaques

- First purpose-built bonobo enclosure in France

- New alliance for global amphibian conservation

- Marketing and Education: two tribes?

- How Japanese zoos are coping with natural disaster

- Shark breeding at Artis Royal Zoo

Plus Zooquaria's new columnist zooboy27 calls for a reassessment of European fauna conservation

Click HERE to access for downloading

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Cruelty To Chimpanzees

2011-08-29T12:10:00.000+01:00

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/willem83/5961073777/

Perhaps you saw the heading in the Independent today "Zoo to breed chimpanzees despite cruelty warning" and their little follow up story "Leading article: Are zoos justified?"

Cruelty? Warning? Just what are they going on about?

Well it all stems from a little bit of research done observing 40 Chimpanzees in 6 collections. I have yet to discover which 6 collections but I did pick through the paper which you can read yourself here:

How Abnormal Is the Behaviour of Captive, Zoo-Living Chimpanzees?

I would like to thank The Independent for including the statement by Blair Drummond
head keeper Alasdair Gillies who said "There may be individuals in captivity who do display abnormal behaviour, but I think that is likely to be a result of their background. These abnormal behaviours could be learned culturally – chimps often imitate other chimps."
Now this is important. Scientists please note, because when we read the research we learn:

'Groups were either single-male (two groups) or multi-male (four groups, one of which was male only)'

'the sixth consisted of individuals who were all hand-reared.'

So two of the groups which were studied were completely abnormal in the first place. Read the report and you will see there were some rather odd group mixes there. The report states:

'Each of the 40 focal subjects displayed at least 2 abnormal behaviours'

'All 40 chimpanzees showed some abnormal behaviour. Across groups, the most prevalent behaviour (0.83) was eat faeces (Table 3; Figure 1). Six behaviours were present in all six groups (eat faeces, rock, groom stereotypically, pat genitals, regurgitate, fumble nipple) and a further two (pluck hair and hit self) were present in five of the six groups. Bite self was shown by eight individuals across four of the groups.'

I suppose that over the years I may have personally worked with 40 chimpanzees and have been thinking hard:

eat faeces - No
rock - yes in three hand reared animals, one of whom learnt it from the others. But they did not do it all the time.
groom stereotypically - yes in one animal with a rather traumatic past.*
pat genitals - No
regurgitate- No
fumble nipple - No
pluck hair - yes in the one animal with a rather traumatic past.*
hit self - yes in the one animal with a rather traumatic past.*
bite self - yes in the one animal with a rather traumatic past.*

* But an excellent mother and reared completely normal young

And the report concludes:

'Our data support a conclusion that, while most behaviour of captive chimpanzees is ‘normal’ in the sense that it is behaviour seen in their wild counterparts, abnormal behaviour is endemic in captivity. For some individuals it may dominate much of their activity, but for the rest it is a persistent element of their everyday behaviour despite living in social groups in enriched environments.'

Getting back to the Independent articles just a few minor points.

No one zoo has a 'Breeding Programme'. They may breed but a programme needs the cooperation of other zoos or the gene pool is too shallow.

"40 chimps in six leading but unnamed zoos in the UK and the US."

Who decides on what is 'leading'?

"found that all the animals studied engaged in abnormal behaviour, which included self-mutilation, repetitive"

Though self-mutilation was mentioned in the report there was not, unless I missed it any record of these particular researchers finding it. Please note that 'bite self' is not self-mutilation.

"It is very difficult to reintroduce chimps into the wild, which leaves questions over the usefulness of captive breeding programmes,"

This I reckon shows a complete lack of understanding as to the purpose of the good modern zoo. A read through a few zoo manuals and the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy would not go amiss.

So what about this document that the press are giving so much of their time to? Well no doubt it did turn up some interesting statistics remembering of course Benjaminn Disraeli's quote "there are lies, damned lies and statistics". Yes, chimpanzees need care and attention, they need suitable housing, they need enriching. Some zoos are better than others, some chimpanzee groups are better than others. I certainly would not damn them all based on this report.

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Hornbills of Thailand

2011-08-29T09:13:00.001+01:00

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbarronoss/483735261/

Living Fossils

The majestic hornbill is an indicator species of a pristine forest

Most people are familiar with the hornbill, nature's amazing avian fauna with large bills and a casque, and some with raucous calls. They also have strange but interesting nesting habits and the larger hornbills make a loud whooshing noise when flying, sounding much like a locomotive, and heard from quite a distance. In any given forest, if they thrive it means the ecosystem is fairly intact.

Nicely illustrated and interesting article by Bruce Kekule

To read please click

HERE

VISIT

THE THAILAND HORNBILL PROJECT

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Zoo News Digest 26th - 28th August 2011 (Zoo News 782)

2011-08-28T10:42:00.001+01:00

Zoo News Digest 26th - 28th August 2011 (Zoo News 782)

http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

The Importance of Vultures

Peter Dickinson

peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Colleague,

I was disappointed not to have had the opportunity to catch up with my friend and colleague Marimuthu during his recent short stay in Thailand. Marimuthu was so very kind and helpful to me when I traveled in India. Sadly this week I was tied up with meetings and conference calls and visits to government departments.

You may be familiar with the work of Dina Zulfikar, very courageous Egyptian lady who fights for improvements of the welfare of animals in Egypt wherever they are. She is currently arranging workshops in Cairo, free of charge, in conjunction with the Jane Goodall Institute and some colleagues from Phoenix Zoo. All very noble and necessary. Can you guess what the response was from the management of Central Zoos?? They say they "are behaviour specialists and they don't need to learn more"
Do you believe it? Sadly I do. Exactly the response you would get from the likes of Manila Zoo who seem to think they know it all too.

Interested to learn that all AZA institutions which hold elephants must move over to protected contact by 2014. (I wonder if the none AZA so called 'sanctuaries' will follow suit) I note that certain individuals are seeing this as a victory over the use of the ankus....though of course these people call it a bullhook, simply because they do not understand. Personally I am not against 'protected contact' but I much prefer 'free contact' and count myself lucky that I have been able to enjoy one to one relationships with these wonderful animals.

ANKUS

ELEPHANT CARE

KING KONG VERSUS THE ELEPHANT

I am glad that I no longer work with elephants because I feel this change in relationship would be something akin to a very painful divorce.

Some years ago my wife rescued a dog. Beautiful, gentle natured, harmless. Loved animals and children (she did not like black and white collies though). She ran freely on walks around North Wales and never hurt a flea. A year or so later laws changed. It turned out she was a 'ban dog'. Two choices. She must be euthanased or spayed, microchipped, insured for three million, and muzzled and on a lead whenever in public (including in the car or garden). We loved her and did not want to lose her and so took the second option. That poor animal never understood what it was that she had done....and she had done nothing. The law is an ass sometimes. My point is that there are going to be a lot of elephants that are going to wonder just what it is that they have done wrong.

Straying only slightly off the subject of elephants and dogs and onto free contact with big cats. As you are aware I am very much against this totally unnecessary and cruel exploitation. I am even more against it when I learn that concealed tazers are being carried 'just in case'. There never would be a need to use such things if the cats were parent reared and kept with their own kin in the first place.

My thoughts are with those zoos (and everybody really) in the path of Hurricane 'Irene'. Good luck.

Sad to learn of the untimely death of the lion cubs but then as was so rightly pointed out these things happen in the wild all the time. What was the relevance to this story to include "Berlin Zoo came under fire early this year when star attraction Knut the polar bear had a fatal fit from an undiagnosed brain disease and keeled over into his pond in front of horrified children".? Why include this? And how on earth could the zoo possibly "come under fire" for a totally unexpected natural event? Except from the very very stupid of course.

Interesting... "a more humane Safari-style facility" is how the new set up for Kuwait is described. Okay details are scant but I fear that here, once again, the incorrect assumption is being made that more space is better but sorry 'it ain't necessarily so'.

THE PERFECT ZOO ENCLOSURE

"a pair of white tiger".....Come on Patna Zoo. There really isn't such a thing, especially when mentioned in the same sentence as a Bengal Tiger.

There has been a slight increase in the number of participants in International Vulture Awareness Day. Sadly the number of collections which should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves remains painfully high.

Items You May Have Missed

3rd International Conference On Wildlife Rescue in East and Southeast Asia

ABWAK Annual Symposium 2012 - Call for Presentations

Zoo Visitor Hospitalised After Tiger Attack

Pallas's Kittens Highland Debut

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On with links:

Elephants still roaming streets
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipibul yesterday said that seven street-roaming elephants were impounded in separate cases this month, mostly in the suburbs.
Despite the authorities' attempts to solve the street-roaming elephant issue, elephants were still being brought to beg in the Greater Bangkok area, with their mahouts taking them to rest in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon. BMA has asked for the cooperation of these provinces and of the Livestock Development Department in arresting the mahouts. So far this month, seven mahouts have been arrested and their elephants impounded. While the mahouts were prosecuted at the police stations, the elephants were kept in quarantine for 30 days
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/25/national/Elephants-still-roaming-streets-30163654.html

Devouring Dragon, Disappearing Tigers
China has launched a number of conservation efforts
to save the remaining tigers in China, including the nearly extinct
South China tiger. However, the demand for tiger products persists,
much of it related to the vaunted health, medicinal and preservative
qualities of the tiger; there are also questions as to the
motivation of these tiger conservation efforts and it appears that
the two preserves visited by Econoff really can't sustain themselves
without undertaking some commercial actions that would affect the
well being of the animals they are supposed
http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2007/07/07GUANGZHOU785.html

Palm Oil For Ape Blood

http://youtu.be/vnfYLKffCvE

US diplomat posed as Korean tourist in undercover visit to China tiger farm
Cable released by WikiLeaks reveals American efforts to investigate allegations breeding centre was selling tiger parts
An American diplomat posed as a Korean tourist to investigate a notorious tiger breeding centre in southern China, where he saw animals whipped, made to perform "marriage processions" and reportedly sold to be used in traditional medicines.
As a result of the undercover visit to Xiongsen Tiger and Bear Farm, the US government was notified of doubts about China's conservation efforts, according to a diplomatic cable recently released by WikiLeaks.
The investigation – more a piece of journalism than spying – was inspired by a flurry of foreign media reports in the spring of 2007 alleging the farm offered tiger meat in its restaurant and
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/25/us-diplomat-china-tiger-farm

The Big Bat Map
(Great idea...sadly not worldwide, Just UK and Eire)
http://www.bigbatmap.org/

What's all the flap about?
Best option for Happy Feet not clear.
Under a clear blue sky, Christine Wilton's stroll along Peka Peka Beach was interrupted by the shiny white object standing ahead of her.
She had no idea that her chance encounter with an emperor penguin would set off a conservation phenomenon that would grab headlines around the world, spark debate among experts, and provoke a nation to open its wallets and hearts.
After walking her dog on Peka Peka Beach that Tuesday morning of June 21, Mrs Wilton returned home to call Peter Simpson, the Conservation Department's Kapiti biodiversity programme manager. The previous afternoon, he had taken a call from a Raumati Beach resident who reported seeing what he thought was a large bird playing around in the water. Mr Simpson assumed it was a seal, the witness wasn't so sure, and the pair left it at that.
Mrs Wilton was more persistent. She described a penguin that came up to her chest - Mr Simpson assumed she was very short. "She said no, this thing is five foot tall. She thought it looked like an emperor. I said blimey." There had only ever been one emperor penguin to arrive on New Zealand's shores, at Southland's Oreti Beach in 1967.
Perplexed, he got on the phone to DOC's Waikanae office. They knew exactly what he was calling about, their phone was also ringing hot.
On his way out to Peka Peka Beach with fellow DOC workers, Mr Simpson didn't feel excitement building. He was more concerned about confirming whether or not the bird was in fact an emperor penguin. "Then we would have to figure out what would happen from there."
What would happen from there was far beyond DOC's control. One penguin's poor sense of direction was about to spark debates about animal welfare, arguments over the ethics of mankind intervening with nature
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5517563/Whats-all-the-flap-about

20 endangered Siamese crocodiles hatch in Laos
A rare crocodile species is one step further from extinction after 20 eggs hatched in a Southeast Asian zoo.
The Siamese crocodiles were born at Lao Zoo last week, just outside Vientiane. The babies wiggled their way out of their eggs while under the soft red light of an incubator.
The wild eggs were found in the southern province of Savannakhet in June by a team of villagers trained by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which is working to save the species in landlocked Laos. The eggs were then brought to the zoo to hatch.
The crocodiles will be raised in captivity for 18 months before
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=8329046

VIENTIANE ZOO

Cricket St Thomas wildlife park fans peeved by signs
Families hoping to visit a wildlife park in Somerset are turning up at a hotel because of outdated road signs.
Cricket St Thomas Lakes and Gardens hotel resort near Chard used to be home to hundreds of animals and birds.
But while the wildlife park closed in 2009, signs directing motorists to the location have not been removed.
The Highways Agency, which is responsible for the distinctive brown road signs, said it was working with the firm to resolve the issue.
Staff at the hotel resort said they regularly have to deal with angry tourists searching for the animal park.
Despite requests from the resort owners, the signs along the A303 and M5 have not been taken down by the Highways Agency.
A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said: "We have been made aware that Cricket St Thomas Lakes and Gardens is no longer a wildlife park and our agents have
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-14681591

Suspected gorilla traffickers arrested in DR Congo
Two men suspected of running a baby gorilla trafficking ring have been arrested in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, conservation activists said Friday.
The two were arrested in Goma, the capital of DR Congo's Kivu Nord province, and "charged with illegal trafficking of an endangered species", the Congolese ICCN conservation group said in a statement.
Authorities believe the criminal outfit captures baby gorillas in the iconic Virunga National Park, which straddles DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and then smuggles the rare mammals into Rwanda to be sold.
"The arrests are the outcome of a coordinated effort by Rwandan and Congolese law enforcement authorities," Virunga National Park director Emmanuel de Merode told AFP.
"While we are pleased to have brought this group of traffickers to justice, we remain very worried by what appears to be a significant and growing demand for baby mountain gorillas," he added.
Most of the world's mountain gorillas are found
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkWaV8YniNzaQU7e9NZzI158QMrA?docId=CNG.c12c140bd2e4fc0a6a87ad853c05ac1c.301

Jozankei Bear Farm
Suspected of Violations of Animal Welfare and Management Act. ALIVE Requested Sapporo City to Make Inspection and Order Improvements
ALIVE received a letter informing us about the bears at Jozankei Bear Farm in Hokkaido. The letter explained the horrible situation of the bears at the farm. After conducting our own inspection survey of the site and gathered information, ALIVE sent a letter of request to Sapporo City on August 17, urging that improvements be made at the bear farm facility. We asked the city to oversee and direct the farm to change the current situation
http://www.alive-net.net/english/en-zoocheck/ZC/zc-jozankei-2011.htm

How a police horse was nearly slaughtered at Woodland Park Zoo
Prince was a beloved animal when he left the SPD mounted patrol
Earlier this year, there was talk of Seattle police horses being retired because of budget woes. But quick efforts from the Seattle Police Foundation and private donors helped saved Seattle's equinest.
That wasn't the first time a Seattle police horse had been spared at the last minute, though the previous case had a more serious fate looming.
In 1926, Seattle police had 14 officers on horseback. One of the horses was Prince, a light brown horse with a white streak down his muzzle. Early that year, the top brass determined Prince was too old for the job and sent him to retirement.
He didn't get a pension, but a local farmer agreed to take him. The
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattle-history/article/How-a-police-horse-was-nearly-slaughtered-at-2143465.php

Life in a fishbowl
Six wild-caught beluga whales have spent the past year in a holding facility in Russia, ready to be flown to Hong Kong, while a giant tank is being built for them at Ocean Park, Simon Parry reports. Does this mean animal welfare groups have lost their fight to stop the import of the near-threatened species?
Their location is being kept secret and few people have access to them - but they must be a magnificent sight. In a marine facility in western Russia, six wild-caught beluga whales from the Okhotsk Sea swim back and forth, ready to be flown to a new home in Hong Kong.
Thousands of miles away, an activist campaigning against their import to Hong Kong sees what he describes as "a huge tank" about 10 meters deep at the construction site of Ocean Park's new Polar Adventure section, big enough to accommodate the six whales and up to 14 more besides.
The belugas, it seems, are coming. Two other major developments appear to be making imminent the controversial import of the near-threatened whales to Hong Kong, a move fiercely opposed by a coalition of animal welfare groups.
Firstly, independent scientists have verified a sustainability study funded by Ocean Park which concluded up to 29 beluga whales a year can be taken from the Okhotsk Sea - and secondly, an opinion poll on the import of belugas to Hong Kong has returned largely favorable results.
With preparations so advanced and both scientists and the public largely in support, the campaign to stop belugas being brought to Ocean Park appears doomed and their import to the Polar Adventure section before it opens
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2011-08/24/content_13177228.htm

Maximizing Occupational Safety of Elephant Care Professionals

At AZA-accredited and AZA-certified Facilities

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) continually strives to advance the occupational safety of elephant care professionals 1 as well as the care and welfare of elephants. Through a series of AZA actions over the past two decades, AZA has attempted to promote significant improvements in safety, care and welfare. Among other things, AZA has developed a Principles of Elephant Management training course and has adopted minimum Standards for Elephant Management and Care, which were made mandatory in 2001. These Principles and Standards have assisted AZA entities and organizations in developing sound practices regarding elephant care professionals.

In January 2011, the AZA Board of Directors initiated another review of the occupational safety of elephant care professionals. As part of this review, the AZA convened a special meeting in May 2011 of all directors of AZA facilities2 with elephants and their elephant managers to discuss occupational safety in elephant care and management. While every facility is as different as are their elephants, a number of factors emerged from this discussion that have and will continue to increase workplace safety and reduce occupational risk, including adherence to high standards, increased staff training, well-developed management communications and protocols, and frequent program evaluation.

Concurrent with this review, in March 2011, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Board of Directors adopted revised Accreditation Standards for Elephant Management and Care3. These are comprehensive, performance-based standards that were developed over several years.

The above-listed safety measures notwiths tanding, preliminary information suggests that the amount of time (both frequency and duration) an elephant care professional spends with an elephant in the same unrestricted space increases occupational risk4. Therefore the Board of Directors is taking the following measures to maximize the safety of elephant care staff, while continuing to advance the care and welfare of elephants.

As soon as possible and no later than September 1, 2014, elephant care providers at AZA facilities with elephants shall not share the same unrestricted space with elephants, except for in certain, well-defined circumstances outlined in II.d below.

The Board recognizes that, in order to achieve the above-stated goal, a transition period will be necessary. This transition period is sequenced to encompass:


Additional work from the AZA Elephant Taxonomic Advisory Group (TAG) to support AZA facilities in safely managing elephants and providing advanced care and welfare;

Program safety assessments;

Immediate steps regarding the management of aggressive elephants;

Program planning and documentation;

Staff training; and

Facilities/infrastructure changes.

The Board:

I.
Tasks the AZA Elephant Taxonomic Advisory Group (TAG) with the following:
a.
By September 1, 2012, to provide guidance to institutions on elephant aggression in the form of a widely applicable scale/index, so that there is consistent understanding and implementation of item II.a. below;
b.
By September 1, 2012, to develop standardized methods and protocols for AZA facilities to maintain daily behavioral profiles/ethograms for each elephant and document all instances of aggression5 to be applied in item II.e. below;
c.
By September 1, 2012, to develop an appendix to this document that provides guidance and examples to AZA facilities making modification to their infrastructure to accommodate this change in policy (see item II.i. below).
d.
By September 1, 2012, to develop standardized methods and protocols for AZA facilities to report annually on:
1.
The circumstances in which elephant care professionals share unrestricted space with elephants versus when barriers and/or restraints are present (see item II.d.).
2.
The number of workplace injuries or fatalities, if any, that occurred in the care and management of elephants and the specific conditions under which each occured.
3.
The number of elephant births and mortalities and a description of the specific practices and protocols used during each event.
e.
By January 1, 2013, to develop standardized methods and protocols for AZA facilities to evaluate and maintain records of each elephant care professional’s safety-proficiency, in a manner that integrates their experience level with the specific behavioral profiles of the elephants in his/her care (to be applied in II.g. below).
f.
Convene a task force to research means of successful breeding, health care and welfare that will be increasingly effective with barriers in place between elephant care professionals and elephants.

II.
Directs all AZA facilities with elephants in their care to:

a.
As soon as possible, move any elephant that displays aggression (see item I.a. above) towards an elephant care provider(s) into management and care with barriers or restraints in place between that elephant and that care provider(s).
b.
By January 1, 2012, perform at least one of the semi-annual program safety assessments, as outlined in AZA Elephant Standard 1.4.9.5.
c.
By January 1, 2012, specifically address the facility’s elephant program in the risk management policy required in AZA Accreditation Standard 11.4.1.
d.
By September 1, 2012, amend their existing elephant management plans to include clear protocols for the frequency and duration when elephant care professionals and elephants may share the same unrestricted space6 for the specific purposes of required7 health and welfare procedures, transport, research, active breeding and calf management programs, and medical treatments and testing.
e.
By January 1, 2013, maintain daily behavioral profiles/ethograms for each elephant and document all instances of aggression.
f.
By January 1, 2013 provide a report (required annually) to the Accreditation Commission, the Elephant TAG, and the AZA staff that, for the previous year, defines:
1.
The circumstances under which elephant care professionals share unrestricted space with elephants versus when barriers and/or restraints are in place.
2.
The number of workplace injuries or fatalities, if any, that occurred in the care and management of elephants and the specific conditions under which each occurred.
3.
The number of elephant births and mortalities and a description of the specific practices and protocols used during each event.
g.
By June 1, 2013, evaluate and maintain records of each elephant care professional’s safety-proficiency, in a manner that integrates their experience level with the specific behavioral profiles of the elephants in his/her care.
h.
By September 1, 2013, train their elephant care professionals to manage and care for elephants with barriers and/or restraints in place that provide employee safety.
i.
By September 1, 2014, have put in place and implemented use of adequate infrastructure to manage and care for elephants with barriers and/or restraints in place that provide employee safety.
j.
By September 1, 2014, if a facility cannot meet the infrastructure standard (see item II.i. above), it must apply for a variance. Before the variance can be issued by the Accreditation Commission the facility must describe to the Commission its plan to meet the standard. No variances will be granted after January 1, 2016.

III.
Tasks the Professional Development Committee to:

a.
By September 1, 2012, update the Principles of Elephant Management-I course curriculum, which shall include mechanisms to:
1.
Manage and care for elephants with barriers and/or restraints in place.
2.
Minimize the frequency and duration elephant care professionals share unrestricted space with elephants subject to the exceptions outlined in item II.d. above.
3.
Develop and maintain detailed elephant behavioral profiles/ethograms.
All elephant care professionals8, managers and directors of AZA facilities with elephants will complete by November 2016.
b.
By September 1, 2013, create and deliver a series of online elephant training modules on subjects including: safety, elephant record keeping, behavioral profiling and developing and maintaining elephant ethograms, positive operant conditioning, assessment of elephant aggression, and assessment of personal safety-proficiency.
All elephant care professionals will complete by June 2014.
c.
By September 2013, create a facilities-based Principles of Elephant Management-II course curriculum, which includes experience with managing live elephants with the use of barriers and restraints and the application of advanced principles of elephant management, care, welfare, and occupational safety.

All elephant managers will complete by November 2016.

1 The term “elephant care professionals” includes all who provide for the care and welfare of elephants including veterinary care and other health care providers.

2 In this document the term “AZA facilities” refers to all AZA-accredited and AZA-certified Related Facilities.

3 References to “elephant standards” refer to “AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care” as approved by the AZA Board of Directors in March 2011.

4 The Board understands that non-AZA entities and organizations may assess and address these risks in a different manner, and the policies adopted herein are only intended to be applied to AZA facilities.

5 This is an expansion of Elephant Standards: 2.2.1.9 (Daily and life stage variation in patterns of social affiliation, which requires that a behavioral profile must be maintained for each individual elephant and updated annually); 3.3.2.1 (Daily Care, which requires that all elephants must be visually inspected on a daily basis); and, 5.2 (Animal and Keeper Safety, which encourages that a record of all elephant-related keeper injuries or aggression directed at keepers should be kept, and related keeper injuries or aggression directed at keepers, and elephant behavioral profiles should be reviewed annually.).

6 This is an expansion of Elephant Standard 4.1.1 Training Methods.

7 The word “required” is intended, first, to allow for a degree of flexibility, recognizing the wide array of conditions that occur in managing animals and, second, to indicate that a decision to engage in any of the specific exceptions (i.e. in which elephant care professionals and elephants may share the same unrestricted space. See: II.d.) should involve more than a single individual and must be approved by the facility director.

8 Veterinary staff are encouraged but not required to complete this course. Elephant managers who have already completed PEM-I will not be required to re-take the course but will be required to complete the online elephant training modules outlined in III.b.
http://www.aza.org/maximizing-safety-elephant-professionals/ .

New İstanbul Aquarium has already become a top attraction
The İstanbul Aquarium, the world’s biggest thematic aquarium with its 15,000 species of fish, opened in June and has already become one of the top attractions in the city.
The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality launched the İstanbul Aquarium project, in which TL 268 million was invested. Designed by the municipality, the aquarium complex sits on an area of approximately 100 acres in Florya.
In an interview with Sunday’s Zaman, İstanbul Aquarium General Director Sami Milli stated that he has taken part in all stages of the aquarium’s planning since 2007, from its draft sketches to its opening ceremony, when the aquarium was inaugurated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş in June.
Visitors can see 15,000 species of fish at the İstanbul Aquarium, which features 16 regions of the world, from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Inside the aquarium are an exploration trail and an interactive rain forest. The aquarium project was announced in 2003, and its plans were completed after İstanbul Metropolitan
http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=254387

The 33rd issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa

is available as free download online at http://www.threatenedtaxa.org/

August 2011 | Vol. 3 | No. 8 | Pages 1961-2032

Date of Publication 26 August 2011 (online and print)

Keeper blamed as lion cubs killed by adult lion at Berlin zoo
Two lion cubs at Berlin Zoo have been bitten to death by an adult male lion after a keeper carelessly opened a door separating them, the visitor attraction admitted Friday.
Iringa and Bomani, both 5 months old, were prowling round with their own parents in an exercise yard next to the lion cages. Suddenly, another lion couple, Paule and Amira, leaped into the enclosure. Paule, 13 years old, killed the two cubs wit
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1659358.php/Keeper-blamed-as-lion-cubs-killed-by-adult-lion-at-Berlin-zoo

Safari Zoo planned in Jahra
With widespread public dissatisfaction at the state and conditions of Kuwait's one existing extremely old-fashioned zoo in Omariya, the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR) is planning to build a new, more humane safari park-style facility to the west of Jahra City.
The new safari zoo will be more modern in design, with the animals allowed to roam freely whilst the human visitors will only be able to travel through it by car or in specially designed trains, although there will be indoor facilities too which visitors will be able to view using the latest technology.
The Municipal Council has already approved the proposed site for the new facility, explained Yousef Al-Najem, the director of Kuwait Zoo: "It will be located on a 16,000 square meter site, sixteen times the size of the current zoo," he told the Kuwait Times. "The zoo will be established under the BOT [Build Operate Transfer] system, and will add to the existing entertainment facilities in the country.
The PAAFR is currently conducting a number of studies on the best layout for the new zoo, Al-Najem continued, adding, "The research won't take long to carry out, but the problem lies in the execution. The research is carried out by the investor, then sent to the Municipal Council for approval. The good thing is that the new safari zoo won't cost the government more money.
The animals currently at the present zoo will be transferred to the new facility, Al-Najem explained. "The animals will be transferred from the zoo in Omariya to the new one. The zoo will include animals from different environments such as the tropical or the cold one, and we will prepare similar environments to those which they came from.
The new zoo will also bring more animals from other zoos that we have an agreement with. For instance, Kuwait Zoo has an animal exchange program with the Korean Zoo, from which we brought the leopard and we exchanged it with deer that were bred here.
The old zoo won't be completely abandoned, however, the director revealed. "It will be turned into to some other useful facility. We are not sure yet, but the PAAFR is planning to change it to an aquarium or an insect zoo. Kuwait signed the CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species] Treaty on wild fauna and
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODk3ODA5MjAxMQ==

Lions get a closer view of Detroit Zoo visitors
Animals can better interact with guests in expanded habitat
The Detroit Zoo's lions have more room to roam, thanks to a newly renovated habitat that opened Thursday.
The habitat, home to two male and four female lions, underwent a six-month, $1 million renovation that expanded it from 3,500 square feet to 7,500 square feet. Besides being bigger, the exhibit features a 17-foot-high glass wall that allows the lions and visitors to stand within feet of each other.
"It gives them an opportunity to interact with guests," said the zoo's chief life science officer, Scott Carter. "Sometimes, they'll take an interest in someone across the glass. They're predators. We're prey. They'll take a predatory interest in us sometimes."
But rest assured, the wall of 60 tempered glass panels is strong enough to keep the lions from acting on their predatory instincts, the zoo says. The glass could withstand a 2½-ton truck traveling 40 mph, according to zoo officials.
Besides the see-through barrier, the new habitat features grass, a small watering hole and several warming rocks, some of which are near the glass panes.
The lions' old habitat featured a rock and dirt landscape and a 22-foot-wide moat to separate the lions from spectators. When the zoo opened in 1928, the exhibit was groundbreaking because it was one of the first to feature a natural habitat, said Ron Kagan, executive director of the Detroit Zoological Society.
"Almost all zoos had bars and cement floors. It was very small," he said. "Over the years, we've wanted to give them more room, and we finally now have
http://detnews.com/article/20110826/METRO/108260360/1409/rss36

ZOOLEX

~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~ ~°v°~

Hello ZooLex Friend,
We have worked for your enjoyment!

~°v°~

NEW EXHIBIT PRESENTATION

The Lacerte Family Children's Zoo at Dallas Zoo provides different experiences for the young visitor in The Plaza, Travis & Zach's Birds Landing, The Underzone, The Farm and the Discovery House. Each environment seeks to encourage discovery through visual and tactile interactives, while creating a safe environment for children.

The Underzone houses a range of animals that live on the surface or under the ground:
http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=1122

The Farm displays a range of farmyard animals:
http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=1195

The Travis & Zach's Bird Landing is a walk-through aviary:
http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=1196

The Discovery House and Nature Exchange offer interactive learning opportunities:
http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=1197

~°v°~

PUBLISHING IN ZOOLEX

We would like to invite you to publish in the ZooLex Gallery.
Publishing in ZooLex is for free. Submissions to the ZooLex Gallery can
be done by zoo staff, someone from the design team or a volunteer. We
publish only in agreement with the institution hosting the exhibit to be
presented.

Submissions of text and images are welcome in digital format. Please
kindly use the ZooLex template for preparing your presentation for the
ZooLex Gallery:
http://www.zoolex.org/service.html

The ZooLex Gallery features all types of animal exhibits. The ZooLex
audience is interested in the use of new technologies in exhibit design,
and in new combinations of species in mixed species exhibits. We also
present exhibits for animals which are hard to keep or particularly
rare. We like to show exhibits that provide animals with a suitable
environment, keepers with an appropriate working place and visitors with
a desirable experience. We particularly welcome good examples of low
budget exhibits. We think that plants and interpretation should play an
important role in exhibit design and invite presentors of exhibits with
a botanical or educational emphasis. We are also looking for exhibits
focussing on conservation of species or natural resources. All these
types of exhibit presentations are desirable contributions to the
ZooLex Gallery.

The ZooLex Gallery is a peer reviewed scientific publication.
The ZooLex Editorial Board edits all presentation before publication:
http://www.zoolex.org/editors.html
The ZooLex archive is saved at the WAZA Executive Office:
www.waza.org and www.zoolex.org/archive.html

We look forward to receiving your contribution to the ZooLex Gallery!

~°v°~

We keep working on ZooLex ...

The ZooLex Zoo Design Organization is a non-profit organization
registered in Austria (ZVR-Zahl 933849053). ZooLex runs a professional
zoo design website and distributes this newsletter. More information and
contact: http://www.zoolex.org/about.html

National Zoo’s Reptile Discovery Center adds endangered species, emphasizes preservation
When you realize your home’s look hasn’t evolved much since its post-college phase, you put the Ikea bookshelves on Craigslist, start searching for a contractor who won’t drive you crazy, scrutinize endless tile samples and stop considering Pottery Barn too public a venue to fight with your spouse. Then you prepare the neighbors and pay the county.
When you realize your reptile house is “stuck in the ’80s,” as National Zoo biologist Matt Evans did last year, you put your aging non-endangered snakes, turtles and lizards on the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ “status list” (a Freecycle of sorts for curators), work the phones to ﬁnd a new home for unwanted animals, and start cashing in favors from former colleagues whose zoos have just the gecko you gotta have. Then you prepare the neighbors: Tell the plant people you need new native plants, the commissary you need new meat, and the vet you need quarantine space. And you cross your fingers and hope no red tape keeps the Smithsonian’s Reptile Discovery Center from getting fresh, new cold blood.
Kinda makes your remodeling look less beastly.
When Dennis Kelly left his post at Zoo Atlanta to take over the National Zoo last year, he made species preservation his top priority. He enlisted Evans and Jim Murphy, a research associate, to do a massive remodeling of its “geriatric” inventory, while revamping its mission: more research, more species protection and more endangered animals.
The Smithsonian’s zoo wasn’t, as Evans says, “doing much in the way of science” or leading the country in species preservation, so the 71-year-old Murphy, a giant in herpetology circles, was called out of semi-retirement to head up the Reptile Discovery Center.
“Firing up the herpetologists is Jim’s forte,” said David Chiszar, an animal behaviorist and snake specialist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In terms of research and journal contributions, Chiszar says, “Murphy is probably in the top five across all zoos and across all the years we have had zoos in the U.S.”
It was the conservation aspect that lured Murphy out of semi-retirement: “I am convinced that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event of animals and plants, caused by humans,” he says. The fifth cleared the planet of dinosaurs. “I know hundreds of biologists, and not one is optimistic. It is incumbent upon me to alert others to this looming catastrophe.”
With every new endangered Malagasy leaf-tailed gecko now calling Woodley Park home, Evans and Murphy are shifting the
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/national-zoos-reptile-discovery-center-adds-endangered-species-emphasizes-preservation/2011/07/13/gIQAyPhDOJ_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

Final stranded pilot whale heading to SeaWorld
The last pilot whale remaining in the Florida Keys since a mass stranding nearly four months ago will be transferred to SeaWorld of Orlando to continue its rehabilitation.
"SeaWorld received federal approval today to provide a permanent, caring home for the remaining rescued pilot whale that has been deemed non-releasable," SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides said Friday.
The 12-foot, 1,800-pound whale has been under care at the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo since a few days after the May 5 stranding.
A pilot whale calf, originally identified as whale 301, that was also at the MMC was driven in a special truck to SeaWorld's new stranded-animal facility in late July, and continues to recover. That 900-pound calf has been renamed Fredi.
The pod of 23 pilot whales stranded May 5 off Cudjoe Key. Most died at the scene, but two males were released after being deemed healthy enough to survive. The two females, Fredi and 300, are the only other survivors.
The calf cannot be released into the wild because it apparently lost its mother in the stranding, and has not learned survival skills. The adult female suffers
http://www.keysnet.com/2011/08/27/372226/final-stranded-pilot-whale-heading.html

Raiders steal fake rhino horns in Britain
Two rhinoceros horns were stolen from a British museum on Saturday -- only the horns were fake and worthless.
The horns were removed from a stuffed Indian rhino and a White rhino specimen at the Natural History Museum's site in Tring, northwest of London.
However, due to a recent spate of such thefts across Europe, the museum had replaced the horns with replicas.
Rhinos are often poached for their horns, made of keratin and sold on the black market for ornamental or medicinal purposes, particularly in Asia.
Horns fetch around £60,000 ($100,000, 70,000 euros) per kilogramme.
"The theft occurred around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) this morning, following a failed attempt at midnight," a Natural History Museum spokeswoman, Chloe Kembery, told AFP.
"The horns were replaced with replicas about three
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hhkkbNqt5-jP7XBsHnneiIE43gnQ?docId=CNG.b8c6206079ef2416b87f96a4bc571f48.b1

ZOOS NEED TO IMPROVE SECURITY FOR THEIR RHINOS

Bored with wolves? Go see wolverines
Distracted by lynxes, grizzlies, gray wolves and skunks, visitors often miss seeing a rare glimpse of nature when they visit Northwest Trek Wildlife Park: wolverines mating.
"Visitors don't seem to spend much time watching our wolverines," said Dave Ellis, deputy director of the animal park near Eatonville, Wash.
Maybe they should.
"Our wolverines are pretty much unafraid of anyone watching from overhead or through the glass," he said, noting that the park's wolverine couple engages in amorous behavior in late July and August.
"Like most members of the weasel family, they are intensely active for 15 or 20 minutes, then crash and sleep it off," Ellis said. The result, in four of the past five years, has been the birth of wolverine kits around Valentine's Day.
Wolverines are still common in the far north, but their numbers have dwindled in the lower 48 states, so seeing them is a treat. The two kept at Northwest Trek, in the foothills of Mount Rainier, were acquired from private breeders and are among only a half-dozen pairs displayed at U.S. zoos.
Northwest Trek is a 725-acre wildlife park, home to more than 200 animals native to western North America.
The park's visitation experience brings to mind Oregon's Wildlife Safari in Winston, with a twist. Wildlife Safari is a drive-through park, where visitors tour the grounds in their own vehicles. Viewing at Northwest Trek is on foot, past enclaves where carnivores and birds of prey are kept, plus an escorted tram tour through a free-roaming area where plant eaters live.
Both parks have large enclosures where animals have more space to ramble than big city zoos can offer. Northwest Trek is the rural adjunct to Tacoma Metro Parks' excellent Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
Of course, big space may be good for the animals,
http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2011/08/bored_with_wolves_go_see_wolve.html

Possible biological control discovered for pathogen devastating amphibians
Zoologists at Oregon State University have discovered that a freshwater species of zooplankton will eat a fungal pathogen which is devastating amphibian populations around the world.
This tiny zooplankton, called Daphnia magna, could provide a desperately needed tool for biological control of this deadly fungus, the scientists said, if field studies confirm its efficacy in a natural setting.
The fungus, B. dendrobatidis, is referred to as a “chytrid” fungus, and when it reaches high levels can disrupt electrolyte balance and lead to death from cardiac arrest in its amphibian hosts. One researcher has called its impact on amphibians “the most spectacular loss of vertebrate biodiversity due to disease in recorded history.”
The research, reported today in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, was supported by the National Science Foundation.
“There was evidence that zooplankton would eat some other types of fungi, so we wanted to find out if Daphnia would consume the chytrid fungus,” said Julia Buck, an OSU doctoral student in zoology and lead author on the study. “Our laboratory experiments and DNA analysis confirmed that it would eat the zoospore, the free-swimming stage of the fungus.”
“We feel that biological control offers the best chance to control this fungal disease, and now we have a good candidate for that,” she said. “Efforts to eradicate this disease have been unsuccessful, but so far no one has attempted biocontrol of the chytrid fungus. That may be the way to go.”
The chytrid fungus, which was only identified in 1998, is not always deadly at low levels of infestation, Buck said. It may not be necessary to completely eliminate it, but rather just reduce its density in order to prevent mortality. Biological controls can work well in that type of situation.
Amphibians have been one of the great survival stories in Earth’s history, evolving about 400 million years ago and surviving to the present while many other life forms came and went, including the dinosaurs. But in recent decades the global decline of amphibians has reached crisis proportions, almost certainly from
http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/aug/possible-biological-control-discovered-pathogen-devastating-amphibians

Planet Penguin

http://youtu.be/-SVFCEVYVSc

Retired Lab Chimpanzees Provide Sound Track for the Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Andy Serkis. James Franco. Freida Pinto. John Lithgow. These are clearly the stars of the movie, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which is now showing in theatres. But there are others who had important speaking roles in the movie who won’t appear on theatre marquees. Hamlet, Les, Henry, Keeli, and a host of other chimpanzees spoke for the apes in the movie.
The chimpanzees are residents of Chimp Haven, a sanctuary in northwest Louisiana that provides a home to chimpanzees retired from biomedical research or are no longer wanted as pets or entertainers. Of the 134 chimpanzees currently living at the sanctuary, 124 come from biomedical research.
The facility is on a 200-acre campus that provides spacious outdoor habitats for the chimpanzees to live in large social groups. Every day, they receive nutritious meals and behavioral enrichment—items and activities that challenge that stimulate their mental and cognitive functions.
Unlike the “sanctuary” in the movie, Chimp Haven provides a positive environment where the chimpanzees can climb trees, build nests, participate in social groups, and engage in behaviors typical of c
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/8/prweb8741198.htm

MY RISE OF PLANET OF THE APES

Zoo focus on safe animal breeding
plans to provide wildlife-friendly ambience
Apart from displaying animals for visitors, the Patna zoo is now focussing on conservation of wildlife through breeding.
The zoo authorities are now putting in comprehensive efforts to conserve wildlife, including several endangered species through breeding.
The authorities are also putting in efforts to develop pseudo-natural habitat for animals inside the zoo, including developing favourable enclosures and arriving at an ideal male to female ratio for the animals to mate.
At present, there are several constraints, which are proving to be a hindrance to the breeding of the animals inside the zoo.
“The basic principle of conservation of animal includes augmentation of breeding of animals, so as to make the zoological gardens self-sustaining and if possible develop a pool of surplus animals, which can be given to the other zoos. Thus, we are making step-by-step efforts to promote breeding of animals at the zoo,” director of Patna zoo Abhay Kumar told The Telegraph.
“For instance, there are certain animals which need to be kept in a no-display area to breed. Thus, we have sent a proposal to central zoo authority (CZA) to develop a lion conservation area in the zoo, where lions would be kept in no-display area where they would be able to breed. Similar proposal has been sent to CZA for developing a rhino conservation area. We are also making plans for developing a conservation area for tigers. Moreover, we are also making efforts to complete the pair of several existing animals so that they are able to mate,” he said.
Recently, a pair of Asiatic lions, a pair of white tiger and a lone royal Bengal tiger arrived at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Patna from Nehru zoological park, Hyderabad under an ex-change programme.
Sources said, Patna zoo has also entered into an agreement with Sipahijala zoo, Tripura, for another animal exchange programme where Patna zoo would give one female rhino and a pair of hippopotamus to the Sipahijala zoo and in return would get one pair of spectacled languor, a pair of clouded leopard, one pair of pig-tailed macaque, a pair of leopard cat, one silver and one golden pheasant.
“There are certain animals which are not being able to breed as they do not have breeding partners. The problem has almost been solved for lions and tigers with for the recent addition from the Hyderabad zoo. We will also come up with a similar breeding solution for leopards, languor and pheasant if the exchange programme with Tripura zoo is successful,” Abhay said, adding that the animal exchange apart, there are several other fundamental wildlife issues, which the zoo
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110827/jsp/bihar/story_14429364.jsp

Extinct bumblebee to be reintroduced to Britain
A rare bumblebee that died out in Britain more than two decades ago is to be reintroduced into the wild under a new project by conservation experts.
Scientists are planning to release around 60 short-haired bumblebee queens into wild flower meadows in an attempt to re-establish the species in this country.
The rare insect, which is also known by its scientific name of Bombus subterraneus, has not been seen in the UK since 1988 when it was spotted in a meadow in Dungeness, Kent.
The queens to be reintroduced have been imported from Sweden. The first crop of the fertilised insects are currently being screened for disease, before being released into meadows in southern England in the spring. Other releases are likely to follow.
Dr Mark Brown, a senior lecturer in biology at Royal Holloway who is involved in the scheme, said: "These insects have been declining across Europe due to the changes in agricultural practice that have seen the decline in flower-rich wild meadows.
"While other species of bumblebee have been declining, this is one that we have lost and we are
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/8726927/Extinct-bumblebee-to-be-reintroduced-to-Britain.html

Tides To Power Yorkshire Aquarium
In Hull, East Yorkshire, England, the Neptune Proteus NP1000, a tidal power device we first told you about last year, was approved for implementation, developers announced. The device, developed by Neptune Renewable Energy, will become operational in the fall of this year.
The Proteus will use the tidal stream of the Humber, a tidal estuary, to power The Deep, an aquarium and popular tourist attraction. The Deep’s managers see the use of tidal power as entirely fitting for a marine-themed place like the aquarium – and Neptune hopes it opens eyes to the possibilities with tidal
http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20110827/tides-to-power-yorkshire-aquarium.htm

It seems more zoos have forgotten than have remembered

International Vulture Awareness Day

It costs nothing tp participate and yet can really make difference

What Is Your Zoo Doing? Anything? Really?

There is a list on the website of participating zoos. If you hold vultures and your zoo is not there you really have to question your raison d'etre

Dysfunctional Zoos

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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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Zoo News Digest 20th - 25th August 2011 (Zoo News 781)

2011-08-25T07:39:00.001+01:00

Zoo News Digest 20th - 25th August 2011 (Zoo News 781)

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Painting by George Stubbs

Peter Dickinson

peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Colleague,

I was trying to avoid the story about the elephant and the stool. Why? Well it is a cute story but it is hardly news. It was when I saw "That eureka moment is the first evidence that pachyderms can run problem-solving scenarios in their heads, then mentally map out an effective solution, and finally, put the plan into action, researchers say." Rubbish "first evidence!" Go on researchers get out your little black books and go and speak to elephant keepers wherever they are. You will have all the "first evidence" you will ever need. I feel the same when I read 'firsts' for primate behaviour. Fot instance in the article "Chimpanzees Are Altruistic Animals" Elephant and Primate Keepers have known about these all along.

Much to my regret I will not be attending the SEAZA meeting in Pattaya next month. Nor will I be in Thailand. Pity... but no doubt a relief to some.
My thanks for the two recent donations. Much appreciated. Been a bit tied up this week but I will respond privately in the next day or so.

There are several people waiting for their Zoo Biology memberships to be approved. There is good reason for the delay. Read HERE for an explanation.

Please would someone who has visited Hanoi Zoo in the past twelve months please contact me privately. Thank You.

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Yowl! Madhya Pradesh to welcome 60 African cheetahs

Come December and the forests of Madhya Pradesh might just get resounding with the yowls of cheetahs. That's when the state government will bring in six of these slender felines - the first in a lot of 60 - from Africa.

Cheetahs are extinct in India, but now they will roam the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Sheopur district.
"The Palpur-Kuno has been selected for Project Cheetah and in the first lot, six (both male and female) cheetahs would be brought from South Africa," Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh told IANS.
The cheetah, said to be the world's fastest animal, was once found in good numbers in India, but has been non-existent in the country since 1940. It is found in Africa and the Middle East.
The cheetah can run at speeds between 112 and 120 km per hour (70 and 75 metre per hour). With black stripes running from the eyes to the mouth, a long tale and a tawny gold spotted coat, the animal is a picture of grace, particularly when in motion.
The ancient history of India is filled with stories and pictures in which cheetahs have been shown in the company of goddesses and kings. The project to reintroduce it in India is in its final stages.
Soon there will be 60 of them in the state, said
http://twocircles.net/2011aug25/yowl_madhya_pradesh_welcome_60_african_cheetahs.html

How the humans benefit from having a zoo

EVERY month, some 18,000 visitors walk through the grounds of Dalton’s zoo.
And around 50 businesses in the South Cumbria area provide services or products to the attraction.
Looking at the figures, the zoo spends around £1m a year; filling its toilet roll holders, providing its herds with bales of hay, making meals for visitors and putting down dishes of dry food for its ever-growing animal population.
Food for the animals alone represents a huge spend, as the zoo’s Karen Brewer explained.
She said: “Our penguins, giant otters and birds eat their way through 40 kilos of fish a day – that’s 14,600 kilos a year. Our giant otters are fussy eaters and will only eat fresh water roach so our fish order has to be specific for them.
“Our carnivores – jaguars, lions, tigers and fennec foxes munch their way through 200 kilos of meat a week; that’s 10,400 kilos a year plus 45 chickens a week – 2,340 a year!
“We buy our snakes about six rats a month and our ever – growing herd of rhinos and giraffes munch their way through three quarters of a bale of hay a day – that’s 273 huge bales of hay a year.
"Our primates, with the help of local supermarkets – Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, eat their way through 25,000 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables every year.”
In total the animals go through 95,000kg of dry food every year, most of which comes from Broughton Supplies and requires careful delivery.
Karen said: “Our last hay delivery was for 55 bales and it took one trained forklift driver one-and-a-half hours to offload.”
A new disabled toilet and baby-changing facility provided business to a number of local firms. Karen said: “Our maintenance team has been working alongside Hecol to install new green energy-efficient heaters, the Plastic Man for all the windows and doors for the new building; Wareings supply us with the panels for the building; The Plumb Centre will supply the new toilets and City Electrical Factors are supplying us cable to upgrade our security cameras in the Lion house.”
Food supplies for the zoo’s café also represents a big spend.
Karen said: “On a busy day in the café we can go through 48 bags of chips, 150 baguettes, 100 burgers, buns and cheese slices
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/how-the-humans-benefit-from-having-a-zoo-1.870882?referrerPath=home

Infant stress in monkeys has life-long consequences
Baby monkeys grew up anxious and anti-social after the stress of separation from their mothers, a study says.
It suggests changes to the brains of infant monkeys may be irreversible, and the study could be a model for humans.
An early shock to the system may leave the monkeys prone to a life of anxiety, poor social skills and depression.
But the work could point the way to better management and treatment of those who live with a legacy of "early adversity".
The report, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that rhesus monkey babies do not fully recover from the stress of being separated from their mothers at birth.
Some baby monkeys had to be cared for separately if they were at risk from an inexperienced mother
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14562120

WildlifeXpo

A MAJOR NEW WILDLIFE EXHIBITION

14th and 15th October 2011

Alexandra Palace, London

http://www.wildlifexpo.com/

Navy releases 800 turtles for HM the Queen’s birthday
The Royal Thai Navy released 800 turtles and 80,000 fish into Sattahip Bay to honor HM Queen Sirikit as she celebrates the start of her 80th year.
Adm. Narong Thesvikaal, commander of the Royal Thai Fleet, presided over the release of the mostly juvenile green turtles at the Sea Turtle Conservation Center Aug. 11, a day before the queen’s 79th birthday. More than 2,500
http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/navy-releases-800-turtles-for-hm-the-queen-s-birthday-5548?ref=pmci

Turtle Conservation in Thailand

Fearing a Planet Without Apes
VIEWERS of this summer’s Hollywood blockbuster “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” may be surprised to learn that before our earliest ancestors arrived on the scene roughly seven million years ago, apes really did rule the planet. As many as 40 kinds roamed Eurasia and Africa between 10 and 25 million years ago. Only five types remain. Two live in Asia, the gibbon and orangutan; another three, the chimpanzee, bonobo and gorilla, dwell in Africa. All five are endangered, several critically so. All may face extinction.
A decade ago, Congress stepped forward with a relatively cheap but vitally important effort to protect these apes through innovative conservation programs in Africa and Asia that combined taxpayer dollars with private money. But attempts to reauthorize the Great Apes Conservation Fund have gotten stuck in Congress and may become a victim of the larger debate over the national debt.
Hollywood’s depiction of apes as cunning — if not conniving — creatures comes close to reality. Fifty years ago, Jane Goodall’s observations of chimpanzees’ using tools and eating meat demonstrated just how similar apes are to humans. Subsequent fieldwork has underscored this point.
Gibbons, long thought to be monogamous, occasionally mate with individuals outside their group. Orangutans fashion tools to extract seeds that are otherwise difficult to obtain. Gorillas engage in conversational vocal exchanges. Bonobos appear to have sex not only to reproduce but also to relieve stress. Male chimpanzees form coalitions to kill their neighbors and take over their territory. If all of this seems human, there is a good reason: The apes are our closest living relatives, and in anatomy, genetics
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/opinion/sunday/fearing-a-planet-without-apes.html?_r=2

Quarters For Conservation (Great Idea)
http://www.cmzoo.org/conservation/quarters/

The Adelaide Zoo may change its name
ADELAIDE Zoo is considering breaking with a 128-year tradition by rebranding itself as "Conservation Ark" under a plan to ease its $24 million debt.
Zoos SA, which runs the beloved Adelaide institution along with Monarto Zoo and Warrawong Sanctuary, has used the potential new moniker for its conservation and research projects since 2008.
However, the Sunday Mail understands management has started consulting with key stakeholders, including tourism representatives and media partners, about the change predicted to take place early next year.
Zoos SA was asked several times by the Sunday Mail to confirm the rebranding plan, but on each occasion failed to provide a clear answer.
A spokeswoman for Zoos SA said it "is considering a number of changes but is unable to comment further".
"For a number of years there have been ongoing discussions about whether the organisation would benefit from a re-branding exercise," a statement
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/the-adelaide-zoo-may-change-its-name/story-e6frea6u-1226118789343

A Day with the Elephants at the Calgary Zoo

http://youtu.be/W2CYQ5NCYt8

It seems more zoos have forgotten than have remembered

International Vulture Awareness Day

It costs nothing tp participate and yet can really make difference

What Is Your Zoo Doing? Anything? Really?

There is a list on the website of participating zoos. If you hold vultures and your zoo is not there you really have to question your raison d'etre

Dysfunctional Zoos

Home sought for last bear at shuttered NC zoo
The Faircloth Zoo in Brunswick County has been closed for years, but it still has a very large, and hairy reminder of its past.
Shadow, a black bear, is the zoo's last resident, and needs a new home.
The Star News of Wilmington reports (http://bit.ly/pKWZsK) that efforts to find a new lodging for the animal have so far been unsuccessful.
Pender County bear enthusiast Howard Loughlin has been calling zoos and other institutions, but hasn't had much luck.
Gary Evans of the Lynwood Park Zoo in Jacksonville says he'd like to bring Shadow there, but building an enclosure
http://www.wbtv.com/story/15301641/home-sought-for-last-bear-at-shuttered-nc-zoo

Zion faces further mauling as access is cut
A bid to bankrupt Zion Wildlife Gardens operator Patricia Busch has been scheduled to be heard in the Whangarei High Court tomorrow.
A court spokesman confirmed a hearing had been set down for 10am. The spokesman would not reveal who was taking the case against Busch or the sum sought.
But Sunday News understands the action has been brought by a former employee and involves a sum of about $20,000. The scheduled hearing comes as visitor access to the Northland big cat park has been restricted. Pre-booked guided tours of Zion were still taking place this week but casual visits were suspended.
An online posting says the park will make a "status update" tomorrow on whether the gates will be reopened to drive-by visitors, or if all tours will be cancelled while receivers consider the park's financial records.
PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed as receivers last month by Rabobank. Busch had taken mortgages with the rural bank on properties she owned in a bid to save Zion. Meanwhile, Busch's lawyer Evgeny Orlov said he had approached the Government on her behalf in an attempt to save Zion and its big cats – lions, tigers, cheetahs and a leopard.
Orlov said he was aiming to set up a charitable trust, which would include a London-based "zoo specialist", plus members of the Busch family, including Patricia and probably her daughter Megan – who works at Zion.
But he said no invitation would be extended to his
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-news/news/5480621/Zion-faces-further-mauling-as-access-is-cut

ABWAK Annual Symposium 2012

Call for Presentations

ABWAK is holding its 2 day Annual Symposium at Bristol Zoological Gardens on the 03rd and 04th March 2012. The theme of the symposium is professional development and showcasing the work of zoo keepers in big and small collections.

This is an opportunity for animal keepers to share their knowledge with other keepers in a friendly environment. We are inviting oral presentations on subjects ranging from husbandry techniques, enclosure design, innovative environmental enrichment and new ideas in animal diets. Preference will be given to zoo keepers working in the UK and Ireland, but we also encourage students and other zoo professionals as well.

Presentations would normally be no longer than 20 minutes, with time for questions. A brief outline/abstract of your presentation should be submitted and you will be informed if your presentation has been accepted.

The outline/abstract should include:

Title

Keywords

Author

A/V equipment required

Summary of presentation (no more than 300 words).

Deadline is 30th September 2011.

Please submit abstracts to Ross Snipp, ross.snipp@flamingoland.co.uk

http://www.abwak.org/

UK to lead international rhino horn clampdown
The UK has secured an international agreement to curb the illegal trade in rhino horn, which is now being sold for more than diamonds, gold and cocaine.
Britain will lead global talks to fight myths about the curative powers of the product, amid what conservationists have warned is a "poaching crisis".
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said the trade was "cruel and archaic".
The agreement was reached at the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Geneva.
There is so much demand for rhino horn that it is now worth £50,000 a kilo.
'Peddled myths'
As part of the agreement, policing techniques and awareness campaigns will be shared by countries and conservation groups.
Experts say myths that rhino horn can cure cancer or help remedy strokes are fuelling demand for it in Asia.
Ms Spelman said: "Criminals trading in rhino horn have lined their pockets while bringing this magnificent animal to the brink of extinction, but their days are now numbered.
"We will be leading global action to clamp down on this cruel and archaic trade, and to dispel the myths peddled to vulnerable people that drive demand for rhino products."
The UK will support a workshop in South Africa in September to help develop better co-operation between countries where rhinos are poached and countries where their horns are sold.
Last September, after the UK's Animal Health agency detected a rise in the number of rhino horn products being sold through auction houses in Britain, it issued a
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14603905

Elephant Makes a Stool—First Known Aha Moment for Species
Eureka! Burst of insight may redefine elephant intelligence.
In an apparent flash of insight, a young Asian elephant in a zoo turned a plastic cube into a stool—and a tool—a new study says.
That eureka moment is the first evidence that pachyderms can run problem-solving scenarios in their heads, then mentally map out an effective solution
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110819-elephant-eureka-aha-moment-zoo-intelligence-science-plos/?source=link_fb20110820elephantstool

Chimpanzees Are Altruistic Animals, Study Finds
Chimpanzees have been found to be genuinely altruistic animals that care about the welfare of others -- denying previous claims characterizing them as self-regarding, according to a new study.
While humans have widely been known to demonstrate altruistic manners and generosity toward others, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were previously known as "reluctant altruists," only sharing and looking out for others when pressured.
Studies conducted in the past confirming the selfish nature of chimpanzees contradicted field studies, since chimps are frequently observed in nature unselfishly sharing with others similar to humans.
"For the past decade we have lived through the curious situation -- frustrating for many chimpanzee fieldworkers and observers -- that chimps are well known for spontaneous acts of altruism, yet have not shown the same tendencies in well-controlled experiments," said lead author Frans de Waal, a primatologist at Emory University.
Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta decided to construct a simplified experiment to prove chimpanzees indeed have a prosocial
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/194956/20110809/chimpanzee-altruistic-study.htm

Iberian lynx 'not doomed' by low genetic diversity
One of the world's most endangered cats, the Iberian lynx, may not be doomed by its tiny population size.
About 250 are thought to exist in the wild, putting the species at risk of low genetic diversity and inbreeding.
But new research suggests that the lynx has had little genetic variability over the last 50,000 years, and this has not hampered its long-term survival.
The study is published in the journal Molecular Ecology.
The authors say that the findings should offer hope to conservationists who are trying to pull this critically endangered cat back from the brink of extinction.
Love Dalen, from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, said: "This indicates that some species
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14563807

Veteran conservationist J C Daniel dead
Veteran conservationist and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Vice-President J C Daniel died today at a hospital in Mahim here. He was 84.
He was recently diagnosed with cancer and died at 10 PM, BNHS sources told PTI.
This is another loss to the conservation movement in India after the demise of BNHS President B G Deshmukh on August 7.
Daniel was associated with BNHS as a researcher since the 1950s. He had worked as the director of the Society and later as head of various sub-committees.
He was the mentor at BNHS in many ways and had worked on various projects involving conservation at various levels including for elephants and the big cats.
He has authored various books such as 'The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians', 'Cassandra of Conservation', 'Petronia', 'A
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/185865/veteran-conservationist-j-c-daniel.html

Zoo considers chimp breeding plan
A zoo is hoping to start a new chimpanzee breeding programme 23 years after its last arrivals.
Chippy and his half-sister Rosie, both 23-years-old, have had blood samples taken to find out if they are part of a rare group.
They were anaesthetised for the procedure at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park in Stirlingshire and their blood will be sent to Denmark for DNA analysis.
Park manager Gary Gilmour said hair samples were taken from the chimps last year to check their DNA but it did not give an accurate reading.
He said: "It did indicate that our chimps could be a sub species of western chimpanzees - pan troglodytes verus. They are quite rare, with not many in zoos in Europe."
Mr Gilmour said the tests were being undertaken because the park wanted to bring in a female to breed with Chippy after the
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jaOdlytKXlfM4NHPFm03B8lerRiw?docId=N0533411314055222995A

Smithsonian closes museums, zoo after earthquake
All of the Smithsonian Institution museums on the National Mall have been closed in the wake of an earthquake centered in Virginia that shook the nation's capital.
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough said Tuesday that staffers are examining the buildings for damage, and no injuries were reported.
Clough, who is an earthquake engineer, said a main concern is the Smithsonian Castle, the red, gothic-style building that was constructed in 1857.
He said he was meeting with his
http://www.news-record.com/blog/84900/entry/125724

Zoo mystery: How did apes and birds know quake was coming?
Her name is Iris, and with her straight, elegant, red-orange hair she is beyond dispute the prettiest orangutan at the National Zoo. She’s calm, quiet, unflappable. “Iris lives the life of a queen,” says great-ape keeper Amanda Bania.
On Tuesday afternoon, the queen lost her cool.
It happened a little before 2 p.m. Primate keeper K.C. Braesch was standing just a few feet away when Iris emitted a loud, guttural cry, known to scientists as belch-vocalizing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/zoo-mystery-how-did-apes-and-birds-know-quake-was-coming/2011/08/24/gIQAZrXQcJ_story.html

AQUARAMA (Interesting read)
http://www.petproductnews.com/international-news/aquarama-2011.aspx

No junk inside those trunks
The Elephant Orchestra is back, delivering some unique sounds
The Thai Elephant Orchestra, resident at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, has returned to the studio for their third and, allegedly, final album. Handel may have beaten them to the title, but the music the elephant ensemble offer here has less to do with the River Thames than with our seasonal rains, at least if we go by the titles of the individual pieces on the programme (were the elephants consulted about these?).
As in the two previous releases, the ensemble is more a chamber group than an orchestra. The packaging lists 14 elephant performers, but although the individual players are not listed for each track, I get the impression that it is only rarely, if ever, that all of them play at once. The elephants perform primarily on percussion instruments, some built especially for them, although the reedy sound of a harmonica-like instrument sometimes shines through the drumming and chiming.
This third programme is, in a way, the purest of the three because human participation is at a minimum, with almost all of the music-making left to the elephants themselves. But one exception, and a beautiful one, can be heard in the opening pieces, Invocation, when mahout Boonyang Boonthiam intones a healing riak khwan chant, after an introduction of ringing percussion sounds. The accompaniment gradually diversifies to include wood sonorities and weighty thuds.
Six minutes into the track the chant ends, and the elephants are one their own. The texture quickly thickens to included tam-tam like crashes and sizzling cymbal-like interjections. At times the animals become so exuberant that they join in with chirps, roars and barks, and at the end the instruments drop away completely in favour of the elephant vocals. Humans are heard again playing rainsticks in the second and third pieces on the programme (Rainsticks proved unsuitable for the elephant trunk, a note on the disc's packaging explains.).
Each of the tracks has a different sound and mood
http://www.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/music/253018/no-junk-inside-those-trunks

Chester Zoo staff to help build orangutan bridges
We all know orangutans like to swing, but did you know they can't swim?
A team from Chester Zoo is travelling to Malaysian Borneo, south-east Asia, to build special orangutan bridges.
The forests where the primates live are becoming smaller and smaller due to deforestation, so it's becoming harder for them to get about.
By building the bridges, it's hoped the orangutans will be able to cross rivers that used to keep them trapped in one area.
Chester Zoo's Nick Davis said: "The worry is that the forest out there has been so fragmented that the orangutans can't move
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/14622653

Finally, cops file charge sheet in zoo case after 370 days
Finally, the beleaguered Sitabuldi police have filed a formal charge sheet in the case of the secret burial of a deer and an emu in the Maharajbagh zoo last year, after 370 days.
TOI had consistently pursued the matter about how police was going slow and not filing a charge sheet despite the fact that it had all the relevant papers ready. On August 16, 25 volunteers of People for Animals (PFA), working for animal welfare, had also protested in front of the police station against cops' inaction. PFA had exposed the case on August 13, 2010.
TOI had consistently pursued the matter about how police was going slow and not filing a charge sheet despite the fact that it had all the relevant papers ready. On August 16, 25 volunteers of People for Animals (PFA), working for animal welfare, had also protested
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-23/nagpur/29918109_1_charge-sheet-vandan-mohod-zoo-rules-and-prevention

ZOO’s PRINT Magazine

August 2011 | Vol. XXVI | No. 8 | Date of Publication 21 August 2011

http://www.zoosprint.org/

Aquarium opens full-scale animal medical facility
A hospital equipment company with a location in Charleston has donated an operating suite to the S.C. Aquarium for its recently finished full-scale animal medical facility.
“South Carolina Aquarium staff work around-the-clock caring for our exhibit animals, including fish, sharks, sea turtles, birds, reptiles and even invertebrates,” the aquarium said in a news release. The aquarium said the medical facility is designed to help the staff handle the diversity of patients.
The nearly 800-square-foot treatment area, which is within the aquarium building, includes an operating suite donated by Berchtold Corp., a treatment and necropsy area, a pharmacy, a radiology room and the staff veterinarian’s office.
The S.C. Aquarium is one of few in the country to have a medical facility, the news release said. The facility was made possible through a gift from an anonymous donor, a gift by H. Dell Shutte Jr. and family and the donation by Berchtold Corp., the aquarium said.
“Caring for animals is at the heart of the aquarium’s mission,” Kevin Mills, aquarium president and CEO, said. “This generous contribution from Berchtold will help us provide state-of-the-art medical care for the 7,000 animals in our collection, not to mention the sick and injured sea turtles that undergo rehabilitation and recovery at the aquarium.
Berchtold offered technical assistance and support
http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/40777-aquarium-opens-full-scale-animal-medical-facility?rss=0

Zion Wildlife Gardens in liquidation
Zion Wildlife Gardens has been placed into liquidation after the High Court at Whangarei today ruled the struggling business cannot pay its debts.
The park is said to owe more than $100,000, according to lawyer Phil Smith who made the application for liquidation on behalf of the Inland Revenue Department.
An official assignee will be appointed to work with receivers PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
The receivers were appointed two weeks ago after it was revealed that Zion was failing to bring in enough money to be able to continue to operate.
The issue is the latest in a long line for the park. In 2009 a handler was mauled to death by one of the park's big cats.
Access to the wildlife park has already been restricted. Pre-booked guides were still taking place last week but casual visits had been
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5486428/Zion-Wildlife-Gardens-in-liquidation

The bloody products from the house of Unilever

Dear friends of the rainforest,

Unilever has a problem: For many of its products, the company buys palm oil from one of the most ruthless producers in Indonesia, Wilmar International. The world’s largest multinational palm oil company is notorious for illegal logging and severe human rights violations. Now, one of its subsidiaries has once again resorted to violence on the Indonesian island of Sumatra: The Brimob, a special operations force unit, was hired to destroy a whole village and shoot at the indigenous people. The reason: A man had wanted to sell palm oil fruit which the company claims to own.

The methods of its suppliers have been long known to Unilever. We want to remind the company of its responsibility, and we demand the palm oil in its products to be consistently replaced with native fats.

Please sign our letter of protest to Unilever:

www.rainforest-rescue.org/mailalert

One more request: The residents of the affected village are left with nothing, five of them still remain in prison. We collect donations which will be used to pay for the rebuilding of their homes, for legal fees, for the victims’ medical care and to support the protest campaigns in the provincial capital of Jambi, Sumatra.

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/donationalert/81/indonesia-victims-of-palm-oil-need-our-help

Thank you for your support.

Yours sincerely,

Christiane Zander
Rettet den Regenwald e. V.
Hamburg, Germany
+49 40 4103804

info@regenwald.org
http://www.rainforest-rescue.org/
http://www.facebook.com/rainforest2rescue

Manila Zoo keeps endangered species
The City of Manila Monday ordered the turnover of endangered species to the Manila Zoo following their seizure during a raid on Tayuman in Tondo late evening of Wednesday.
The confiscated items which include 21 turtles, 69 talking mynahs and a serpent eagle will be brought to the Manila Zoo for safekeeping after being rescued during a raid, where the species were supposed to be sold at the Aranque market.
Traders who were caught with the alleged illegal commodities during the raid were identified as Luz Estacio, James Perolino and Jake Vargas.
Based on information, the three allegedly sold the talking mynah bird for P2,000 each while the rare serpent eagle was amounting to at least P5,000. The price of the turtle ranges from P30 to P50 pesos depending on the size.
The city government of Manila be informed the public that the trade and export of endangered species of animal is against the law. The species reportedly came from Palawan.
Estacio, Perolino and Vargas were charged with violation Republic Act 9147 at the Manila Prosecutors
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/331617/manila-zoo-keeps-endangered-species

Oklahoma City Zoo doesn't advocate human-ape contact
Oklahoma City Zoo officials warn the public not to have primates as pets. Their hand-feeding of a struggling chimp baby is an exception to their normal, hands-off approach to animals.
Zoo doesn't promote human-ape contact
Oklahoma City Zoo officials have now hand-raised two chimpanzees in the past few years, but they said this week that human-primate contact should always be limited.
Zookeepers have had to raise the chimps because one's mother died during child birth and the other's mother couldn't produce enough healthy milk, zoo veterinarian Dr. Jennifer D'Agostino said.
These are unusual circumstances, D'Agostino said. Zookeepers spent many days holding Siri because that's what chimp mothers do in the wild, D'Agostino said.
“We don't advocate any primates as pets,” she said. “Normally we take a very hands-off approach with their care.”
Ape supervisor Jennifer Davis said both chimps were returned to
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-zoo-doesnt-advocate-human-ape-contact/article/3596781?custom_click=headlines_widget

Monkeying around in Belgian zoos brings girls out on top
A female bonobo has been named "the world's smartest ape" after beating chimpanzees distracted by male rivalry in a contest between two Belgian zoos, whose results took scientists by surprise.
The chimps, generally a more aggressive, male-dominated species than bonobos, were expected to take the title.
But the winner turned out to be a non-dominant female named Djanoa who showed proof of uncommon patience and perseverance, said Jeroen Stevens, a primatologist with the Royal Society of Zoology of Antwerp.
Or, maybe she just liked nuts more than the others, he added.
"Now the real research begins" on personality and social order and .. snack food preference in the monkey world, he said.
The match this summer was organised "above all as a game", said Stevens.
It pit the bonobo team at Planckendael Zoo in Mechelen against the chimp
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/monkeying-around-in-belgian-zoos-brings-girls-out-on-top/461345

Help free 10 orangutans from Malaysia’s Alcatraz prison for Orangutans?
The A’Famosa tourist park is primarily a golf resort situated about 70 miles south of Kuala Lumpur.
The ten or so (we can’t be sure if any babies have been born in the last 12 months) orangutans have been kept in cramped, dark, indoor quarters for over a year.
The government has a long history of protecting the resort from prosecution for handling illegally obtained orangutans.
The A’Famosa resort should never be allowed to keep these orangutans.
We would greatly appreciate your support in the form of signing this petition which will automatically trigger sixteen emails being sent to key government
http://www.change.org/petitions/help-free-10-orangutans-from-malaysias-alcatraz-prison-for-orangutans

New regulations could end all elephant rides
New rules recently adopted by the nation's animal facility oversight agency may mean the end of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's popular elephant encounter attraction.
The new policy, approved Monday, prohibits "free contact" handling of elephants in favor of the so-called "protected-contact" elephant management method, according to information from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) website.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Director Delcianna Winders said her group's members are delighted. Officials of animal rights groups like PETA and In Defense of Animals have long objected to housing elephants at the park.
Winders said the Maryland-based association ruling appears to give Discovery Kingdom two choices: Comply with the ruling or lose its Association of Zoos & Aquariums accreditation. Complying with the ruling would almost certainly mean discontinuing the park's interactive elephant encounter program as it now exists. The elephant encounters include handlers sharing a space with the animals, allowing audience members
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_18745638

The Most Painful Sting in the World
What's the most painful sting in the insect world?
In the jungles of Panama Steve faced his fear and handled a mind blowingly painful stinger–the bullet ant.
A sting from most ants is nothing more than a painful nip, often with a bit of formic acid thrown in. But not the bullet ant. As its name suggests, a sting from one of these is like being shot!
In 1984, a man named Justin Schmidt published a paper in the journal Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. He subjected himself to the stings of 78 different insects which resulted in the Schmidt Pain Index with stings rated from 0 (no effect) to a maximum of 4 (most painful). Here
http://nwf.visibli.com/share/99oRBm

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3rd International Conference On Wildlife Rescue in East and Southeast Asia

2011-08-24T12:20:00.001+01:00

3rd International Conference On Wildlife Rescue in East and Southeast Asia

November 21- 23 2011

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Kaengkrachan National Park, Thailand

After the first meeting of wildlife rescue centers in 2009 on “Wildlife Rescuing in East and Southeast Asia” was held at Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals located in Pingtung, Taiwan a second successful conference was held in Cuc Phuong National park in Vietnam in November 2010. Participants of 18 institutions and rescue centers from 9 East and Southeast Asian countries signed a Communiqué about the establishment of a Wild Animal Rescue Network(WARN) at the first conference while further presentations and networking took place at the second meeting with even more participants. The exchange of experience and knowledge by various parties resulted in better standards at all wildlife rescue centers that have participated.

Thailand is the next country to host the third meeting and the venue will be Petchvarin resort near the Wildlife Friends Foundation’s wildlife rescue center and the Kaengkrachan National Park.

Again the emphasis of this meeting will be on further strengthening our ties, sharing our experience to upgrade our qualities on animal welfare, wildlife conservation and enforcement issues. Besides this we will also discuss the official registration of our network or association.

We would hereby like to invite all organisations in East and South East Asia involved with hands-on wildlife rescue and wildlife protection or enforcement to join this conference.

Participants are kindly asked to fill in the REGISTRATION FORM and submit this to the organizing committee within the 30th of August 2011

*WARN - Wild Animal Rescue Network

A network of wildlife rescue centers and wildlife conservation projects, pursuing and assisting wildlife enforcement and animal welfare in East and South-east Asia.

(South Korea, Japan, Taiwan R.O.C., China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, East Timor)

Please take notice that the conference is supposed to be only open to people and organisations working in the above mentioned countries.

For WARN (Wild Animal Rescue Network)
WARN 2011 conference organising committee

Edwin Wiek
Secretary-general
Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)
http://www.wfft.org/
E-mail: edwin.wiek@wfft.org
Phone: 08-90600906

PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE NO ATTACHMENTS TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SO PLEASE MAKE DIRECT CONTACT WITH WFFT FOR REGISTRATION AND FURTHER INFORMATION

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ABWAK Annual Symposium 2012 - Call for Presentations

2011-08-24T12:04:00.000+01:00

ABWAK Annual Symposium 2012

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Zoo Visitor Hospitalised After Tiger Attack

2011-08-21T08:25:00.000+01:00

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/murrenkuvat/187535507/

The photo above was taken in a Chinese zoo. Follow up the photo link to learn more.

It has happened again! Always, always an accident waiting to happen. Posing for photographs with big cats should be banned wherever it takes place. The West and Australia are not in a position to point a finger of blame when some of their own collections persist in carrying out the same stupid activity. Big cats should be parent reared, of natural colour and in official internationally recognised breeding programmes.

This latest (reported) incident took place in

Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm

Pallas's Kittens Highland Debut

2011-08-20T05:21:00.000+01:00

Photo: The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland

At first glance these gorgeous kittens look like a bit like domestic Persian cats with their rounder, fluffy appearance, but with shorter ears. However, the latest arrivals at the Highland Wildlife Park may look cute and cuddly, but these are three Pallas’s cat kittens from the high altitude regions of central Asia.

The first Pallas’s cat kittens ever born at the Highland Wildlife Park, these bundles of fluff were born to dad Beebop and mum Alula around the 4th June. They are now nine weeks old and are getting brave enough to explore their enclosure.

Pallas’s cats are mainly grey in colour with dark spots on the head and a dark ringed tail. Perfectly suited at blending into their rocky surroundings, Asian Pallas’s cats are found in the high plateaus and mountains of central Asia, from Iran to western China and Mongolia. These beautiful wild cats are adapted to a life at very high altitudes and have thick fur to protect them against the environmental extremes of their habitat.

A small wild cat, the Pallas’s cat is currently classified as near threatened and has a decreasing wild population due to harmful agricultural practices and fur trapping. The European Zoo Association breeding programme for this unusual and highly specialised cat species is managed by staff at the Highland Wildlife Park.

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Zoo News Digest 16th - 19th August 2011 (Zoo News 780)

2011-08-19T09:22:00.002+01:00

Zoo News Digest 16th - 19th August 2011 (Zoo News 780)

http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anantarajourneys/4420915871/

Peter Dickinson

peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Colleague,

Please would someone who has visited Hanoi Zoo in the past twelve months please contact me privately. Thank You.

What do you think of Elephant Polo? Is it cruel? Should it be banned? I reckon it is very much of a personal thing and how animals are treated before, during and after. Of the elephants I have worked with I truly believe that every one of them would have enjoyed playing polo. Yes, I am being anthropomorphic but that is a good thing in a zoo keeper otherwise they would not understand their animals. I have no problems with polo ponies either.

Good luck to 'Happy Feet'. I wish him well in spite of my earlier remarks. That said my opinion has not changed at all.

It's great to have a condemnation of the use of Rhino Horn by Lixin Huang, president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. All we need now is the practioners in Asia to follow suit. I was in Cambodia the other day and was browsing a shop. Okay I have seen it all before but this place was selling Tokay Geckoes and Seahorses pickled together with Ginseng in bottles of liquor. It really says it all. We have a long long way to go.

Then we see in the links below that Thailand, one of the biggest users of elephant ivory in the world is is the host country for the next CITES meeting. They have been told to get their act in order. Will they? I doubt it. They hosted a recent meeting on Tiger Conservation and did a lot of back patting and presentation of awards and yet they let places like:

The Tiger Temple

Sri Racha Tiger Zoo

Million Year Stone Park

and others carry on in their evil way. Along with others like

Tiger Kingdom

continuing to produce tigers.

Just where are all these animals going? Are all the animals microchipped now? That should have been completed years ago. Have the authorities got their eyes glued shut? Something is very very wrong here.

Alligator fat as biodiesel? I thought it was a joke, but no. I wonder what species could be next?

Snapperfest? What is this? A local activity that could well do with stopping. The next Fest is tomorrow.

Thank you for the two donations. Very much appreciated.

Items You May Have Missed

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Malcolm WhiteheadPlease note Malcolm Whiteheads Funeral is Friday 26th August at 11am: St Monica's, 1 Stonard Rd, Palmers Green, London, N13 4 DJ

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Snapperfest - Indiana's shameful call to torture wildlife

Ohio County, Indiana - Get ready Hoosiers! The 13th Annual Snapperfest is planned for this Saturday, August 20 where sociopaths and future serial killers can pluck a wild caught snapping turtle out of a wash tub, grab it by its tail, slam it to the ground, pull it out of its shell, swing it around and then cheer while the "contestant" wraps his fists around the tortured animal's neck!

The egregious violence of this "entertainment" is done while children watch adults kill and torture innocent animals as if it were a Saturday afternoon softball game. Children are exposed to the barbaric behavior, and then adults wonder why children torture kittens and puppies or take their anger and wrath out on other human beings?
Humane acitvists aren't sure who to blame - the local government for encouraging such aberrant behavior, individuals who find this a "manly" sport, or
http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-in-national/snapperfest-indiana-s-shameful-call-to-torture-wildlife

You might not want to watch the video:
http://youtu.be/PdhgX9dspEY

WWF, TCM Practitioners Rebut Rhino Horn And Cancer Cure Link
The 61st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is taking place from August 15-19 this week in Geneva, Switzerland.
Its primary topic for concern is the escalating crisis facing rhinos and elephants due to the increased levels of poaching and the growing illegal ivory and rhino horn trade.
“Elephants and rhinos are at the front of our minds in going to this meeting,” said Dr. Colman O’Criodain, WWF International’s policy analyst on wildlife trade issues.
CITES has identified Vietnam as a major destination for illegal horn products, while China and Thailand have been highlighted as the two biggest ivory consumers in the world.
Thailand, which is also the host country for the next CITES meeting, has been told to put in place controls to curtail its illegal ivory trade.
Rhino horn has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and according to TCM theories, rhino
http://www.asianscientist.com/topnews/wwf-traditional-chinese-medicine-rhino-horn-cancer-cure-cites-meeting/

An Epidemic of Rhino Poaching
As if a rhino’s life wasn’t already hard enough.
A belief in some East Asian countries that medicines made from the endangered beast’s horn can cure cancer is putting growing pressure on fragile Asian and African rhinoceros populations.
Traditionally, rhino horn was used in Chinese medicine to treat fevers, gout, convulsions, rheumatism and other maladies (although, contrary to popular belief, not as an aphrodisiac).
It’s easy to imagine that someone suffering from terminal disease and already predisposed to believe in the efficacy of traditional medicine might be willing to pay any price for a supposed cure. That belief has made China and Vietnam major importers of illegal rhino horns, wildlife officials and conservation organizations say.
With that in mind, Lixin Huang, president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, took advantage of a meeting this week of global wildlife trade officials to issue a statement.
‘‘Some individuals and organizations with little understanding of the essence and modern development of T.C.M. misinterpret and exaggerate the medicinal properties of rhino horns,’’ she said. ‘‘There is no evidence that rhino horn is an effective cure for cancer and this is not documented in T.C.M. nor is it approved by the clinical research in traditional Chinese
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/an-epidemic-of-rhino-poaching/

RHINOCEROS FARMING IN CHINA

BBC drops film-maker over Malaysia impartiality fears
The BBC is investigating how it aired programmes made by a company that allegedly received millions of pounds in payments from Malaysia's government.
The BBC has suspended all programming by UK-based production company FBC, which has made documentaries on controversial issues in Malaysia.
The BBC said it has strict agreements with independent producers "including avoiding any conflict of interest".
FBC has denied any wrongdoing in its programme-making for any broadcaster.
FBC told the UK newspaper The Independent via its lawyers that "at no time have the television programmes made for the BBC ever been influenced or affected by our client's commercial activities".
'Strict agreements'
FBC has made several documentaries for the BBC about Malaysia since 2009, examining controversial
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14556988

WWF: Mekong dolphins close to extinction
Conservation group estimates remaining dolphin population at just 85 as it calls for special protection zones.
The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has called for urgent action to prevent the extinction of freshwater dolphins in the Mekong River, including the creation of special conservation zones.
Entanglement in fishing nets, low calf survival rates and a steady degradation of the creature's habitat are threatening the estimated 85 Irrawaddy dolphins left in Cambodia and Laos, WWF said on Wednesday.
The Irrawaddy dolphins live in a 190 km (118 mile) section of the Mekong between Kratie, Cambodia, and the Khone Falls, which are on the border with Laos.
Fishing gear, especially gill nets, and illegal fishing methods involving explosions, poison and electricity, all appear to be taking a toll.
Surveys conducted from 2007 to 2010, showed
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/08/201181795112603464.html

Now I wonder, just wonder if the dolphins in the new Pattaya Dolphin World are Irawaddy Dolphins?
Those at The Temple of Truth most certainly are or were when I last visited. Captive born? Caught under licence? Whose? I do recollect a story in the Bangkok Post a couple of years back about a truck being stopped and Irawaddy Dolphins on board being confiscated. We never did learn the name of the 'zoo' in Chonburi where they were headed. Was anyone prosecuted? I doubt it. I have also seen reports of dead dolphins being washed up along the coast.

Trunk to trunk in Hua Hin
The King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament celebrates its tenth anniversary next month - be there
The popular coastal resort of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province gets to see plenty of trunk to trunk action next month, as the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament celebrates its tenth anniversary in style from September 4-11.
Tim Boda, general manager of Anantara Resort and Spa, Hua Hin, is happy that the tournament, which made its debut at the Anantara Hua Hin in 2001 but moved to the resort's Chiang Rai property five years ago, is back by the sea. "You can't afford to miss the excitement of the games," he says. "More importantly, this charitable event raises money for the benefit of all Thailand's elephants."
To date, the tournament has raised more than US$300,000 primarily for the National Elephant Institute, which provides medical care, sustenance, employment and mahout training to Thailand's elephant population.
The money has been used to custom build and run an elephant ambulance as well as provide housing at the Centre's elephant hospital allowing it to offer free accommodation as well as medical treatment to any sick elephants in Thailand. The Centre's mobile elephant clinic also now has a mobile veterinary centrifuge.
Proceeds from the 2009 and 2010 tournaments were used to "rescue rent" five street elephants for training in occupational therapy as part of a joint Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, Chiang Mai University project investigating the benefits of using elephants to treat autism.
"Thai people love elephants. When you start talking about elephant polo, interestingly, everyone wants to know more and be part of it," he adds. "So on Saturday
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/17/travel/Trunk-to-trunk-in-Hua-Hin-30162934.html

INDIA - ELEPHANT POLO MATCH CANCELLED
The Born Free Foundation welcomes the news that Carlsberg India Ltd, a subsidiary of the Danish beer makers Carlsberg Group, has withdrawn its sponsorship of an elephant polo match in Jaipur, India. The polo match, due to take place on 21st August has now been reportedly cancelled.
Elephant Polo is opposed by a large number of international and Asian animal welfare organisations including the Born Free Foundation.
Using the same concept and rules as horse polo, elephant polo involves two teams of elephants each with a rider and mahout. The mahout uses the bull-hook, or ankus (consisting of a sharp metal hook), to manoeuvre the elephant, whilst the rider plays the game by hitting the ball towards the goal posts with a wooden mallet. Elephant polo tournaments take place in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand and involve teams of riders from all over the world.
The nature of the polo tournaments requires the elephants to perform behaviour that bears no resemblance to that of elephants in the wild. Animals are trained at a young age and this usually involves methods that compromise their welfare. In addition, control and restraint of such large animals is difficult in captivity and is normally achieved using a combination of negative reinforcement training, including the use of the ankus, and physical restraint such as chaining and shackling. The often harsh training methods and polo ‘game’ itself, is likely to severely impact on the psychological
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/index.php?id=34&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=819&cHash=b7bc876161

ANKUS

Happy Feet heading home at end of month
The emperor penguin who became world famous when he washed up on a Kapiti Coast beach in June will return home at the end of this month.
Wellington Zoo and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research (Niwa) today announced Happy Feet would be shipped out to sea on Niwa's research vessel Tangaroa on August 29.
Happy Feet, who has lived at Wellington Zoo since he was found on Peka Peka beach, would be released in the Southern Ocean four days into the ship's month-long trip to the Campbell Islands, 700km south of New Zealand.
Wellington Zoo's manager of veterinary science Lisa Argilla, assisted by two Niwa staff, would accompany the penguin on the voyage.
Happy Feet would be housed in a travel crate, designed to keep him cold and comfortable during the four days, Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said.
The penguin would be released 53 degrees south "which is within the natural range of juvenile emperor penguins - they are often spotted on Campbell Island which lies at the same latitude''.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10745682

Going ape! Crazed chimp runs amok and throws food at staff after escaping
A chimpanzee who escaped her enclosure went on the rampage stealing food from the zoo's kitchen, stunning staff and visitors.
In a scene which could have come straight from the new film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, female chimp Josie barricaded herself in the kitchen, hurled food at staff and smashed pots at Twycross Zoo in Atherstone, Warwickshire.
It took staff 40 minutes to calm down the 23-year-old chimpanzee before they were able to coax her back into her enclosure.
Despite the beast going on the rampage, staff have insisted the public were never at risk after Josie escaped.
A zoo spokeswoman said: 'Josie decided she wanted an extra snack and managed to get into the back kitchen area within the chimpanzee building,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026515/Crazed-chimp-runs-amok-throws-food-staff-escaping-Twycross-Zoo-Atherstone.html

MY RISE OF PLANET OF THE APES

Chester Zoo unveils new brand identity, website and promotional film
Chester Zoo, recently rated the UK’s top admission-charging leisure attraction, has gone public with a new brand ID created by design agency Music, a new website for its ‘Act for Wildlife’ operation and released a new film created by Chester agency Rapport.
Music has also developed other marketing tools for the Zoo, ranging from site signage to a new TV ad.
The creative theme underpinning the new identity relates to a hand-written typeface which was designed together with illustrator Adam Hayes.
Corporate services director at the Zoo Alasdair McNee said: "We created our own hand written typeface to deliberately move away from a corporate look, to one which more reflects the personality of the zoo.
“We’ve also gone live with ‘The Act for Wildlife’ website with a communications platform which
http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/other-media/chester-zoo-unveils-new-brand-identity,-website-and-promotional-film-20110816100955148

iPads now hip with apes
Orangutans, it turns out, love the iPad and its games just as much as some humans do.
A budding program at the Milwaukee County Zoo is working to place iPads into the giant, gentle palms of its orangutans. Two of the zoo's orangutans already look forward to weekly sessions with an iPad. They even have favorite apps, shows and games, but they haven't yet been given free rein with the Apple device because keepers worry they might get frustrated and simply snap one in half.
"One of the biggest hurdles we face is that an orangutan can snap an iPad like you or I could rip cardboard," said Richard Zimmerman, executive director of Orangutan Outreach, which hopes to extend Milwaukee's iPad enrichment program to
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/iPads+with+apes/5262466/story.html

Amphibian species clings to life
Fewer than 200 mountain yellow-legged frogs are believed to exist. The Station fire destroyed habitat; now 104 have died mysteriously in a zoo's breeding tanks.
One of the nation's most ambitious wildlife reintroduction efforts has suffered a setback with the deaths of 104 mountain yellow-legged frogs that had been rescued from the fire-stripped San Gabriel Mountains in 2009, authorities said Tuesday.
The federally endangered frogs, which recently metamorphosed from the tadpole stage, died in captive breeding tanks over the last several weeks at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
"We have two frogs left. We're trying to determine exactly what happened," said Scott Barton, director of the zoo, which is highly regarded for amphibian husbandry. "We were thrown a curve ball with a
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0817-frog-deaths-20110817,0,7097333.story

Great Ape Weekend

http://youtu.be/FtGYJpCgNKQ

Saving the decreasing Tiger Population
http://blog.tigerfriends.com/blog/tigers-3/saving-the-decreasing-tiger-population

Interesting link above but I have to read between the lines Just What Is The Point Mr Antle?

Zoo's Harvey the chimp dies at age 52
Harvey the chimpanzee, a beloved animal of the Toledo Zoo since the 1970s, died overnight Zoo officials said.
The chimpanzee died in his sleep apparently of natural causes and heart disease played a role in his death, Dr. Chris Hanley, the Zoo’s Chief Veterinarian said.
"Initial necropsy findings indicate that heart disease contributed to his passing," Dr. Hanley said in a news release.
Harvey was estimated to be the third oldest male chimpanzee at any American zoo. According to information from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the median life expectancy for a chimpanzee is approximately 26 years for males and 35 years for females. Only four males in the AZA zoo population have ever lived longer than Harvey.
Except for several years at the Baltimore Zoo, Harvey had been at the Toledo Zoo since the late 1970s. He enjoyed good health throughout his long life, a testament to the excellent care he received at the Zoo. An examination in 2010 revealed an abnormal heart
http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Zoos-Harvey-the-chimp-dies

Zion wildlife Park sentencing cancelled
Sentencing has been cancelled for Zion Wildlife Park for failing to protect keeper Dalu Mncube.
He was killed by a tiger in 2009.
The Whangarei District Court has agreed today to cancel Friday's scheduled sentencing after Park director Patricia Busch applied through her lawyer this week to vacate the guilty pleas she made in June.
The court has given
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10745670

Man smuggling bear paws arrested at Vancouver airport
Wrapped in foil and tucked in a carry-on bag, the bear paws were on their way to Asia, part of a shadowy, international trade in animal parts that flourishes even as governments step up efforts to contain it.
Instead, the paws – three of them, from two different black bears – were spotted early Sunday by security staff at Vancouver International Airport, where a 39-year-old man was detained as he attempted to board a flight to China.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/man-smuggling-bear-paws-arrested-at-vancouver-airport/article2130677/

WILDLIFE ACTIVIST MURDERED
Anna Hazare's supporter and RTI activist shot dead in Bhopal
In a broad day light murder, an RTI activist and a strong supporter of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, Shehla Masood was shot dead around 11.30 am on Tuesday.
Unidentified assailant shot her dead from point blank range while she was leaving in her car to attend a demonstration in support of Anna Hazare.
About 35 years old, Shehla was still sitting in the driver's seat when she was attacked, however, no one heard any gun shot. When the car didn't move for a while, the family members came out only to find that she had collapsed on one side with blood oozing out from her chest.
She was shot in her chest. The murder took place just in front of her house in Koh-e-Fiza locality of Bhopal. However, more details are still awaited as a post- mortem is still on.
The seriousness of the crime could be ascertained from the fact that the director general of police SK Rout and Additional director general Intelligence Rishi Kumar Shukla also inspected the crime scene along with the IG and SSP of Bhopal.
Shehla was an RTI and a wild life activist and had annoyed many people while seeking information and raising issues.
The crime scene suggested that the murder was executed by some professional killer with a firm arm fitted with a silencer. However, the SSP Bhopal
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-16/india/29891770_1_rti-activist-anna-hazare-gun-shot

Chester Zoo raises British spiders for release in wild
HUNDREDS of endangered spiders are being reared at Chester Zoo ahead of their release later this year, as part of a conservation programme aimed at stemming their decline in the UK.
Lead keeper Karen Entwistle is hand-rearing 400 baby fen raft spiders in a purpose-built, bio-secure pod at the zoo.
Ms Entwistle said: “The spiders are all kept in separate test tubes so they do not attack each other and I have to individually hand feed them with fruit flies.
“It’s a very, very time-consuming job for that number of spiders but it’s vital for the future of the species.”
The dedicated keeper spends four hours a day; four days a week, alone with the spiders in the special breeding
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/08/16/chester-zoo-raises-british-spiders-for-release-in-wild-92534-29240403/

Call for more trained staff at Nehru zoo
It seems a lack of trained zoo-keepers and officials is causing lax upkeep of the Nehru Zoological park. “Even two years back, the zoo used to be a lush green space and many visitors came back for a revisit. But many areas have turned dry and some species are not here anymore,” said SK Nannemiya, a visitor.
The zoo, which is spread over 380 acres, houses around 2,100 wild animals and birds. “On an average 9,000 people visit daily. But 56 animal-keepers, 71 gardeners and 16 other officials are not enough to keep the zoo clean and maintain sustainable development of animals,” said MA Waheed, the zoo curator. He added they needed at least 35 more zoo-keepers and 15 gardeners, who have basic understanding of the animals’ food and other habits.
“Some of the zoo-keepers are just class VII pass. There is a need for well-educated and trained zoo beat officers who can help in better all-round maintenance of the zoo and especially animal enclosures,” Waheed said. He added he had appealed to the Central Zoo Authority of India for more staff but there was no positive response. The zoo has recently hired about 20 workers and 25 security personnel.
When asked about reasons of death of 20 wild species over the last year, Waheed said, “There are many reasons behind the death of an animal which could be the weather, food habits, health problem and zoo-keepers not taking proper care of the animals. That is why we need well-trained and sufficient staff,” he observed.
“According to CZAI guidelines, zoo-keepers
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/call-for-more-trained-staff-at-nehru-zoo/175956-60-121.html

At last we have recognition of the importance of ZOOKEEPERS! A call for more keepers and not vets. Mind you too many keepers can be worse than too few.

Oklahoma City Zoo announces elephant plans, awards raise to director
A bull elephant will be brought in from Canada for breeding with the Oklahoma City Zoo's two female Asian elephants.
The Oklahoma City Zoo could have a new elephant as early as late September, officials announced Wednesday at a meeting of the zoo trust.
The zoo received its import permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department on Wednesday, Assistant Zoo Director Alan Varsik said.
A male elephant named Rex will be transported from African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario. He will breed with both adult female elephants in Oklahoma City in the coming years.
“We've got the facility ready to go for a bull,” Varsik said.
The bull will be quarantined for about 30 days before he will be able to interact with the rest of the Asian elephant herd.
Rex weighs about 13,000 pounds — about twice the size of the
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-zoo-announces-elephant-plans-awards-raise-to-director/article/3595410

Cuckoos' 5,000km journey tracked by satellite
Scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology have tracked the migration routes of five British cuckoos, using tiny satellite-tracking tags.
The team caught and tagged the birds in June and fitted them with trackers, which fitted like miniature backpacks.
All five birds have now reached Africa.
Having started their journeys from the same breeding ground in East Anglia, the birds are now distributed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14507798

NASCE PATO MERGULHÃO

http://youtu.be/pkyzz1oNyCY

Speak up for the Arctic Fox
The Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is experiencing global warming at one of the fastest rates on the continent, putting the Arctic fox in danger. To help vulnerable wildlife survive, it's more important than ever to keep them safe from oil and gas drilling, which would mean habitat loss and other stressors for the Arctic
https://online.nwf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1476

Researchers Find That Alligator Fat Could Be a New Source of Biodiesel
Researchers at the University of Louisiana recently discovered that alligator fat might be an alternative source of biodiesel, a clean burning fuel that is primarily produced from soybeans. The problem with soybeans is that they also supply food for both animals and humans, so eliminating the need for them in the production of biodiesel is good news for everyone. On average, the US burns 45 billion gallons of diesel annually, and sourcing just one billion of those gallons from soybeans would consume up to 21% of the American crop. But
http://inhabitat.com/researchers-find-that-alligator-fat-could-be-a-new-source-of-biodiesel/

Chickens out for Highland Wildlife Park's capercaillie
Leaving captive capercaillie chicks to be reared by their mother could aid future efforts to protect the species in the wild, according to a park boss.
Two chicks have hatched at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig.
Usually captive capercaillie are hand-reared or raised by chickens in a controlled way to boost their survival.
Douglas Richardson said leaving the chicks with their mother would make them socially and physically healthier.
There are just 1,228 capercaillie in the wild, according to figures released by RSPB Scotland in April.
The birds numbered 20,000 in 1970 but by the 1990s, when the first formal counts were made, RSPB Scotland said numbers had declined sharply, particularly in Deeside and Perthshire.
Wet springs, affecting breeding
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14575531

DO YOU WANT TO BE A DOLPHIN'S TRAINER?
http://www.wataweb.it/SitoWeb/SitoWeb_ENG/ENG_Corsi_Mammiferi_Marini.html

Sweden halts official wolf hunt
Sweden says it has halted a controversial licensed wolf hunt meant to cull the animals that have been attacking livestock.
The Swedish government said it would consider resuming the hunt in the winter of 2012-2013, while announcing it was removing a previously set ceiling of 210 wolves that can be culled each year for wildlife management purposes.
That would not mean an unlimited number of wolves would be culled in Sweden, a government minister said.
"Of course not. We will reach a favorable conservation status with as few wolves culled as possible," Minister for the Environment
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/08/18/Sweden-halts-official-wolf-hunt/UPI-89281313682654/

SEAZA

19th SEAZA Annual Conference 2011

Monday 12 to Wednesday 14, September 2011

Reintroduced Endangered Species in SEAZA

SEAZA Conference details below:-

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of Thailand's Zoological Park Organization (ZPO) Under H.M. the King, we are proud to announce that the 19th SEAZA Annual Conference 2011 will be held in Pattaya, Thailand from Monday 12 to Wednesday 14, September 2011.

Although the SEAZA board meeting had previously set a tentative dates of August 22-24 for the conference, but Ramadan this year is during the month of August. So after careful consideration and to best encourage participation from members, we have decided to postpone the conference to September 12-14, 2011.

The theme for this years conference will be "Reintroduced Endangered Species in SEAZA". Submissions of oral and poster presentations can be made according to the attached guidelines. Full details of registration, accomodations and detailed schedules will follow shortly. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

We dearly hope that you and your organization will be able to participate this year to improve our zoos and further the goals of SEAZA. See you soon in Pattaya.

Kindest regards,

The Organizing Committee of the 19th SEAZA Annual Conference

SEAZA members visiting Pattaya for the first time might like to check out:

THE PATTAYA BUCKET LIST

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Zoo News Digest 13th - 15th August 2011 (Zoo News 779)

2011-08-15T10:00:00.001+01:00

Zoo News Digest 13th - 15th August 2011 (Zoo News 779)

http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

Peter Dickinson

peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Colleague,

Consider the following statement : "Indonesian rehabilitation centers have been given the time frame of 2015-2017 to release all captive orangutans back into the wild." What do you think? More and more tropical rainforest is being destroyed. It is today, it will be tomorrow and I daresay it will be in 2015. The wild Orangutans which remain are being herded into an ever smaller space, competing for limited resources. Then in 2015 more competitors are going to be added to the all too perplexing equation. You really couldn't make these things up.

Not confined to Asia of course and their cursed palm oil. Now look at the revived plans for Mabira Forest in Uganda. Some people really think no further than their wallets. It both appalls and sickens me and at the same re-emphasises the importance of good zoos. Perhaps the world will come to its senses some day.

Zoo animals have no shame. Their sexual shenanigans are on public display. Few seek seclusion, it is all quite natural after all. I would not suggest that it is something we should imitate, I for one would be too shy. Births too are occasionally on view, people marvel and wonder and take video too. The next step is suckling of young. Completely natural and not a sexual thing at all and should never be a taboo. Nor should it for humans. Those who have a hang up over such a thing really have to look at their own mindset.

The keeper who was bitten by the tapir got off lightly. I recall some very serious incidents over the years. I hope he recovers quickly.

With a bit (a lot) of luck I will re-visit Manila Zoo in the not too distant future (the photograph in todays link about the zoo is terrible). I hope to give my own honest and truthful opinion from the point of view of zoo professional and zoo inspector (though presently off the register due to location).

I would like to think that Craig Busch had by now at least telephoned his mother and made a start at coming to a peaceful reconciliation. However I do note Jill Albrow's statement that "things have gone too far". I don't believe that is true at all. There is always a place to get together and time to heal. Hopefully Craig has by now actually recognised the damage he has done. If his mother is prepared to forgive then he should at least make an effort.

As far as I am concerned there is no mystery surrounding the death of the lion cubs at Karachi Zoological Garden. Just the fact that they knew how many cubs there were gives it all away. A pregant lioness should have been provided with a secure, dark, quiet cubbing den and left undisturbed. If the number of cubs were known then this was clearly not the case. Read Hand Rearing Lion Cubs and Other Carnivores

Thank you for the two donations. The situation continues to be very difficult. More than I care to relate publically. Hopefully things will improve soon.

Items You May Have Missed

RIP Malcolm Whitehead

Pattaya Dolphin World

Animal Keepers' Forum - Dedicated Issue on Ungulate Husbandry

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On with links:

Lion bones off to Asia
South Africa's lions are beginning to fall prey to the lucrative east Asian black market for wildlife products, with the government authorising the export of more than 200 carcasses to Laos.
Responses to DA MP Gareth Morgan's parliamentary questions by Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa show that permits for the export of 156 lion bones were granted in 2009, increasing to 1623 in 2010. North West dominates the trade, having exported 92 carcasses in 2009 and 235 in 2010.
Of these, 256 were exported to Laos, known to be the operating base of Xaysavang Trading Export-Import company, which has been linked, in media reports, to southeast Asian wildlife trafficking syndicate.
Last month The Times reported that two Thai men had been convicted of being in possession of 59 lion bones without a permit.
A week later, Chumlong Lemtongthai, the alleged kingpin of a rhino horn syndicate and director of Xaysavang, was arrested at the same home in Edenvale.
It has since emerged that Lemtongthai allegedly used Thai prostitutes to acquire permits for fake rhino hunts.
He is currently facing charges on 52 counts of contravening environmental and biodiversity laws.
His attempt to make a plea bargain with the state collapsed at the Kempton Park Regional Court on Friday.
Xaysavang has also been involved in shipping lion bones - which are used as a substitute for tiger bones, believed to have medicinal properties - to southeast Asia.
Yolan Friedmann, CEO of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said that the market for lion bones was becoming bigger because tiger populations in southeast Asia are severely depleted and because of the recent recession.
"There's not a good enough market to come and shoot lions [in legal hunts], so game farmers are offering bones for sale," she said.
Friedmann said that provincial environment departments, which are responsible for issuing permits in relation to threatened and endangered species such as lion and rhino, were often under-staffed, corrupt and inefficient.
"By quietly supporting this ... the government is stimulating a grossly unethical trade in animal parts," she said.
Albi Modise, spokesman for the national Department of Environmental Affairs, yesterday referred questions about the issuing of permits to provincial departments.
Asked if any national investigation into the issuing of permits at a p
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2011/08/15/lion-bones-off-to-asia

See more of this in 'Lion-bone wine latest threat to survival of Africa's big cats' a link in Zoo News Digest 3rd - 10th July 2010 (Zoo News 677)

Canned Hunting

Britain urges Asia to act over surging trade in rhinoceros horn

Belief it can cure cancer has led to a huge rise in poaching of endangered animals
Britain is to ask China, Vietnam and other Asian countries to tell their citizens that rhino horn has no medicinal value, in an attempt to halt a wave of rhino poaching that may drive the endangered animals to extinction.

Although long known as a powdered ingredient in traditional Asian medicine, a recent belief in its power to cure cancer has seen prices for rhino horn surge to £50,000 a kilogram – more than the price of gold or cocaine.
The sky-high price has sparked a spate of museum burglaries in Britain and Europe, with mounted rhino trophy heads being targeted for the value of the horn. More significantly, it has directly produced a substantial surge in rhino poaching in southern Africa.
Between 2000 and 2007, South Africa saw about 12 rhinos poached each year, but by 2010 it had reached 333. This year, more than 200 have already been killed and conservationists are increasingly alarmed about the future of the species, with most of its populations already classified as critically endangered.

Now Britain is putting forward a request on behalf of the European Union for Asian nations to mount "appropriately targeted" awareness-raising campaigns for their citizens, highlighting the lack of evidence in support of the horn's alleged medicinal properties. British officials will speak at a week-long meeting, beginning in Geneva today, of the committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
"The demand for rhino horn in traditional Asian medicine is driving a new wave of poaching and the decline of rhino populations," Richard Benyon, the UK Wildlife minister, said. "The price is now very high. But rhino horn is basically keratin, which is the same stuff as our hair and fingernails, and it has no healing properties.
"The world community cannot sit back and just watch these species disappear, and we want to help debunk the myth of rhino horn's healing powers."
Mr Benyon denied the request would be seen as interfering in the internal affairs of countries such as China and Vietnam. "I don't think it is preachy – it's just asking these counties to recognise that there
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/britain-urges-asia-to-act-over-surging-trade-in-rhinoceros-horn-2337789.html

READ RHINOCEROS FARMING IN CHINA

ZOOS NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR RHINOCEROS ARE SAFE AND SECURE 24 HOURS A DAY

Zoo worker bitten by Tapir
Contract worker Venkatesh, who was bitten by Tapir in City Zoo yesterday, being treated at the hospital.
A contract worker of the City Zoo was admitted to Shantaveri Gopalagowda hospital after being bitten by a Tapir yesterday.
Contract worker Venkatesh, 36, was cutting grass in the Tapir enclosure, when the animal which suddenly advanced towards him from behind, bit him on his chest and thighs, following which he was rushed to the hospital where he was administered anti-rabies vaccine.
Zoo Deputy Director Vijaykumar, who spoke to Star of Mysore, said Venkatesh is out of danger. His injuries are of minor nature for which he has been appropriately treated.
Venkatesh was a replacement to Tapir caretaker Srinivas who was on leave, he explained.
It may be recalled here that another Zoo worker Shiva-shankar had to lose one of his fingers recently after being bitten by a snake when he attempted to save tiger cubs fr
http://www.starofmysore.com/searchinfo.asp?search1=29333&search2=newsheadlines

Food Festival Serves Whale Meat in Iceland
Tens of thousands descended on Dalvik, a small fishing town of about 1,500 people in northern Iceland, last weekend for a two-day festival of free food. It was all courtesy of the community’s four seafood processors.
Ulfar Eysteinsson, who is the head chef overseeing preparations in Dalvik, is credited with coining the name, fiskidagur mikli, the Great Fish Day, when it began 11 years ago.
“We are cooking for about 30,000-plus. The last three years we’ve had up to 40,000,” he said.
At quarter past eight, pairs of candles began appearing in the front of Dalvik homes, to signal that the soup was ready – a thick, aromatic fish stew made with cream and seasoned with curry. Visitors paraded through homes and gardens where the soup was served.
Valdis Gudbrandsdottir welcomed people enthusiastically into her home.
“This is so fun, this is so giving,” she said. “We are giving other people food and they are happy and we are happy. We have been doing this maybe 10 years
http://www.theworld.org/2011/08/food-festival-serves-whale-meat-in-iceland/

Philippines: Uproar over Sorry State of Manila Zoo (VERY DISTURNING PHOTO!!!)
The sorry state of Manila Zoo caused a stir among Filipino netizens after photos were posted online, resulting in the rise of the keywords “Manila Zoo” as a popular trending topic on Twitter last month.
It all began last July 12 when Nix de Pano posted circa 2008-2010 photos of sickly animals and poorly kept pens of Manila Zoo in her Livejournal blog. The next day, de Pano’s friend Karen Ang reposted some of the pictures in The Pro-Pinoy Project site:
Soon enough, the issue spread worldwide on Twitter. The keywords “Manila Zoo” became a popular trending topic while the photo post gained over a thousand retweets and reposts. It also caught the attention of some celebrities and mainstream media.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has also initiated an online petition calling on Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim to stop plans to
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/08/14/philippines-uproar-over-sorry-state-of-manila-zoo/

In Vitro Fertilization May Help Older Cheetahs Reproduce
Good news for the dwindling cheetah population; despite aging, the eggs of cheetahs older than 8 years appear to remain in good condition, scientists have found.
"Those of us who work with cheetahs have anecdotally noted that it's hard to reproduce older cheetahs, but this is the first time anyone has documented how aging affects the physiology of reproduction in this species," said Adrienne Crosier, study author and cheetah biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Va.
The researchers analyzed hormones, eggs and the uteri of 34 cheetahs at eight institutions, finding that cheetahs over age 8 develop abnormal cell growth, infections and cysts in their uterine tracts. These complications
http://www.livescience.com/15556-older-cheetahs-reproduction-eggs.html

As age takes its toll, zoo animals need some of the same extra care required by human seniors
The 13 oldest animals at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, with current ages and possible life expectancy. The median life expectancy of many animals hasn’t been determined; estimates can vary depending on gender.
• Bubba, an Aldabra tortoise, 64 (up to 100)
• Colo, a gorilla, above, 55 (30 to 35)
• Pongi, a gorilla, 48 (30 to 35)
• Mumbah, a gorilla, 46 (30 to 35)
• Sonny
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/14/jungle-geriatrics.html

The Manifesto for Zoos
http://www.johnreganassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the_manifesto_for_zoos.pdf

Are police trying to bury the deer case?
Even though case of secret burial of a deer and emu that rocked the historic Maharajbagh Zoo completes one year on August 13, the Sitabuldi police are yet to file a formal chargesheet in the matter.
The People For Animals (PFA) had exposed the case on the night of August 13, 2010, when a deer and an exotic bird emu were buried by then zoo officer-incharge and now zoo veterinarian Dr AB Motghare and suspended associate dean Vandan Mohod.
Both are facing charges of violating Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, Recognition of Zoo Rules and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 for burying the animals without conducting a post-mortem. The duo has also been charged with negligence that led to death of two deer while relocating them to Navegaon National Park that day. No transit pass (TP), which is mandatory to shift the animals, was obtained from the forest department by the zoo officials.
Under the WPA 1972, illegal transport of Scheduled animals invites a punishment up to three years or a penalty of Rs 25,000 or both. Deer are listed under the Schedule III of the WPA. The Sitabuldi police had registered an FIR on August 14, 2010, against the
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Are-police-trying-to-bury-the-deer-case/articleshow/9604239.cms

Zlín zoo second in Europe to breed Maguari stork
The Zlin zoo has become the second in Europe, after Berlin, to successfully breed a young Maguari stork, Pavel Shromazdil, from the zoo, told CTK Friday.
The young bird hatched on May 21 in an incubator where the breeders transferred the egg after the parent storks destroyed their nest and left it for unknown reasons.
The young stork is healthy and agile, Shromazdil said.
"The stork mother laid three eggs. They were the first eggs a Maguari stork ever laid in our zoo's history. The parents sat on the eggs assiduously, but after a fortnight they destroyed the nest," Shromazdil said.
Of the three eggs, only one was preserved.
The young bird, a male, that hatched from it in the incubator could not be returned to its parents who had done away with nesting meanwhile and
http://praguemonitor.com/2011/08/15/zl%C3%ADn-zoo-second-europe-breed-maguari-stork

Release of bison into Alaska wilderness put on hold again
The re-introduction of wood bison in Alaska has been delayed for at least another year, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is paying for it.
The federal agency recently forked over $200,000 to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to maintain a captive herd of more than 100 wood bison for another year at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Girdwood south of Anchorage.
The hope is it will give federal and state agencies enough time to negotiate a special rule that will make the animals exempt from the Endangered Species Act when they are finally set loose in Alaska. The state has been holding the bison at the AWCC for more than three years as part of a plan to restore the shaggy beasts to the Alaska landscape. The Department of Fish and Game imported 53 bison from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada, in June 2007 to complement a herd of 33 wood bison that were already being held at the AWCC.
The herd size has since grown to 103 with the addition of calves the past four years.
The Fish and Wildlife Service gave the state $200,000 to maintain the herd for another year “because we support the reintroduction and believe that
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/15090989-Release-of-bison-into-Alaska-wilderness-put-on-hold-again-

Mabira: Activists dare government
Conservationists yesterday vowed to take President Museveni head-on over his renewed plan to push through a proposal to give away part of Mabira Forest for sugar cane growing. Addressing district leaders and agriculturalists at Entebbe State House on Saturday, President Museveni said failure to give away the forest in 2007, is partly to blame for the current sugar crisis in the country.
However, in what might lead to a repeat of the 2007 protests against the proposed give-away in which three people were killed, activists and politicians have condemned the President’s latest move and vowed to fight
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1219008/-/bkentiz/-/

Six Talking Apes
In the new movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the leader of the ape revolution can talk. In the real world, apes can’t speak; they have thinner tongues and a higher larynx, or vocal box, than people, making it hard for them to pronounce vowel sounds. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have the capacity for language—sign language, after all, doesn’t require any vocalization.
Over the years, researchers have succeeded—and failed—in teaching apes to use language. Here’s a look at some of the more famous “talking” apes.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/08/six-talking-apes/

The one Ape the article forgot - Mr Moke the Talking Chimpanzee

Summer School for the National Zoo's Lion Cubs

http://youtu.be/5JCFd-2pstc

OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop Brings Together Those Working to Save the Orangutan
The 2011 Orangutan Conservancy/Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OC/OVAG) Workshop convened this year in the south central region of the island of Java. A sense of urgency was in the air as Indonesian rehabilitation centers have been given the time frame of 2015-2017 to release all captive orangutans back into the wild.
Whether this ambitious governmental mandate is feasible or practical remains to be seen, but the business at hand for the nearly 40 delegates in attendance at the workshop was how to best care for the orangutans in their facilities, while preparing those that can be released for what lies ahead in their wild future.
At this third annual event, information, strategies and research statistics were shared and compared. An international array of professionals including veterinarians, vet school instructors, healthcare workers, researchers, a parasitologist and a nutrition expert tackled an impressive number of subjects during the 5-day symposium. And that is the exact reason for this and previous workshops that OC has organized: bring together those doing the good
http://www.orangutan.com/ocovag-veterinary-workshop-brings-together-those-working-to-save-the-orangutan/

Three lion cubs found dead at zoo, one still missing
Three of the four cubs born to a pair of lions just five days back at the zoo were found dead inside their cage while the fourth one went missing in mysterious circumstances on Friday morning.
The news came as a rude shock to animal lovers who were delighted by their birth — the first lion cubs to be born at the zoological gardens in 30 years — on Sunday.
The bodies of only three cubs, one of them reportedly soaked, could be recovered from the cage where they were said to be living with their mother. The fourth one was eaten up by the lioness, according to zoo officials.
They, however, couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation about what led to the deaths of the other three. While the bodies were shifted to the zoo clinic, no post-mortem examination was carried out till late afternoon.
The pair of lions, Sarah and Alfred, ‘imported’ along with another pair of the same species, was seized by the customs authorities at the
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/13/three-lion-cubs-found-dead-at-zoo-one-still-missing.html

‘Lion cubs died due to neglect’
Although District Officer (DO) Karachi Zoological Garden Mansoor Qazi has been suspended following the death of four lion cubs at the zoo, there remain many questions unanswered on the part of the zoo administration.
Minister for Local Bodies Agha Siraj Durrani suspended DO Zoo Mansoor Qazi on Saturday and constituted a committee to probe the matter under the supervision of Special Secretary Local Bodies Shazia Rizvi and submit a report in seven days. It is the second such committee that has been formed to probe the death of four cubs.
On Friday, Administrator Karachi Fazlur Rehman had appointed Executive District Officer (EDO) Revenue Ghanor Leghari as inquiry officer to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report in 15 days.
Four cubs were born to a pair of African origin lions on August 7 and three of them were found dead in mysterious circumstances on August 12, while the cause of the disappearance of the fourth one was not known.
A press release issued by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) on Friday claimed that these cubs were kept under full care and treatment. However, three of them expired and one of them was eaten up by the lioness due to its cannibalism nature.
Sources in the CDGK, however, told this scribe that these cubs died due to extreme negligence on the part of the zoo administration. It was learnt that they were kept under open sky and the last rainfall in the metropolis caused their death. They had been soaking in rainwater but the zoo administration did not take any step for their safety, as the sources said that these cubs apparently died due to pneumonia.
According to the sources, the zoo administration should have the knowledge that the lioness might
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=62734&Cat=4&dt=8/14/2011

The case of the missing lion cub
The post-mortem report of the three lion cubs who died mysteriously within four days of their arrival at the Karachi Zoological Garden is expected within a week. The fate of the fourth cub, whose disappearance led to the discovery of the three deaths, is anyone’s guess.
Meanwhile, the zoo’s district officer, Mansoor Qazi, has been suspended for negligence towards the lions and Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani appointed Special Secretary Shazia Rizvi to head an inquiry into the matter.
The bodies have been put on ice, with a special generator in place in case of load-shedding. Their organs are to go to the Dow University of Health Sciences. The investigation team began its probe under the supervision of Revenue EDO Ghanwar Leghari on Saturday evening.
“The conditions that the babies were kept in were not at all hygienic and a team of experts are looking into it,” Leghari told The Express Tribune. “Everything will be clear after the post-mortem.”
The zoo is trying to pass the missing cub and the deaths of its siblings off on some form of ‘survival of the fittest’, claiming that the cubs’ mother, Sara, had tried to eat them. “The fourth missing cub is something we have to look into after the autopsy as our experts claim that the mother is captive and would not eat its own breed.”
Sindh Chief Chemical Examiner Dr Fazal Elahi Memon and the wildlife and animal husbandry team is examining the bodies.
On the other hand, the lions’ owner, Irfan Ahmed, expressed his reservations about the investigation to The Express Tribune. “The zoo has no proper preservation mechanism and by the time the post-mortem is conducted, all evidence
http://tribune.com.pk/story/231372/the-case-of-the-missing-lion-cub/

HC seeks report on zoo agitation
A sitting judge of the Calcutta high court has taken note of the mess caused by a prolonged trade union agitation at Alipore zoo and written to Chief Justice J N Patel, requesting him to take judicial notice of the issue. The Chief Justice has treated the letter as a PIL. The high court has asked the state zoological authority and forest department to file a report.
Since the agitation started on May 27, administrative and maintenance routines have been disrupted, animals have often gone hungry, and the zoo's renovation has almost come to a standstill. TOI highlighted the sorry state of affairs at the city's tourist hot spot in a series of articles from August 3 to 7. The high court judge
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/HC-seeks-report-on-zoo-agitation/articleshow/9584516.cms

Are crawfish really lobster?
The New York media is all aflame over a shocking discovery at local institution Zabar’s. Zabar’s, an Upper West Side gourmet grocery store is justly famed for its amazing coffee, cheese, and baked goods (the chocolate babka is especially glorious). But for the last 15 years, the lobster salad has been made with freshwater crawfish – it contained no actual lobster at all.
In the New York Times story on the scandalous news, Saul Zabar, the 83-year-old president and co-owner of Zabar’s, defended this unusual labeling scheme:
http://deepseanews.com/2011/08/are-crawfish-really-lobster/

Is China opening the door to the tiger and leopard skin trade?
Beijing refuses to respond to conservationists' concerns about possible re-opening of trade in tiger and leopard skins
Has China quietly reopened the trade in tiger pelts? The question was posed very publicly on Thursday by the Environmental Investigation Agency, which fears that Beijing may be backtracking on an international pledge to save this critically endangered animal.
In a press release, the conservation group accused the Chinese government of opening up a loophole in the tiger trade ban by allowing commercial breeding centres to register and sell skins.
This is a contentious claim on a crucial subject. China won international kudos for prohibiting the trade in 1993, but it remains the main source of demand for illegal tiger products and is under pressure from commercial breeders to relax controls.
The government has repeatedly re-iterated its commitment to protect the animal and curb illegal sales, most recently at last year's Tiger Summit in St Petersberg.
But it has been far from forthcoming about its efforts to enforce the ban, verify the legality of tiger products and deal with the huge stockpiles of bones and hides that are accumulating in the country's massive tiger farms.
Along with the lack of transparency is a problem of trust and either an unwillingness or an inability to communicate with the outside world, as I learned today when I tried to get the government's response to the Environmental Investigation Agency's
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/aug/12/china-tiger-leopard-skin-trade

F***!

Elephant calf sacrificed for President’s ‘Prana Pooja’
An elephant calf has died in Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on the 9th. The calf had been born on 16th January to the she elephant called ‘Lasanda.’ However, this elephant mother had been separated from its calf on a request by the President and was offered to Vishnu Temple at Devinuwara.
The calf, saddened by the separation from its mother, had refused to consume milk given to it instead of its mother’s milk. As a result the calf developed diarrhea
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.php/news/local-news/9640-elephant-calf-sacrificed-for-presidents-prana-pooja

Hope for tragopan brood
The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling has decided to start the captive breeding of satyr and Temminck tragopans.
The zoo has received two female satyr tragopans, three female and one male temmincks about a week back from London.
Although the Paradise Wildlife Park in London had sent 10 tragopans, for birds — two male satyrs and two male temmincks — died during transit at the Singapore airport.
“The birds were kept in the sun and died from the heat. We have, however, requested the World Pheasant Association to send at least one more male satyr tragopan from the Paradise Wildlife Park in London,” said A.K. Jha, the director of the zoo.
The transfer of the pheasants was facilitated by the association. Until and unless a male reaches the Darjeeling zoo, the breeding of satyr cannot
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110813/jsp/northeast/story_14372949.jsp

Lion Man looks to move feline stars elsewhere
LION Man Craig Busch is proposing to take all big cats at Zion Wildlife Gardens to another location if he does not regain control of the park.
A day after receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers gained entry into the park, Mr Busch said he was keen to resolve the financial and operational problems at Zion to save the animals.
He said he had put forward three proposals to the receivers but his mother and park operator Patricia Busch said the receivers told her on Thursday they had not heard from him.
A spokeswoman for Mr Busch, Jill Albrow, said the Lion Man had made a negotiable unconditional cash offer to the receivers.
"If they do not wish to sell to Craig, he has put a proposal to take all 37 cats to another location," Ms Albrow said.
"Craig has also offered to lease the park from the receivers immediately, to be at the park and pay for the care and welfare of the cats while these issues can be settled."
Ms Albrow said the receivers did not dispute that they had no legal right to possession of the cats.
Mr Busch understood the receivers had a legal duty to perform
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/lion-man-looks-to-move-feline-stars-elsewhere/3962965/

Lion Man's Zion bid

Lion Man Craig Busch wants to open talks with receivers to regain control of the big cats at Zion Wildlife Gardens.

Receivers Pricewaterhouse-Coopers were allowed into the Whangarei park this week after being kept at bay by Craig's mother Patricia, who has had control after an acrimonious split with her son.
A spokeswoman for Craig Busch, Jill Albrow, said his lawyer Noel King, of Auckland, had contacted the receivers with three proposals, including a negotiable unconditional cash offer for the park.
"If they do not wish to sell to Craig, he has put a proposal to take all 37 cats to another location," Albrow said.
"Craig has also offered to lease the park from the receivers immediately, to be at the park and pay for the care and welfare of the cats while these issues can be settled."
The receivers have refused to discuss
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10745009

Ownership key in fate of big cats
The big cats at the financially stricken Zion Wildlife Park will most likely be sold by the receivers if they secure their ownership through the High Court, a specialist Whangarei liquidator says.
The park, understood to be in the red by $2 million, went into receivership two weeks ago but operator Patricia Busch has been allowed by the High Court to look after the animals.
Whangarei liquidator Steve Bennett, however, doubted a local market existed for the animals whose unknown health could also pose problems during the sale process.
He said a major obstacle would be to identify the owners of the big cats.
Former Lion Man and park operator Craig Busch claim the cats belong to him and has a court injunction that says the animals cannot be disposed off without a judge's consent.
But his mother, Patricia Busch, said the court had yet to decide on their ownership.
Mr Bennett said once the receivers proved ownership of the animals, they would then have to apply to the High Court for the injunction to be lifted before potential buyers were approached.
"They'll [the big cats] probably be sold but it's not something for which you bring a stock agent and say 'I've got five tigers for sale' so that will pose some problems," Mr Bennett said.
"The receivers may sell off land, building and the business as one package or may also include the animals but it's quite difficult."
Mr Bennett said if he was the receiver, he would approach someone who had the licence to sell wildlife animals and recoup some money.
As for Mr Busch's desire to buy back the park, Mr Bennett said the only trap was if there was a restrictive clause in the origin
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/ownership-key-in-fate-of-big-cats/3962966/

Environmental Enrichment for Captive Tigers (Panthera Tigris)
Royal bengel tiger is the National animal of India having a conservation status (schedule I animal under wildlife protection act of india, 1973 and endengered under IUCN). The wild population is declining day by day and the current existing population in the wild in india is only 1114. Zoos play a role in consevation by promoting programmes like captive briding. But for a successful conservation programme behavioural diversity of endangered genetic diversity in captivity should also be conserved which will helpful for reiintroduction in to there natural wild habitat.
http://scienceray.com/biology/environmental-enrichment-for-captive-tigers-panthera-tigris/#ixzz1UpJGHj6u

Zoo food quiz
Can you match the zoo animals with the food they eat?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/zoo-food-quiz/2011/07/29/gIQA9j7uuI_story.html

Breastfeeding at the zoo: Taboo?
A woman says she was breastfeeding at the Houston Zoo when she was told to feed her baby in private, but moms who breastfeed in public are protected by state law.
The zoo is now apologizing for one of its employees who may have acted out of her own passion.
It's a sensitive topic, and everyone has an opinion.
"If you got to do it, you got to do it. I mean, just keep it covered," mother Jessica Millirons said.
"You can't be offended. That's natural. That's part of the world," father Dennis Garner said.
But one out-of-town mother who was visiting the Houston Zoo on Friday says she was offended by a zoo employee.
"One of the ladies that works there came up and said that they didn't like moms to do that in public," Michelle Page explained.
Page says she was embarrassed when the zoo employee asked her to move her breastfeeding session into
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8305337

Please follow proper zoo etiquette
Did you know that over 135 million people visit zoos in the United States and Canada?
When you think about it, that's a lot of people for the staff of each zoo, including the Magnetic Hill Zoo, to look after and assure they are adhering to the "rules" of the zoo.
Now, you're probably wondering, "Zoos have rules?"
The answer is yes, they do.
It's not as if these rules have been written down in a book that sits in the main entrance building and every zoo patron is required to read through it and follow each one, but there are a considerable number of unwritten rules in every zoo that are in place to help protect both visitors and the animals.
First, tapping on the glass of an animal exhibit at zoos and aquariums has become a major problem. Those who enjoy visiting the zoo should know that the animals that reside there are there to show us their natural instincts. That means that if an animal is sleeping when you get around to their exhibit, it's because that's what it would be doing in its natural habitat. Tapping on the glass, or rattling the fence to wake up a sleeping animal will probably only frustrate them. Think of it this way, if you were fast asleep, comfortable in you bed, and someone started tapping on your
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/lifetimes/article/1431428

Zoo mortalities common, often hushed up
It is not only the four lion cubs that fell victim to the utter negligence of the zoo staff in recent times, mortalities especially of newborns are common at the zoo and are often hushed up, inquiries by Dawn reveal.
Sources said four newborns of a fallow deer and a male baboon had also died in captivity over a month ago.
Though no official account was available on these deaths, the source said the death of newborns due to navel infections was a common occurrence at the zoo while animals were vulnerable to eating plastic bags and wrappers thrown into their cages by visitors.
Earlier this year, a complete herd of mouflons (two male and four female), a male fallow deer, a male ostrich and a female crocodile also reportedly died at the zoo. The herd of mouflons, reportedly sick, vanished in 11 days.
Zoo officials, as usual, didn’t respond to repeated calls made to inquire about the deaths.After the loss of these animals, the number of ostriches and crocodiles fell to three (two females and a male) and 18 (kept in the same enclosure), respectively.
There are, however, more than 30 fallow deer in the zoo.
According to zoo sources, ostriches have been at the zoo for over six years. And though the birds have been laying eggs, no one has ever seen a chick around. The zoo also never witnessed a growing big cats’ cub for at least three decades despite the fact that it once had a good collection of big cats that included a pair of lions, pumas and tigers and leopards.
The zoo lost them one by one, and right now it is left with only three male lions and Bengal tiger and leopard. On Friday, three lion cubs, barely five days old, born to a pair of lions whose custody is currently being contested in court, were found dead at
the zoo on Friday. One cub, according to zoo officials, was eaten up by its mother.
Non-friendly conditions for animals at the zoo and frequent mortalities point to the fact that the facility for captive animals lacks competent, trained staff as well as adequate funds required for animal upkeep, said experts.
‘Good management is key’
Giving specific information in the context of recent lion cubs’ death, Dr Masood-ul-Haq, who served as the director of the Bahawalpur zoo for over two decades and now works as a consultant for a number of parks
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/14/zoo-mortalities-common-often-hushed-up.html

Releasing Captive Cetaceans Back Into The Wild: A Potential Death Sentence!
In 1991, the UK-based Animal Rights group Born Free Foundation, and it’s two group partners, the Switzerland-based Bellerive Foundation , and the US-based World Society for Animal Protection, began running a “return-to-the-wild” campaign called “Into the Blue”. This campaign focused on rehabilitating long-term captive dolphins for release into the wild. The campaign involved the use of three bottlenose dolphins from British aquariums. One dolphin named Rocky, was collected from the Florida panhandle in 1971. The other dolphin named Missie, was collected off the coast of Texas in 1969. And the last dolphin, named Silver, was collected off the coast of Taiwan in 1978. The three animals were moved to a sea-pen in the Turks and Caicos in February and March of 1991. There, their “rehabilitation” began. Over a six month period, the animals were simply “taught” how to eat live fish. On September 10th, 1991, all three dolphins were released after being freeze-branded. Although the three animals were seen the day after their release, Missie and Rocky would never again be seen project staff members. Since then, all sightings have been made by fishermen and tourists who were unfamiliar with the dolphins.
About less than two weeks after being released, Pacific bottlenose dolphin Silver, was sighted by project staff members. However, when he was sighted, he had already lost some weight and had a series of health problems, including an infection on his rostrum. Silver was also given both sixty pounds of food, and antibiotics by the project staff in the wild. At the same time, he had also began to associate with a “wild-friendly” dolphin named Jojo. Still, Silver was only seen from September 16th, to September 29th of 1991 and has not been sighted since then. Meanwhile, a photographic competition to produce photographic evidence of the animals continuing to survive. Therefore, the fate of the three UK aquarium dolphins Rocky, Missie and Silver remain unknown.
The release of Free Willy star Keiko is well documented. In the late 1990′s three marine animal rights groups lobbied and attempted to release Keiko back into the wild. This release project coast $20 million in tax-free donations and produced several TV documentaries. Although it’s been documented that Keiko swam all the way from Iceland to Norway, the scientific reports made by both Greenland and US officials concluded that the release of Keiko was NOT successful. About only a few weeks after being on his own, Keiko began to
http://thewinterdolphinchronicles.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/releasing-captive-cetaceans-back-into-the-wild-a-potential-death-sentence/

SEAZA

19th SEAZA Annual Conference 2011

Monday 12 to Wednesday 14, September 2011

Reintroduced Endangered Species in SEAZA

SEAZA Conference details below:-

Dear Colleagues,

We dearly hope that you and your organization will be able to participate this year to improve our zoos and further the goals of SEAZA. See you soon in Pattaya.

Kindest regards,

The Organizing Committee of the 19th SEAZA Annual Conference

SEAZA members visiting Pattaya for the first time might like to check out:

THE PATTAYA BUCKET LIST

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RIP Malcolm Whitehead

2011-08-14T07:54:00.001+01:00

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterdickinson/5643520331/in/photostream

RIP Malcolm Whitehead

I was deeply saddened to learn today of the passing of my friend and colleague Malcolm Whitehead. It is only a couple of months ago I caught up with him in London where he treated me to a meal in an Indian restaurant before touring a few London museums together (which is where I took the photo above). I first met Malcolm at Twycross Zoo back in, I think, 1982 though I was aware of his work before then.

Malcolm had always been a supporter of Zoo News Digest and I am sorry to lose that. Even more I will miss his emails. Often these were cryptic and left me puzzling till the humour dawned. Malcolm and I shared an interest in things other than zoos so I will miss too his pointing me towards the unmissable.

When someone younger than me passes away....and I have lost many friends already I become so much more aware of my own temporary status.

The zoo world owes a lot to Malcolm, more than most will realise. His passing is a sad loss to us all.

My condolences to his friends, colleagues and family.

Peter Dickinson

Below is the announcement by Stephen P Woollard from whom I learned of this sad loss to the zoo world.

It is with the utmost sadness and real personal loss, that I regret to let you all know that one of the greatest brains and best innovators in zoo education, Malcolm Whitehead, died in London yesterday, Friday August 12th at the age of 56.

Malcolm gave me my first job in Zoo Education at Twycross Zoo in 1987 and remained a friend, supporter and encourager and someone who was always clever, funny and an inspiration, and a huge personality too. I will miss him loads.

For those of you newer to zoo education and those that never knew Malcolm, you have sadly missed the opportunity to share with a great clever mind, capable of bringing humour to any situation but also thinking 'outside the box' and creating innovative solutions whilst being inspiring, engaging and challenging. There is no denying Malcolm had his problems too, and he was well aware of them, but he would not have been the man he was if that part of him had been taken away.

Malcolm obtained his BSc in Zoology from Royal Holloway College and was also involved in work in Africa and elsewhere and moved into zoo education in 1980. He wrote many articles, was heavily involved in the International Zoo Educators Association, and served as Journal Editor on two editions in 1986 and 1988.

He was
Head of Education at Twycross Zoo 1980-1993

Training Manager, International Centre for Conservation Education 1993-1996

Curator/Director, Ardastra Gardens, Bahamas 1996-1998

Head of Learning, and Coordinator Wetland Link International, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (based at The Wetland Centre in London) 1999-2008

Head of Discovery and Learning, Zoological Society of London, 2008-2010

Member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (his last article encouraging zoo educators and CEC members to join forces was published in April this year: http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/cec/?7358/Zoos-and-CEC )

As a flavour of Malcolm's great and humorous writing style I quote an article he wrote back in 1989 in IZN (no. 217) on a week in the life of the education dept at Twycross Zoo - its still good to read today and demonstrates some of what Malcolm enabled and inspired a team of people to achieve on a weekly basis:

"There are no typical days in this department. There are no typical people. We are a disparate bunch of characters who all dance to different drumbeats. Communication of conservation ethics unites us in zealous fervour... There are fewer pandas in China than calories in the ZIP (Zoo Interpretation Programme) Squad's Monday morning breakfast. Serious egg and sausage sandwiches from the local truckers caravan are earnestly consumed as we plan the working week... [In teaching] we may employ artistic, observational, questioning or acrobatic techniques. We may use specimens, live animals, environmental games, audio-visual equipment or, most important, the zoo itself. Sometimes we lead; often we follow. If it works, we'll use it.... "

My thoughts are with his wife, and with all of you that knew and loved this talented man.

Our mission must be to fill the void he leaves and engage with all we can in all ways at our disposal to further the goal of conservation and the crucial part education plays in it.

with sadness and fond memories,

Stephen

p.s. Please pass this sad news to any others that should hear it.

Stephen P Woollard
Education and Interpretation Manager
Animals, Conservation and Education Department
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland

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Please find below the announcement from Stephen P Woollard from I heard this sad news

Pattaya Dolphin World

2011-08-13T18:49:00.001+01:00

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/5370996627/

Pattaya Dolphin World

It was news to me but Pattaya is going to have their own dolphin world. I heard this tonight on Pattaya local radio. Okay it claims to be a first for Pattaya but it isn't unless you really stretch a point because there are dolphins kept in a muddy hole at the Temple of Truth at the other side of Naklua (which really is part of Pattaya). These dolphins do shows daily.

Okay dolphins do play a bit of a part in Pattaya culture. Everyone who lives here knows the Dolphin roundabout. Dolphins also figure in some of the artwork along the Coconut Bar too.....but but but is this exhibit going to be any better than the commercially exploitative shows in the likes of Bangkok Safari World and Oasis Sea World?

I am not against the keeping of dolphins in captivity but I am against commercial exploitation, no conservation, inadequate facilities and failure to properly educate people about these wonderful creatures. What we do not need is yet another dysfunctional zoo in Thailand and especially around Pattaya. Far too many already.

It remains to be seen how this new venture will measure up. It surprises me that I did not learn about it before now. I was very much aware of a similar venture planned for Phuket in the south of Thailand because of the protests surrounding it, Here in Pattaya...not a whisper.

Here is the news item:

"A team from Pattaya People Media Group led by CEO Mr. Niels Colov together with Nova Radio 87.5 FM was invited to attend the official opening of the new Pattaya Dolphin World and Resort on Friday afternoon. Located near Phoenix Golf Club in Huay Yai, and still under construction, this amazing sea world style resort promises to become one of the top tourist attractions in the area. Guests were welcomed by the Board Director, Police Lt. Col. Natapong Wattanasukon and given a sightseeing tour of the shows already completed – one attraction appropriate for Pattaya is the exciting Dolphin Show, the first Dolphinarium in Pattaya. Many years ago, Dolphins were often seen swimming in abundance in the sea around Pattaya Bay and hence became the symbol representing the growing seaside city.
The Dolphin World premises will be completed in December, 2011 with attractions including adventure zones for all ages, with rock climbing, shooting galleries, go cart racing and bungee jumping. News stories placed on this website are short versions. If you would like the full story, please read the Pattaya People Weekly newspaper" LINK

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Animal Keepers' Forum - Dedicated Issue on Ungulate Husbandry

2011-08-13T06:34:00.001+01:00

Animal Keepers' Forum - Dedicated Issue on Ungulate Husbandry

The Journal of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

At last the (172-page) dedicated issue on Ungulate Husbandry, Enrichment, Training and Conservation has been posted out to members of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. This full colour edition is going to be of extreme importance to managers and keepers of ungulates wherever they are in the world so you are advised to budget for a copy now.

Details about purchasing this valuable reference will be up on the website in the next few weeks. Prices will be $25 for AAZK members, $50 for Non-members and all non-US orders must add $10 for airmail postage.

Table of Contents – July/August 2011

Information for Contributors
From the Editor/Sponsor Acknowledgements
Opening the Corral Gates!
TAG - You’re It!
Animal Management Support for Wild Equid Research at the Wilds
Teaching Young Giraffe Old Tricks:
Changing Learned Behaviors in a Herd of Captive Giraffe
Ruminant Browser Nutrition Workshop (A Synopsis)
Practical Considerations for Restraint of Hoofed Mammals in a Small Zoo
Inventing the Wheel: Hand-Rearing a Single Babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa)
Here There Be Dragons: Okapi Conservation in Africa’s Equatorial Forest
Zoo Atlanta’s Hoofstock Enrichment Program
Managing Ungulates in Mixed-Species Exhibits at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Ungulate TAGs Connecting with Keepers: An Update
A Voice for Captive Prey Species
Managing Moose in Captivity
Easy Bison Enrichment in a Cash Strapped Economy
The Way Home: Moving a Herd of 1.6 Reticulated Giraffe into a New Facility
Caring for African Ungulates in a Winter Climate
Rearing Antelope: Three Thriving Examples at the Saint Louis Zoo
Walking a Mile in Their Hooves:
Managing Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) in Natural Exhibits
Ungulate TAG Meetings and Conferences: We Want You!
Candid Camera: Using Camera Traps to Monitor Animal Behavior
Porcine Perfection: Red River Hogs in Mixed-Species Exhibits
The Tapir Paper
Striving for Sustainability: The Ungulate Manager’s Toolbox
Managing a Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffe camelopardalis) with Allergies
Ungulates Websites of Interest
Training Przewalski’s Horses Using Protected Contact in a Facility with Limited Resources
Training the “untrainable”: Using Natural Behavior and Positive Reinforcement to Train Husbandry Behaviors in a Gerenuk (Litacranius walleri)
Goat Lab - Evolution of a Training Class
Elevating Warthog Care Through Training
What’s This Ungulate Care Workshop I’ve Been Hearing So Much About?
Freezing Browse for Year-round Feeding of Giraffe and Other Hoofstock
Rhinoceros Enrichment
Managing a Research Population of an Extremely Flighty Ungulate Species at SCBI
Hoof Management of Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Moving Onward and Upward: Building a Contemporary Giraffe Facility
Creating New Tools to Reduce Fearful Behavior with Three Ungulate Species at the Oakland Zoo
Tactiles - The Transition from a Behavior to a Reinforcer:
A Case Study of 1.0 Grant’sZebra (Equus burchellii) at the Oakland Zoo
Bongo Calf Splaying and Coxofemoral Luxation
Benefits of Goal-Based Behavioral Husbandry for Captive Bovid and Cervid Species
Ungulate Care Workshops (information and contacts)

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Zoo News Digest 9th - 12th August 2011 (Zoo News 778)

2011-08-12T09:59:00.001+01:00

Zoo News Digest 9th - 12th August 2011 (Zoo News 778)

http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonauto/3626744745/

Peter Dickinson

peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Colleague,

Do follow up the link "Is Lion Man Family Reconciliation Possible?" and read the other stories. I believe it is possible and I feel that it should take place. A bust up between mother and son is a terrible thing. Mrs Busch appears very sincere. She has had a very difficult time. The real fly in the ointment for reconciliation is not Craig but his groupies who have said the most despicable things about Patricia and Megan Busch. They need to get real and apologise. They could start right now on their Facebook page.

Sorry Dusit Zoo but whereas I fully appreciate that road safety is important and zoos can play a part in promoting it but I believe that you have gone the wrong way about it. Orangutans should not be dressed up to appear as funny little people. They should firstly be in the wild and if in captivity living with and being reared their mother or in groups with their own kind, and naked as nature intended. Using them in this way is as bad as the boxing and ape shows in places like Bangkok Safari World and Taman Safari Indonesia.

Very many thanks for the few people who sent donations to Zoo News Digest following my appeal. If everyone, or even half of the people who read the Digest were to help just a little bit then there would be no need for repeated appeals. As it is I am just getting by. Now my laptop is acting up. It is going to die soon and there is nothing I can do about it.

The title of the story 'Mother bear kills cub and then itself' suggests murder and suicide when in actual fact neither took place. Two purely accidental deaths. It makes an emotional read. Bear farms are evil places, though I am told that some of the owners truly love their animals. No excuse, they should all be closed down.

Items You May Have Missed

My Rise Of Planet Of The Apes

Jesus As An Orangutan

World Rhino Day

Is Lion Man Family Reconciliation Possible?

Safari From Hammersmith to Turnham Green

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Epidemic of UK rhino horn thefts linked to one criminal gang
Rhino horns stolen from museums fetch twice the value of gold on the Chinese medicine market
Rosie the rhinoceros took her last breath somewhere on the Indian subcontinent early last century. She was shot, skinned, stuffed and shipped to London. Then, in 1907, she was acquired by Ipswich Museum, which swapped her with the Natural History Museum for a pig. For more than a century, in Ipswich, she has suffered the pats of generations of school children, her horn curling to the ceiling.
Last month, however, Rosie suffered the second violation of her ignominious afterlife, almost as cruel as the first.
At 12.27am on Thursday 28 July, two men forced their way through a fire escape at the rear of the museum and made straight for the rhinoceros, where they swiftly wrenched off her 45cm (18-inch) horn. They paused only to collect the skull of a second black rhino, displayed on a ledge above its stuffed cousin, before fleeing in a silver saloon car. Nothing else was stolen.
One might think that only a foolish criminal would bypass the lavish gold burial masks of Titos Flavios Demetrios upstairs in the Egyptian gallery, or even the priceless Hawaiian cape made from feathers of the 'o'o bird, in favour of some century-old rhino remains. In fact, police believe these were very canny criminals indeed.
The Ipswich rhinoceros-horn theft is merely the latest from museums and auction houses across Britain and Europe, driven by soaring prices for horn in the far east. According to Europol, many of them are conducted by an Irish crime gang more accustomed to drug trafficking, money laundering and smuggling.
In February, the stuffed and mounted head of a black rhino was taken from Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. On 27 May, a similar head was taken from the Educational Museum in Haslemere, Surrey, which has one of the largest natural history collections in the UK. Last month it was the turn of a museum in Liège, Belgium; three weeks later the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels suffered a similar heist, in which the head of a black rhino, dating from 1827, was stolen.
According to the Metropolitan police, 20 thefts have taken place across Europe in the past six months – in Portugal, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Sweden as well as the UK. Scotland Yard and Europol are now advising galleries and collectors to consider locking up their rhino horn collections or keeping them away from public view. Several institutions, including the Natural History Museum and the Horniman Museum in south London, have removed their displays or replaced horns with replicas.
Behind the crime wave is a surge in demand from the far east and European Asian communities for powdered rhino horn, which is used in traditional Chinese medicines. It is valued as a remedy for everything from fevers and headaches to cancer, and demand is so intense it has pushed the value of horn to £60,000 per kilogram – twice the value of gold. Sworders had valued their rhino head, as an artefact, at £50,000; in the medicinal market, however, it could be worth £200,000.
"It is a new crime phenomenon targeting people who may not have ordinarily been victims of crime and who are vulnerable victims," said Patric Byrne, Europol's head of unit for organised crime networks. "And we are not dealing with petty criminals." The gang "of Irish ethnic origin", which the agency has identified as being responsible for many of the attacks, has a background in violence, drug trafficking and intimidation, he said. "There is a strange and very lucrative market in Chinese medicine. They have found that this product attracts a particular premium in some Asian communities."
Detective Constable Ian Lawson, from the Metropolitan police's art and antiques unit, said the gang used a variety of methods to steal the objects, from carefully planned burglaries to "smash and grab" raids, and police had also been alerted to "hostile reconnaissance" from gang members.
Even more worrying is an associated growth in the poaching of live rhinos, according to conservation experts. "In the last three years, 800 African rhinos have been killed and experts agree that we are facing the worst rhino-poaching crisis in decades," said Lucy Boddam-Whetham, the acting director of Save the Rhino International.
Nearly 200 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the first six months of this year, compared with 125 in the same period last year. The organisation says the museum thefts are stimulating the live-rhino poaching, making their situation even more perilous. There are only 20,000 white rhinos and fewer than 5,000 black rhinos in the wild.
Police tape has been removed from around Rosie at Ipswich Museum, replaced by an apologetic laminated note explaining the missing horn. "People love this museum. It's just so sad," said Bryony Rudkin, the councillor who holds the portfolio for museums and culture at Ipswich borough council. "On the morning after it happened, we had a family come in – a grandmother, mother and child – and the grandmother said, 'I remember coming when I was a child
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/08/rhino-horn-thefts-chinese-medicine

Rhino-horn gang strikes again in Belgium
Robbers made off with two rhino horns from a Belgium museum, the third such heist in the country in less than two months, prompting official warnings against the illicit trade, Belga news agency said Thursday.
The latest occurred last week in the Africa Museum in the city of Namur when one man in a gang of three made off with a stuffed white rhinoceros head as his accomplices diverted the attention of staff.
Government officials subsequently issued a statement underlining that trade in rhino horns is banned under the CITES international agreement, the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Officials warned the trade was on rise, with customs seizing seven hauls of horns last year in the European Union against one or two a year in the past.
"A rumour propagated across Asia claims powder
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hO9bTXjTIhaJI0OtJz9DBFCqKe3Q?docId=CNG.6e1e2ad90e2d94b12b6258b7e9c5b33d.741

Rhinoceros Farming in China

ZOOS NEED TO INCREASE SECURITY

FOR

THEIR RHINOS

Forest on the auction block

Almost 30,000 hectares of a wildlife sanctuary in Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces have been reclassified as state private land for agricultural development, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups.

Four sub-decrees signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 22 reclassify land in the Kulen Promptep sanctuary, paving the way for its development.

They cover 12,820 hectares in Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces and 15,450 hectares in Oddar Meanchey’s Anlong Veng district.

Thuk Kreun Vutha, secretary of state at the Ministry of Environment, said the government had conducted environmental impact assessments and deemed wildlife would not be affected.

“Now, this wildlife sanctuary has no more wildlife. It is eroded land,” he said.

But Wutty Chut, director of the Natural Resource Protect-ion Group, said that although Ministry of Environment off-icials had failed to curb illegal poaching and logging in the sanctuary, the area still contained areas of healthy forest and diverse species that were protected by law.

Businessmen developing agriculture in other forest

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080950943/National-news/forest-on-the-auction-block.html

Western Pond Turtle Release - VNR

http://youtu.be/ppk4hyk4-F4

Bat Conservation Trust
With European Bat Weekend (27th-28th August) fast approaching, we want you to get involved and share your stories and experiences. We are running a writing competition, and the lucky winners will receive a goody bag as well as have their entry published on our website! There are 3 themes, so we want you to choose one and get creative!
Learn More Here
http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/get_involved_with_our_writing_competition_and_have_the_chance_to_get_your_entry_published_on_our_web

Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif - July Newsletter

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Wildlife park's receivers await ruling over access

Receivers are waiting on a court ruling to give them access to Zion Wildlife Gardens in Whangarei.

A hearing took place at the Wellington High Court on Tuesday to allow receivers from PricewaterhouseCoopers to serve notices to the wildlife park's managing director.

Craig Busch founded the park, but was sacked as manager by his mother Patricia Busch in 2008. Ms Busch took over his debts and the park when he ran into financial trouble.

Ms Busch has refused to allow the receivers on the property and is launching legal action to try to

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/82129/wildlife-park's-receivers-await-ruling-over-access

Cheetah to be reintroduced at Palpur-Kuno sanctuary

The Palpur-Kuno sanctuary in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh may soon become home to Cheetahs, which will be translocated from Namibia for revival of this endangered and now-extinct species in India.

“If all goes well as per the plan, then Cheetah would be introduced in the Palpur-Kuno habitat by the end of December or early January next year,” Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister, Sartaj Singh told PTI.

“The Cheetahs will be brought from Namibia for the revival of the now-extinct animal in the country,” he said.

“Surveys have been done in this regard and opinion of the experts are in favour of the re-introduction of Cheetah at Palpur-Kuno,” the minister said.

Recently, a team of experts from Namibia including Lorrie Marker, conservationist and senior forest department officials visited Palpur-Kuno to workout the strategy for reintroduction

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2349948.ece

Perhilitan audits problem zoos, submits reports

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has conducted audits on Malacca and Johor zoological parks which allegedly have mistreated their animals.

The Malay Mail understands the results of the submitted audits will be known after they have been discussed by a committee headed by Natural Resources and Environment Ministry secretary-general Datuk Zoal Azha Yusof.

The committee, which is entrusted with scrutinising applications and issuing permits for zoo management under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, may stop issuing permits for the zoos based on the results of the audit reports.

Johor Zoo had been alleged to have kept a baby elephant named Paloh in deplorable conditions while the Malacca Zoo was alleged to have confined eight orang utan to a cage instead of having them out in the open with the other animals.

Nature Alert, an international non-governmental organisation, had submitted at least 12 separate official complaints to Perhilitan documenting animal abuse and neglect at the government-owned Malacca Zoo and the privately-owned A’Famosa Resort in Alor Gajah, also in Malacca.

Perhilitan deputy director-general Dr Zaaba Zainal Abidin told The Malay Mail apart from the two zoos in Malacca and Johor, the department recently conducted audits at eight other parks

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/79931-perhilitan-audits-problem-zoos-submits-reports

Dusit Zoo - see my editorial

Mother bear kills cub and then itself

The Chinese media has reported on an extraordinary account of a mother bear saving her cub from a life of torture by strangling it and then killing itself.

The bears were kept in a farm located in a remote area in the North-West of China. The bears on the farm had their gall bladders milked daily for 'bear bile,' which is used as a remedy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

It was reported that the bears are kept in tiny cages known as 'crush cages', as the bears have no room to manoeuvre and are literally crushed.

The bile is harvested by making a permanent hole or fistula in the bears' abdomen and gall bladder.

As the hole is never closed, the animals are suspect to various infections and diseases including tumours, cancers and death from peritonitis.

The bears are fitted with an iron vest, as they often try to kill themselves by hitting their stomach as they are unable to bear the pain.

A person who was on the farm in place of a friend witnessed

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110805-292947.html

Zoo Leadership to Focus on Staff Training and Development

One day after a private consulting report was heard by city council, the director of the Chattanooga Zoo says it is on firm financial ground and has a dedicated staff.

The zoo came in for some criticism earlier in the year over the deaths of several animals.

The Friends of the Zoo organization paid for the 25-thousand dollar study, which praised the "passionate leadership" but urged the administration to spend more time building and developing

http://www.wdef.com/news/zoo_leadership_to_focus_on_staff_training_and_development/08/2011

Humans to live in huge hummingbird nest at Lincoln Park Zoo ... for a day

Bird is the word at the Lincoln Park Zoo, where a human-sized hummingbird nest will be under construction beginning Thursday.

The nest, made of 1,800 feet of bungee cord and an enormous steel twig, will be occupied by three TV hosts on Monday as part of Nat Geo Wild’s “Live Like An Animal” series.

The three men previously spent 24 hours in a man-made beaver’s lodge in London and a wasp’s nest in New York City.

“It’s just sort of a test, can you build like an animal, can you live like an animal,” said Richard Pearson, the show’s producer, as he strolled through Lincoln Park Zoo looking for local materials like wood chips or plants to incorporate into the nest. “In this particular place, three grown men will spend a total of 24 hours living in the nest and we’ll see what they experience.”

They won’t have much room. The nest will be approximately 5.5 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep, which mimics the hummingbirds small nest of “stretchy and strong materials,” Pearson said.

On the previous two projects, the TV crew realized they could not build the animal home as well as the animals could. Pearson said he wouldn’t be surprised if at some point there is a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up some sort of necessary “doodad.”

“There comes a point that what the animal does is impossible

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/6991602-418/humans-to-live-in-huge-hummingbird-nest-at-lincoln-park-zoo-...-for-a-day

The science behind the Zoo

WHEN YOU think of an elephant, what springs to mind? Beasts of burden hauling logs? Circus animals putting on a show? Our relationship with Earth’s largest land mammals has had its less-than-stellar moments, but an initiative at Dublin Zoo is putting biology first to ensure that its elephants can live and behave as naturally – and happily – as possible.

“The whole philosophy behind the house was the biology,” says Gerry Creighton, Dublin Zoo’s operations manager.

He explains how the Asian elephants, two sisters who arrived over from Rotterdam, pregnant, in 2006, and their offspring interact with the zoo team through a “protected contact” system that allows the animals to function as a matriarchal society, but still lets the zoo team care for them, from giving them pedicures to tracking their hormone cycles.

“In the old days when they designed houses here, nothing about the animal would be taken into consideration,” he says.

“Now the inspiration for the design comes from the animal itself. We looked at elephants and biologically how they are programmed, what behaviours we wanted to maximise and what they do in the wild – and we created an environment where they could do all those in the zoo situation.”

So how does it work in practice? One of the key areas is feeding, because elephants in the wild spend around 18 hours a day searching for food or eating, explains Creighton.

The habitat in the zoo makes the animals think and work for

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2011/0811/1224302221258.html

Bonobo crowned 'cleverest ape in the world'

Matriarchal monkeys showed alpha apes who has the most intelligence after the females won a competition for "cleverest monkey" organised by Antwerp Zoo.

The bonobo apes, more commonly known as pygmy chimpanzees, beat the group of chimpanzees 4-2 in intelligence tests.

Bonobos are a primate unique to Congo and humankind's closest relative - they share 98.4 percent of their genetic make-up with humans. They live in matriarchies where females lead the group and frequently use sex to resolve social conflicts.

The competition included six games, or tests, that had to be undertaken in a limited timeframe - time the chimpanzees wasted with alpha male in-fighting, while the matriarchal competitors muddled through.

Behavioural biologist and bonobo specialist Jeroen Stevens and his colleagues at the zoo expected the tool-wielding chimps to win, but were surprised by the persistence and motivation of a female

http://www.3news.co.nz/Bonobo-crowned-cleverest-ape-in-the-world/tabid/1160/articleID/221728/Default.aspx

Elephant to retire to Maine community

Are there elephants in Maine? Not yet, but there soon will be. A veterinarian from the town of Hope is building a treatment facility for a retired circus elephant named Rosie.

Dr. Jim Laurita says elephants are amazing creatures, as smart or smarter than many humans, and very social. He began working with elephants in the circus at age eighteen, and then worked with elephants at the Bronx Zoo and an animal safari business in Oregon before graduating from Cornell University Veterinary school. Laurita says he has known Rosie the elephant for years, and says she needs specialized treatment for muscle and leg injuries suffered

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/168793/3/Elephant-to-retire-to-Maine-community

Dyan deNapoli: The great penguin rescue

(GREAT TALK)

http://www.ted.com/talks/dyan_denapoli_the_great_penguin_rescue.html

Patricia Busch offers olive branch to son Craig over Zion Wildlife Gardens

The mother of Lion Man Craig Busch has extended the olive branch to her son in the hope that he will return to Whangarei's world-famous Zion Wildlife Park.

Patricia Busch and her son had a bitter fallout after she took over the park after bailing him out from financial debts.

But just hours after Mrs Busch finally allowed receivers into the park yesterday, following it being placed into liquidation last week, she says she still loves her son and wants him back at the park.

"I'd love him to talk to me. I believe he is in New Zealand but I can't be certain about that but I've certainly put it out there to him," she said.

On whether she would like to see her son take back the park, she said: "Absolutely. It's his idea and he was the founder. I still love him of course."

Mrs Busch said legal stoush aside, they do not have anything personal and if they have a chance to talk, they would.

She last spoke to Mr Busch on July 2 when h

http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/patricia-busch-offers-olive-branch-to-son-craig-ov/3962656/

Spring/Summer 2012

Graduate/Professional Training Courses and Certificates

Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Studies Program, Front Royal, VA

For more information, visit http://conservationtraining.si.edu/

or e-mail SCBItraining@si.edu

Animal Welfare Group Opposes Privatization of L.A. Zoo

The Los Angeles Zoo is one of a dwindling number in the U.S. that is publicly owned and financed. But all of that may change very soon if the City Council approves a plan to privatize the zoo, a move that In Defense of Animals (IDA) opposes.

Catherine Doyle, IDA's elephant welfare specialist, told the Los Angeles Times that privatization will result in less transparency, making the zoo "become even more secretive and insular."

In 2009, IDA filed a grand jury complaint against the zoo over its "gross malfeasance and unethical behavior in its actions to secure approval of a $42 million elephant exhibit expansion." The controversial, 6-acre Pachyderm Forest exhibit, which opened last December, was opposed by animal rights groups that wanted the elephants to be moved to a much larger sanctuary.

The City of Los Angeles currently contributes about $15 million to the zoo's annual $26 million operating costs. The zoo brings in about $11.5 million in revenue each year.

On July 28 the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee voted unanimously to request management proposals from private groups, according to KPCC. The committee also approved a motion to study ways to increase zoo revenue, such as charging for parking, to enable it to remain under city management.

According to the proposal, the animals would continue

http://news.change.org/stories/animal-welfare-group-opposes-privatization-of-la-zoo

Dear Personal Friends, Family, Dusti's previous Earthwatch Vols, Friends of Life Net, and Friends of Biodiversity Conservation,

Life Net volunteers help people in tropical nations protect biodiversity hotspots that they depend on for their livelihoods. Life Net field projects depend on volunteers for labor and funding. Please be so kind as to help us recruit volunteers, simply by posting/sharing the two attached flyers (contact Life Net) at your workplace, on list-serves, at your place of worship (if you are a religious conservationist), university, hiking club, Audubon chapter, or public venue (library for example) where interested parties will see them. The economic crunch has severely reduced Life Net's success rate for volunteer recruitment, so we are stepping up the effort to spread the word beyond our regular postings at Conservation Biology Jobs, Texas A and M jobs, and Ornjobs. If you know of other list-serves or conservation-oriented job boards, please let me know, and feel free to share the information on such job boards if you are allowed to do so.

Thank you for your help and support. Please visit the Life Net website for our latest newsletter. If you are a Facebook enthusiast, please "like" our new Facebook page which is listed as Life Net. We need your support to do conservation work to sustain local people in biodiversity rich tropical hotspots like Ecuador and Kenya, and to advocate for wildlife conservation here in the USA.

Happy summer!

Dr. Dusti Becker and Dr. Anthony Povilitis

***

Woman hurt at Tobias Wildlife Park's tiger enclosure

A woman was reportedly injured Thursday afternoon after sticking her arm inside a tiger enclosure at a Dauphin County zoo.

Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Cpl. Tom Pinkerton said it is believed the employee at Lake Tobias Wildlife Park in Halifax Township was in an area she was not authorized to be in. One of the Bengal tigers in the enclosure "bit or scratched" her arm, causing a deep wound.

Pinkerton said it was believed the employee was a driver for the zoo, in her late 20s and from Harrisburg. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

Pinkerton said no other information was

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_18666383

PLAYING WITH LIONS AND TIGERS

AAP NEWSLETTER

http://promail.webgenerator.nl/t/ViewEmail/r/CA379D4BD2B33583/980D6E3A085ADFD33D3F7F9A22A6E02E

Who’s Hurting Chimpanzees Now?

Should a wild animal be forced to sell car insurance, dance the Macarena, and smoke cigars to provoke a laugh? Not that it matters if there were millions of chimpanzees around to abuse, but a new study concludes that chimpanzees may be doomed as a species as long as the public

http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/196604/20110812/who-s-hurting-chimpanzees-now.htm

SEAZA

19th SEAZA Annual Conference 2011

Monday 12 to Wednesday 14, September 2011

Reintroduced Endangered Species in SEAZA

SEAZA Conference details below:-

Dear Colleagues,

We dearly hope that you and your organization will be able to participate this year to improve our zoos and further the goals of SEAZA. See you soon in Pattaya.

Kindest regards,

The Organizing Committee of the 19th SEAZA Annual Conference

SEAZA members visiting Pattaya for the first time might like to check out:

THE PATTAYA BUCKET LIST

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Is Lion Man Family Reconciliation Possible?

2011-08-10T11:35:00.000+01:00

After all of the ranting and raving of the Craig Busch Groupies it is somewhat refreshing to hear from the two women who know him best of all. Watch the video.

You can view it at, http://www.3news.co.nz/A-peek-inside-Lion-Mans-Zion-park/tabid/367/articleID/221741/Default.aspx

***

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The Holy Family as Orangutans

2011-08-09T10:00:00.000+01:00

The Holy Family as Orangutans

The painting above is intended to draw peoples attention to the plight that the Orangutan is facing in the wild. Here Jesus, Mary and Joseph are shown to be Orangutans. Does that shock you? Does it make you angry? Does it make you think about Orangutans? Will it make you watch or read news items about Orangutans just that little bit more closely?

I am not religious. In fact I dislike religion but I do like and care about Orangutans. I am hoping that this interesting painting by 58 year old artist Dawn Stubbs which has been entered for this years Blake Prize for religious art will win. More than that I hope it does make people angry and more still makes them think. I don't doubt that Jesus would not have minded in the slightest if he thought that one of God's creatures was in trouble and that he could help in this way.

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World Rhino Day 2011

2011-08-09T09:40:00.000+01:00

see

http://www.rhinoconservation.org/2011/08/03/cookies-crafts-and-cocktails-fresh-ideas-for-world-rhino-day-2011/

What, if anything is your zoo or zoo close to you doing for World Rhino Day?

If it is nothing then I would start asking questions about their commitment to education and conservation.

The Rhinoceros is in trouble. It could disappear in your lifetime.

Please read about

World Rhino Day

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