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Marine mammals sickening from land-based animal diseases

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:39:55 GMT

When dead sea mammals started washing ashore on Canada’s west coast in greater numbers, marine biologist Andrew Trites was distressed to find that domestic animal diseases were killing them.

Around the world, seals, otters and other species are increasingly infected by parasites and other diseases long common in goats, cows, cats and dogs, marine mammal experts told a major science conference.

The diseases also increasingly threaten people who use the oceans for recreation, work or a source of seafood, scientists told reporters at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held this year in this western Canadian city.

The symposium “Swimming in Sick Seas” was one of many sessions at the meeting that drew a bleak picture of the state of the world’s oceans, which are increasingly acidic, warming in some areas and being inundated with melting ice or other climate change effects.

“There are dramatic shifts in the ocean ecosystem,” said Jason Hall-Spencer of Britain’s University of Plymouth, citing his research in Italy, Baha California and Papua New Guinea that is “all showing the same thing” — with an increase in carbon dioxide, “you get a 30 percent drop in microbes, plants and animals” in the oceans.

Gretchen Hofmann of the University of California at Santa Barbara said increasing ocean acidity, caused by CO2 from fossil-fuel burning, is killing shellfish young — called spat — worldwide. In the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the United States, the failure of spat hatcheries threaten a commercial industry worth more than $200 million, said Hofmann.

Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, said warming of the water reduces how much oxygen it can hold, newly threatening deep-sea creatures that have survived for millennium under stable conditions.

“We’ve seen less than five percent of (animals) on the deep sea floor, and if we’re wiping them out we’ll never see them,” Levin told the conference. “There are undoubtedly organisms down there that can be very beneficial to us, that we have yet to find.” According to Trite, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the Fisheries Centre at University of British Columbia, the bodies washing ashore are a grim signal.

“I see the dead mammals coming ashore as canaries in a coal mine,” said Trite.”Parasites, funguses, viruses and bacteria are increasingly passed from land to sea animals because human settlements on coastlines changes water patterns through paving, filling of wetlands that are natural filters, and intensive agriculture run-off, said scientists.

Toxoplasma gondii (sometimes called kitty litter disease), round-worm, single-celled parasites that cause brain swelling and disease that cause cows to abort their fetuses add to the challenges marine animals face from human pollution, Trite said.

Diseases from large agriculture operations “can cause abortion storms” in sea animals, said Michael Grigg, a US expert in parasites with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Grigg said a virulent new Type X strain in California “is now spreading across the US” and samples have found it in South America and Asia. Grigg noted common strains of Toxoplasma gondii are already common in people, infecting as many as 25 per cent of North Americans and 50 to 70 per cent of adult Europeans.

Changes in disease and frequency in sea animals “could have unrecognized impacts on humans as well,” said Melissa Miller, a veterinarian in California. “We live in the same areas, and harvest and eat many of the same foods.”

The panel said increased surveillance was required to monitor the health implications for humans of parasites and pathogens spreading from land to the marine mammals.

Gorillas escape zoo habitat, visitors scramble

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:15:20 GMT

KANSAS CITY, MO (CNN/KSHB) – Visitors at the Kansas City zoo got more excitement than they bargained for Sunday when two gorillas escaped inside a building. The area was put on lockdown and families were forced to go to a safe spot while workers tried to corner them.

The workers soon came face to face with two 400 pound gorillas. "If probably anyone was in danger, those two keepers were," said zoo director Randy Wisthoff. Wisthoff said although there was a safety door preventing the gorillas from getting to the public, nobody knew how the apes would react being in the same room with the workers.

"Gorilla's are very territorial and you just don't know - we don't go in with them," said Wisthoff. The apes were more interested in looking around in the building, according to Wisthoff, so the workers ran for cover. "They had a ladder in the exhibit they climbed up the ladder and got out of the exhibit," said Wisthoff.

Once the workers managed to escape the exhibit, they began to move visitors away from the area. Word quickly spread among the zoo's guests. "A little kid said everybody get out of Africa, get out of Africa," said visitor Alex Judge.

Although a few visitors thought it was a joke, everyone quickly realized the seriousness of the situation. "We weren't going to take any chances. I had my daughter with me, so it was let's move it," said visitor Matt Jacobs. Families were moved out of the African exhibit area to safe zones like restaurants. No one was hurt and after four hours the gorillas were back in their homes. Zoo officials said the incident started by a zoo worker forgetting to secure a lock. Officials will review the incident to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Baby gorilla born at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:55:34 GMT

Don't break out the pink or blue cigars yet. The little gorilla baby born early Feb. 9 to Moka, the mom, and Mrithi, the dad, is definitely cute. But even though zookeepers at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium think the week-old primate is a boy, they aren't completely sure yet.

That hasn't stopped them from celebrating the arrival of the first gorilla born at the zoo since 2001. "It's very exciting, because you just forget how little they are and how cute," said gorilla keeper Roseann Giambro. "I'm very excited."

It's the first child for both Moka, a 15-year-old female brought here from the Miami zoo in 2007 and Mrithi, a 20-year-old male who was the first gorilla born at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Mrithi is the lead silverback of the zoo's gorilla troupe.The two western lowland gorillas were not interested in each other at first, but after some coaxing they began breeding, Ms. Giambro said. They've been courting for the past year and a half, and Moka likely became pregnant in May or June. Gestation time for a baby gorilla is 8 to 81/2 months.

In the past few months, Moka put on a "considerable amount of weight" and seemed crabby and tired at times, Ms. Giambro said. When employees left the zoo the night of Feb. 8, there were six gorillas. The next morning, there were seven. Ms. Giambro arrived to find Moka had already cleaned her baby and was taking care of him or her.

"There's always that fear that maybe the mom won't have milk, or she won't allow the baby to nurse, but Moka is doing just beautifully," Ms. Giambro said.

Zoo officials will not take the baby away from Moka, so they have not checked the baby's gender or weighed it, but Ms. Giambro said the newborn is likely three to five pounds. Zoo employees will try to figure out the baby's gender through observation and then will give him or her a name.

The five other gorillas in the exhibit have been quietly observing the new mother and her baby from a respectful distance. Ms. Giambro said Thursday that Moka gently pushed away Mrithi, the dad, as he tried to sniff the baby. In the Tropical Forest exhibit Thursday morning, Moka cradled and nursed her little one.

The new arrival is on display for the public to see. For the first few months, visitors will see the baby sleeping and nursing, as a human infant would. By six months, physical maturation for a gorilla outpaces a human. Around August, visitors should see the baby riding on Moka's back.

China zoo plays matchmaker to philandering ram and docile doe

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:38:58 GMT

Beijing: A publicity stunt by a Chinese zoo that married off a ram and doe on Valentine’s Day at a gala ceremony telecast live has stirred up a controversy, with some calling it a joke and others demanding action against organisers.

The ram-doe wedding ceremony in southwestern Yunnan province was broadcast live on Weibo.com on Tuesday. It made waves among the Chinese public with the scared deer sprinting all around in panic.

Experts say deer are cervid while sheep are bovid, making it impossible for them to produce any offspring, but many Internet users have expressed their support anyway, Xinhua news agency reported.While some welcome the ceremony others frowned at it saying the wedding was simply a joke and human beings should be held responsible for disturbing the animals’ lives.

“Just leave the poor animals alone,” wrote one in the blog. The ram, Changmao, has apparently integrated itself into the deer herd and is now the dominate male, mating with six deers in the herd. The doe, Chunzi, is said to be his favorite. The BBC points out that Changmao is quite the womaniser and “has not been exactly faithful to Chunzi”. The report went on to say,

He fathered a baby lamb with the zoo’s only female sheep.That was why zoo officials decided to separate the ram and the doe in November last year. However, when zookeepers put Changmao with his lamb and its mother, he became violent. Chunzi, for her part, squeezed through the fence to be near him.

Wang Dajun, a conservation biology researcher with Peking University said,” People may have arranged the wedding out of goodwill, but they should have considered the feelings of the animals and showed them some respect”.

Wang advised people not to attach too much human behaviours with animals, such as staging wedding pictures or holding a wedding ceremony, because they will not appreciate them as humans do. “The management of zoos and wildlife parks should be based on the habitual nature of animals,” he said.

Yesterday, perhaps a case of cold hooves on her wedding day prompted Chunzi — a doe set to marry Changmao, a ram — to flee her wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day at a wildlife park in Kunming.

Frightened by the many visitors and the unfamiliar environment created by the ceremony’s arrangements, the bride scampered away to the familiarity of the park’s deer field, leaving the groom wandering around restlessly. Later the wedding ceremony was reorganised at the Deer Field, which the two animals were familiar with. Allured by carrots, the couple finished the ceremony by passing through an archway symbolising a gateway to happiness.

'Killer whale' sighted off Norfolk coast at Sheringham

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:45:05 GMT

County mammal recorder Dr David Leech said claims of a whale sighting by birdwatchers at Sheringham could be the first ever recorded in Norfolk. The experience of one observer meant there was good cause to believe the sighting was reliable.

Possible reasons for the whale's presence are food or it was off course. Birdwatcher Giles Dunmore, who has experience spotting several killer whales around the world, recorded the sighting last Thursday morning while scanning for sea birds with friend Phil Vines. He said the pair's field notes and sketches were currently being collated to pass on to the Norfolk Biological Information Service (NBIS), at County Hall, to confirm the identity of the wandering whale.

'Good food sources'
Dr Leech, who is based at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in Thetford, said: "[Killer whales] do have quite a distinctive dorsal fin. Some of the dolphins can be much harder to tell apart and some of the whales too. "With that and the experience of the observer and knowing that they had good optical kit, because they were using telescopes to watch the birds, I think in combination that sounds like a really quite a reliable source."

Dr Leech said NBIS had yet to record a killer whale sighting from Norfolk in its history, which dates back to the early 1900s. He said he believed the whale could have been drawn to the north Norfolk coast because of its "good food sources", such as seals and other marine life, but it was just as likely it had wandered off course.

He added they had received no other sightings, meaning the likelihood of a pod of whales in the area was quite small. "Whales, dolphins and porpoises are relatively infrequently seen in the southern half of the North Sea in the English Channel, because it's really quite shallow and most of them prefer deeper water," said Dr Leech.

"We've had about 14 species of cetacean seen over the years off Norfolk - most of them very rarely - only harbour porpoises are seen quite frequently. "Killer whales have been recorded this far south - not off the Norfolk coast. They're much more likely to be seen somewhere off the Shetland Islands for instance in the northern North Sea."

Mr Dunmore, 68, who has been a local birdwatcher for 56 years and spotted killer whales off Tenerife and Alaska, said he was "quite thrilled" to make the spot. "It was a long way out, but I could see it was a big cetacean. I yelled out to Phil 'I'm certain it's an orca'," he said. "At the time I didn't know it was a new cetacean. You see it at the time, but the excitement doesn't come until a little later."

Former Stanley Park petting zoo goats feared slaughtered

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:01:34 GMT

The chair of Vancouver's park board says she's outraged at the possible slaughter of goats that used to live at the Stanley Park farmyard. Board officials held a news conference Sunday afternoon to respond to a news report that the animals may have been auctioned for slaughter by a Langley farm owner.

The goats were shipped off to Langley when the Children's Farmyard in Stanley Park closed last year. Board chair Constance Barnes says staff visited the farm this week and a dozen goats are unaccounted for.

"I'm outraged. I am absolutely outraged," Barnes said. "[This was] a promise not only to the Vancouver park board but this was a promise to the people of Vancouver that these animals would be taken, that these animals would be loved and looked after and would live out a long, healthy life."

Barnes says anyone who took animals from the farmyard signed a contract promising not to sell, trade or give the animals away without the park board's consent. "I have ordered a full review of the treatment of animals adopted by area farms and citizens following the closure of the Stanley Park farm a year ago," she said.

"In light of this alleged mistreatment, I have asked staff to immediately follow up with the 12 other adopting families to verify the condition of animals that were adopted at the closure of the farm."Barnes said she has asked city lawyers to take "aggressive legal action" under the agreement signed by the farm owner at the time of adoption. The name of the farm has not been released.

Eland antelopes join Al Ain Zoo

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:08:35 GMT

AL AIN — Four Eland antelopes have been added to the diverse array of African wildlife in the African Mixed Exhibit at Al Ain Zoo. One of the zoo’s most popular exhibits, the African Mixed Exhibit showcases a total of eight mammal species including the Nubian giraffe, Southern-white rhinoceros, Grant’s zebra, Fringe-eared oryx, Mhorr gazelle, Dama gazelle, Thompson gazelle as well as two bird species, namely Marabou stork and Ostrich. All animals roam freely together on more than five hectares of open landscape.

The Eland is a spiral-horned antelope that lives in the savannah and plains of East and Southern Africa. It is the largest antelope in the African continent. Elands are said to be one of the slowest antelopes and can jump a height of 2.5 meters or above.

Majid Al Qassimi, Assistant Associate Veterinarian of Al Ain Zoo, said: “The addition of the Eland antelopes to our African Mixed Exhibit provides an exciting opportunity for animal lovers across the country to encounter this beautiful species first hand. Mixed species exhibits such as the African Mixed Exhibit are an excellent way to educate the public on the complexity of the interactions among different animal species of specific ecosystems.”

Elands are herbivores and usually eat grass, branches and leaves. They are diurnal and nocturnal but tend to be inactive during the day. Elands feed for a very long time during night in hot weather and sleep for long hours during the day. Founded in 1968 by the late Shaikh Zayed, Father of our Nation, Al Ain Zoo is a family destination, providing entertainment and learning experiences in a natural outdoor environment. Today, visitors of all ages discover the zoo’s wildlife and enjoy a great day out packed with fun and adventure, while learning about conservation and exploring a collection of over 4,300 animals.

Humpback Whales Singing Different Themed Songs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:36:27 GMT

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary for quite long has been looking after humpback whale. But now, the Advisory Council has recommended that the focus of the sanctuary should be shifted from humpback whale to the whole ecosystem.

The Advisory Council is of the view that there is need to pay attention to the whole ecosystem so that the natural sources could be sustained and protected from being destroyed by men activity. The recommendations have been made while the advisory council was reviewing the management of the sanctuary.

It is expected that a review on the management of the sanctuary would be made public by 2013. It has been informed that the recommendations have been made after spending 2,000 hours over the review and through sheer hard work of 60 working groups.

While making the recommendation, the council Chair, Dr. Adam Pack, said: “These management recommendations are a monumental achievement and a first for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council”.

Meanwhile, a new study has revealed that the Humpback whales in the southern Indian Ocean have been singing a completely different song. The study was conducted by a team of American and Australian researchers.

The findings of the study have challenged the long assumption that songs based on similar themes are sung by whales of same ocean basin. It has been informed that the whales of the Madagascar and Western Australia shared a similar theme. While others sung a completely different themes of song.

The researchers are hopeful that the findings would help in study as to how the whale culture spreads. It has been unveiled that mostly male whales sing the songs, which include rising and falling wails, moans and shrieks. The whole song repeats for almost half an hour.

Zoo lion has surgery for cancer

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:55:51 GMT

The 150-kilogram middle-aged lion underwent a three-hour operation yesterday to remove a hanging testicle. Vets noticed something was wrong with the six-year-old lion late last year and all indications pointed to cancer. Senior veterinarian Ian Smith said Mujambi had enlarged mammary glands and was producing lots of estrogen.

"We've been suspicious of it since December," Dr Smith said today. Dr Smith said only one testicle was in the scrotum. The problematic teste hung outside the scrotum and, as testicles were designed to work below body temperature, this prevented it from cooling and operating as it should. Dr Smith said the tumour had not spread, but only further tests would confirm it was definitively cancerous. "If it's a testicular tumour then taking the tumour out should be curative," Dr Smith said.

Hippopotamus

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:33:19 GMT

A hippo peers from a plant-covered pool in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve. These massive mammals keep cool by submerging their massive bodies in African ponds, rivers, and lakes for up to 16 hours a day. Though they can hold their breath for perhaps half an hour if necessary, hippos typically leave the tops of their heads above the surface. At night hippos leave the water and roam overland to graze. If caught on land too long during the heat of the day the animals can dehydrate quickly.