Monday, September 28, 2009

Zoo News Digest 24th - 28th September 2009 (Zoo News 621)

Zoo News Digest 24th - 28th September 2009 (Zoo News 621)
http://zoonewsdigest.com/

http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

Peter Dickinson
peterd482001@yahoo.co.uk



Dear Colleagues,
My hub Craig Busch and Zion Wildlife Gardens caused a huge amount of traffic to the hubpage. Many of these were from the Craig Busch Fan Club. Nary a one agreed with what I had to say. But there were far more visitors to the site than commented so I daresay a small percentage are having new thoughts. I do actually understand. It must be a big shock to the system akin to discovering that your favourite movie or pop star is a paedophile. You still like their work but now you have to look at in a different way. Actually I am none too bothered about the fan club comments because I had others, from people I respect, who agreed with me.
The white tiger has come up in other places too in discussion. I would be honestly delighted if one should turn up naturally, born in the wild. It would be brilliant for tourism particularily as I note that in the links today that a normally coloured tiger is now being referred to as the 'Brown'. Ridiculous!
And what of all the white tigers presently held in captivity? Well it is not their fault that some cash greedy crazy decided to create them. I would happily see them live out their natural lives but put 100% ban on breeding. They do look good. I admit it and when presented well they make a nice display. Those in Singapore Zoo are brilliant and in particular because of the surrounding educational displays. Singapore gets a lot of Chinese tourists. This display drives home the need to protect.
Ah but China.... I note they are delighted (see links) to have produced a couple of Tigon cubs. What an utter waste. I suppose someone like Craig might want to buy them for another pointless breeding programme somewhere. An accidental Tigon you could forgive but this was deliberate. Again a case of duping the public to get more money out of them.
It looks very much like the Romanion Lions will be coming to Yorkshire. I still believe it was a stupid use of resources. Far better to have spent the money raised and use it in Romania to create a state of the art lion display to show other Romanion Zoos how it should be done (they might learn how to keep Tigers in too see links). I have been misquoted here a time or two. I never said these animals should be 'shot'. This was the newspapers turn of phrase but people read what they want to read. I said euthanased, which is completely different. I have followed the whole story, reading all comments where they occurred. I find the level of ignorance quite disturbing.

Some nutter climbed into the grizzly bear exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo. How lucky was he? How lucky too for the zoo. I can just imagine the flak if the guy had been killed. Probably statements from some saying "this would never happen in a rescue zoo." Pah! Well done San Francisco. Quick off the mark and very professional.

The fact that one bear killed another in a German zoo has really taking the fancy of the press. There cannot be a paper in the world that isn't covering the story. Sad, yes. But it happens. It happens in the wild too.

Now this disturbs me. It disturbs me because here I am, working in zoos for 40+ years and I did not know:

Before moving the creatures, which range in size between 1.2 metres and 2 metres, an electric shock is used to stun them, and then tape is wrapped around their mouths and eyes

This is Crocodylus Park in Australia looking for volunteers to move 400 crocodiles.

an electric shock is used to stun them

Please can someone in the know explain this to me. Is it like using a Taser? I like crocodiles. I respect crocodiles. I loathe and hate the 'Teaseathon - look how brave and clever I am' aspect of the so called shows. Electric shock! That shocks me. Can the experts please post explanations to the Zoo Biology Group because it sounds like a whole new level of abuse. I want to learn.

This note is added a day later than the above: Following information supplied I was able to decide that stunning is probably the best option. Please read HERE

I am absolutely delighted to learn of the captive hatching and rearing of Triggerfish in captivity. The first ever! Now that is important because practically every single marine aquarium I have visited anywhere in my life has displayed Triggerfish of one kind or another. I daresay every marine Aquarium around the world I have not visited has had them on display as well. Every year, for years and years. One dies so they catch another. But now...now...captive raising. Brilliant! Contrast this event to the National Aquarium chartering a Boeing 767 to fly in fish from Barbados. I would like to know exactly how many of the imported fish were captive bred and reared.

Palau has created a shark sanctuary the size of France. Credit to them. I truly believed that they would become extinct in my lifetime and said as much in Shark Fin Soup. Now they have a chance. Palau has only one protection vessel to patrol the area and is asking other nations to respect their wishes. Some hope. A flight over the area showed a large number of fishing boats, many of which were fishing illegally. I would blow them out of the water. You would only need to hit two or three and the problem would disappear.

Lots of rain here lately but not as bad as the Philippines. I am really worried about wife number two because I have heard nothing in days.

I see Bridget Bardot (an animal protector with a difference) has reached 75. Just the other day I wrote a hub called the Sex Degrees of Separation which was based on the Six Degrees of Separation and with the Six... Bridget Bardot immediately sprang to mind as I do know a guy who got locked in her bedroom some years ago (he is probably reading this).

I read with some interest about some elephants walking the 250Km from Nakhon Ratchasima to Samut Prakan to raise money for Greenpeace. Sadly it seems to have been a bit of a wasted journey. I learnt about it only today when they reached their destination. Not a word, nor a twitter in the interim. Pity. A lot of walking and effort. Did you know about it?

Please feel free to use the comment section at the end of this Zoo News Digest.

Many thanks to the people who sent donations to the Digest this last week. It really is very much appreciated....and very very much needed. Thank you. So easy to do too. Just click on the donate button on this journal.

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On with the links:


Man sneaks into grizzly exhibit at S.F. Zoo
A man sneaked into the grizzly bear exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday and was taken into custody almost immediately without suffering any major injuries, city officials said. The quickly resolved incident indicates that safety procedures instated after a fatal tiger attack in 2007 are working, said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom. In that incident, the zoo made international headlines when a Siberian tiger escaped her enclosure and attacked three people, killing a 17-year-old boy. Saturday's incident occurred around 5 p.m. when a man "gained access to the grizzly bear exhibit," according to a written statement by zoo spokeswoman Gwendolyn Tornatore. The zoo's two grizzly bears were
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/09/26/BAD419TDPQ.DTL



Authorities names man, 21, who entered S.F. Zoo's bear enclosure
A 21-year-old transient has been arrested after climbing into the San Francisco Zoo's grizzly bear enclosure on Saturday. At a news conference Sunday morning at the zoo, authorities said that Kenneth Herron was the man who got into the one-acre Hearst Grizzly Gulch. He was not injured, despite coming within inches of one of the 500-pound bears, according to Bob Jenkins, vice president for the zoo's institutional advancement. Herron was spotted inside the enclosure by another zoo visitor about 5 p.m., and zoo staff immediately responded to the exhibit area, zoo spokeswoman Gwendolyn Tornatore said. Herron made his way into the enclosure that is surrounded by 15-foot walls on three sides, and a 13- to 14-foot moat with a 4-foot-high barrier on the fourth side, Jenkins said. Tornatore said the zoo could not yet confirm how Herron got into the enclosure, and that officials are investigating the incident along with the San Francisco Police Department.Jenkins said he doesn't know why Herron climbed into the bears' enclosure, but said it's no easy feat to get inside. "It would be pure speculation on my part as to why he
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13434641?nclick_check=1



Stepping up for the zoo
The nonprofit friends group for the Henry Vilas Zoo is stepping up its funding to help preserve zoo operations as Dane County struggles with a recession-fueled budget crisis.The Henry Vilas Zoological Society is committed to more than doubling its usual contribution to the zoo in 2010 to more than $500,000, zoo and society officials say. The society will also make an additional gift of more than $100,000 to cover zoo operating costs this year.Details on the contributions will be announced at a news conference with County Executive Kathleen Falk and zoo director Jim Hubing at 2 p.m. Monday at the Visitors Center at the zoo, 702 S. Randall Ave.Dane County operates the zoo, which is seeking $2.25 million in funding for 2010 and splits the cost 80 percent-20 percent with the city of Madison. The Zoological Society raises money for capital projects like the Children's Zoo and new
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/article_91518218-ab2e-11de-a930-001cc4c002e0.html


Twin tigons born in S China wildlife park
Rare twin tigons, the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion, have survived their first 28 days since being born in a wildlife park in south China's Hainan Province, a park official announced Sunday. The cubs were born in the Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden on Sept. 1, after the 106-day pregnancy of an African lioness. The first tigons born in the island province, they are the offspring
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/27/content_12118524.htm



Lifelion reaches £106,000
OUR mercy mission to save a pride of lions in a rundown Romanian zoo is roaring into action this week - thanks to the staggering total of £106,000 in donations raised by YOU. The sum was reached by News of the World readers in just four weeks. Experts from Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster are jetting out to Romania to fine tune the plan to bring back the 14 lions - nicknamed after England football players. We launched our appeal after reporting on the horrendous conditions at the ramshackle
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/523252/save-the-lions.html



Public should demand highest standards from zoos
In response to Doug Clark’s column on elephants at the North Carolina Zoo (“Zoo could add to elephants’ territory,” Sept. 16), more room for the elephant habitat, on the surface, would seem to be a good idea.But this would have huge cost implications and also presupposes that more acreage necessarily provides the animals with more benefits. Our own field research in West Africa shows that elephants in the wild move in response to food and water availability. So in many situations where both are plentiful, they do not move long distances,as is often supposed. More important than linear measurement is the variety of different opportunities you can give an intelligent animal like an elephant to keep it well-occupied and healthy. The N.C. Zoo’s new elephant exhibit is designed in such a way as to offer our animals a wide variety of options to interact with, both in the exhibits and in the barn and holding yards.It is vital to recognize that the most important function of any good zoo today is to present a sample of the huge diversity of the animal kingdom in ways that will engage and interest the observer.In doing so, there is a much better chance that humankind develops a level of empathy with the natural world, which in time will lead to its better protection. To achieve such engagement and empathy, zoo animals must be presented in ways that give the visitor confidence that they are well cared for and seen in a visual context that provides some sense of the surroundings in which a species might be viewed in the wild.Sadly, too many institutions around the world calling themselves “zoos” have neither the will, skill nor revenue to manage and present animals in this way. In the United States, only one out of 10 institutions calling themselves “zoos” and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture meet the standards set by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Those standards in this day and time should be the minimum for such facilities. As a result, the public expectations of zoos is not as high as they should be and the work of those institutions who come up to such standards is devalued by the existence of so many “menageries” maintained at very poor standards. All animals in a zoo setting are in some sense ambassadors for their species and there is sometimes a trade-off between that ambassadorial status and the situations under which those animals are kept. In 40 years of observing visitor reactions and comments, both at the time of visiting a zoo and afterwards, there is no question about the degree of excitement and interest a good exhibit of living animals can generate, especially among young people. Films and books can complement that, but nothing replaces it. In a world where most animal habitats are currently under threat, expanding our interest and concern about the issue, by whatever means, is critical if we are going to achieve a balance between human needs and the rest of the living world.As for the elephants, a lot of assumptions are made about their needs, many of them based purely on anthropomorphic feelings. There is definitely a requirement for more objective research to be carried out on what constitutes good elephant welfare and that is in our plans (and those of other Association of Zoos & Aquariums institutions) in the near future. We are at a stage with elephant management where we were with, say, gorillas 30 years ago. When I joined the zoo world in the late 1960s, gorillas rarely lived a full life span and almost never reproduced. Today, following years of experience, cooperative management and research, the gorilla population in major U.S. and European zoos is thriving. My best guess would be that, given another 10 to 15 years, we will see elephant management in the same place.There are already signs of that happening. Our aim at the N.C. Zoo is to be one of the pioneers in elephant management with our colleagues in many other AZA institutions that exhibit elephants. The idea is to create a fully integrated, multigenerational family herd. But it will take a little time.To give our visitors the opportunity to experience these animals and be excited by them, they need to be able to see them up close, hear them, even smell them! Expanding the exhibit further would take the animals much farther away from the visitors a lot of the time.That would largely negate the value of their ambassadorial role and there is no guarantee the animals would be better off. David Jones is director of the North Carolina Zoo.
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/09/25/article/public_should_demand_highest_standards_from_zoos

Keith O'Brien: The identity crisis of the modern zoo
In zoo parlance, they're known as charismatic megafauna. We're talking lions, tigers and other large creatures. They are the big-ticket beasts and the reason, historically anyway, that people have come to the zoo. Where there is megafauna, the thinking goes, there will be crowds. That's partly what made Ron Kagan's decision so shocking. The executive director of the Detroit Zoo announced in 2004 that he was voluntarily sending his zoo's two Asian elephants to a California sanctuary, where the land was plentiful and the elephants could roam. The reason, Kagan said, was simple. To paraphrase: The zoo, despite its best efforts, was essentially ruining the elephants' lives. "It wasn't like an elephant died or something like that," Kagan said recently. "There was just a progression, struggling for years, recognizing there was a problem, and that these were common problems for elephants. We just kept thinking, 'What can we do?' " Kagan's choice, still reverberating in the zoo industry five years later, marks the latest twist in a long, often clumsy, historical shift – from animals caged for our delight to a more enlightened conservation message, and finally to the notion that zoos can actually change human behavior by teaching us about the ways we're damaging the natural world. Now more than ever, zoos are bringing the message of wildlife conservation to the forefront, making it not only part of their marketing plans but their core missions. Indeed, some zoo directors now say conservation is the only pure reason for keeping animals at all. Yet within this noble notion there is a nagging problem: Zoos, despite their evolution, remain a form of entertainment, with the animals unwittingly playing the main roles. So if zoo directors are trying more than ever to do right by the beasts in their care, providing them with hyper-naturalistic, state-of-the-art exhibits and greater attention to what the animals might actually want, then it seems only a matter of time before they ask themselves some tough questions: Should they be keeping animals at all? If so, which ones, and why? Should elephants be in zoos? Should gorillas? "If you asked somebody in our profession 10 years ago, 'Is the gorilla happy?', they would get.........
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-obrien_27edi.State.Edition1.1ea7163.html


Tigers Amaze Officials With Mystery Zoo Escape
An investigation is underway after two tigers escaped from a zoo and went on the leisurely — and dangerous — seven-hour prowl.Police and local hunters were brought in after the two big cats — named Dorinel and Siliva — fled their cage in the Romanian town of Hunedoara.The zoo was evacuated and officers sealed off the area.Emergency workers searched the entire park, but hours went by and the beasts still had not been tracked down.Officials were worried the animals may have jumped over the park fence and wandered into the town.But, as night fell, a hunter spotted a
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,556020,00.html



Zoos stop sales to shooters
TARONGA and Western Plains zoos have banned the sale of excess animals after it was revealed breeding programs were being used to make money.The zoos have shut down their animal sales systems under a bill before the Legislative Council after The Sydney Morning Herald revealed Western Plains Zoo sold endangered animals to a Shooters' Party member advocating the right to hunt them.Following an internal review, ordered by then environment minister Carmel Tebbutt, the zoos have also modified the contract system for unpaid animal transfers.Private operators will not be allowed to profit from animals they display and will be prevented from hunting them or their offspring. The zoos will also have
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/zoos-stop-sales-to-shooters-20090926-g752.html



Salisbury Zoo Bear Gets Dental Work After Six Years Of Being In Pain
Several years ago when my Wife worked at the Salisbury Zoo she was confronted with the new Spectacle Bear having a tooth issue. She consulted with Dr. Tragle about the problem and ultimately made contact with a Dentist in Ocean City who was willing to do the root canal at no cost to the City/Zoo.They started making final arrangements and then all hell broke loose at the Zoo and ultimately my Wife and Dr. Tragle left and the painful problem rested in the hands of former Zoo Director Jim Rapp.Now, several years later, the Zoo finally flew in some specialists to do exactly what my Wife had arranged to be done for FREE to the Taxpayers and paid a pretty penny to have this work done. The financial impact from Rapp continues to plague the City as Joel Hamelton, (new Zoo Director) tries to clean up the mess.One can only imagine just how much pain this Bear experienced for so many years. I'm sure Ron Alessi would scream, but we don't have the facility to do the work. Excuse me Ron but spending $3,000,000.00 on a..........
http://sbynews.blogspot.com/2009/09/salisbury-zoo-bear-gets-dental-work.html


Cash reward to save wildlife
The Wildlife and National Parks Department is offering between RM2,000 and RM4,000 to people who give information which can help curb the smuggling of protected wildlife. Its director-general, Datuk Abd Rashid Samsudin, said the department was offering between RM2,000 and RM4,000 for such information. "We need the support of the public as the smuggling of protected animals in the country has become rampant," he told reporters after closing a biodiversity conservation programme on saving displaced wildlife at the Chereh Dam, here today. He said the public should not be worried about their
http://www.nst.com.my/articles/20090728214520/Article/index_html



Audubon wins conservation award for crane breeding
The Audubon Nature Institute announces a national award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for its program to breed endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes.The 2009 Edward H. Bean Award went to the institute's Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species and Audubon Species Survival Center on New Orleans' west bank.The breeding program has used artificial insemination to produce as many as 20 chicks a year since 1995. They are raised by people wearing loose gray robes and carrying crane-head puppets, so the chicks won't imprint on people. The program also has produced two chicks from frozen and thawed semen.Institute President and chief executive Ron Forman
http://www.sunherald.com/218/story/1627261.html


Brown tiger dies in Lahore Zoo
One of the three newborn cubs of brown tigers, which were shifted to the Lahore Zoo from the Safari Park, has died while another is in critical condition, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.According to the channel, three newborn cubs of brown tigers were shifted to Lahore Zoo from Lahore Safari Park for medical treatment as the Safari Park lacks medical facilities. It quoted veterinary experts as saying the brown tigers were vulnerable
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C09%5C25%5Cstory_25-9-2009_pg13_9


$1.8M gibbons apes exhibit opens at Essex County Turtle Back Zoo
The scaffolding reached skyward alongside ancient-looking columns with a crisscrossing network of vines, all made to look like an archaeological dig amid a "Lost City" in Thailand. Large crates sat below, seemingly ready to be carted off to civilization. Up in the heights, near the mesh covering, an agile and acrobatic "Mel," just 7 years old, put one lengthy arm after another and swung effortlessly from one end to another."He’s just this strapping teenager coming into his own," Jeremy Goodman, the director of the Turtle Back Zoo, said of one of his
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/18m_endagered_apes_exhibit_ope.html

Birds unveil 'silver wings'
Some birds have silver wings, created by a previously unknown structure in their feathers, scientists have discovered.A delicate arrangement of barbules creates a silver sheen upon otherwise dark feathers. The effect is different to the usual iridescence that adds colour to the plumage of many birds. Pelicans, ducks, vultures and cranes all possess these silver wings, which might indicate a bird's fitness. Researchers have published details of this novel plumage in the Journal of Avian Biology.A group of scientists based in Spain and Canada led by Dr Ismael Galvan of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid made the discovery when studying the plumage of the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the Lammergeier. "We fell in love with the bearded vulture, a striking, rare bird of the Pyrenees. What struck us was how conspicuous the adult birds were, especially in the sun. The wing, back and tail feathers of these birds had a silvery sheen," says Dr Galvan. "Later, one of us was handling red-footed boobies and was immediately struck by how much their flight feathers on the wing resembled those of the bearded vulture." Intrigued, the researchers then searched museum collections of birds held in Madrid, and at the Donana Biological Station in Sevilla, Spain and University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. There, they found
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8263000/8263115.stm


Zoo visitors shocked as bear kills mate
A MALE brown bear killed a female bear in front of horrified onlookers at a German zoo on Saturday afternoon. Christoph Langner, the director of the zoo in the northern coastal city of Stralsund, said zoo officials are still
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Zoo-visitors-shocked-as-bear.5682680.jp


Wanted: volunteers to move 400 crocs
A Northern Territory wildlife park is seeking volunteers to relocate some of its dangerous inhabitants. Crocodylus Park, which operates as a zoo and commercial crocodile farm in Darwin, needs helpers to shift about 400 saltwater crocodiles into new ponds."It's a bit of an adventure," says the park's research director, Matt Brien, who has had about 15 people sign up for the chance to get up close and personal with the feared reptiles.But he still needs more."The more the merrier. The reason being we try to take as many precautions as possible," he said."Ideally we'd have two people handling every animal. It's a lot safer [than one person]."The mass relocation, which is taking place on Wednesday, is needed to ensure larger crocs at the park are not kept in the same pond as smaller ones."If there are big ones with little ones, problems occur," Mr Brien said. Before moving the creatures, which range in size between 1.2 metres and 2 metres, an electric shock is used to stun them, and then tape is wrapped around their mouths and eyes."Otherwise you can imagine how dangerous it would be trying to round up [the] crocs]."Mr Brien says the relocation, which usually takes place about once a year for animals of this size, is a great opportunity for people who want to see what it is like to work with crocs."Usually [we get] backpackers
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/28/2698256.htm


Zoo defends elephant statue modelled after god
Officials at the Calgary Zoo say an elephant statue modelled after a Hindu god will stay right where it is. Concerned Christians Canada has sent a letter to zoo officials, asking that the sculpture be removed. The group says that such religious symbols are inappropriate. Graham Newton, a zoo official, says the statue is dedicated to honouring Asian culture because it's set up near the Asian elephant enclosure. Newton says the symbolic elephant statue has a connection with Asian culture, much like the bald
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/09/25/11118426-cp.html


Hatching a marine breakthrough
First triggerfish raised in captivity could transform aquarium business
The tiny black and silver fish in a 50-gallon vat at Roger Williams University do not look like the aquaculture breakthrough they just may turn out to be.
But the 4-month-old tropical queen triggerfish, which can grow to a foot and a half long with iridescent yellows and blues, are the first triggerfish to be raised in captivity. And if researchers perfect their technique, other marine aquarium fish - including threatened ones like the queen trigger - could be raised in hatcheries instead of taken out of the wild.“We grew them on the first real try,’’ Andy Rhyne, assistant professor of biology at Roger Williams and a research scientist at New England Aquarium, said as he gazed at the three wriggling fish with a smile. “It’s a springboard.’’Roger Williams and aquarium researchers teamed up to overcome a decades-old obstacle to growing many kinds of marine fish: feeding them when they are young.Today, the vast majority of freshwater fish in home aquariums are produced by aquaculture. Freshwater fish tend to be relatively easy to grow because their larvae are large, some can be fed dry food, or scientists have been working on them so long that they know how best to make them grow.But most marine fish larvae are smaller and require a live meal. Researchers have met with limited success feeding larvae tiny aquatic animals called rotifers. Those organisms can grow fast and at great densities, but are often too big to be fed to marine fish or do not have the nutritional punch they need.As a result, only a tiny percentage of marine aquarium fish are grown by aquaculture. Most are caught in the wild. But there are problems: Some species are overfished, while others are caught in damaging and often deadly ways, such as by squirting cyanide into reefs to anesthetize the fish so collectors can gather them.In the ocean, marine fish larvae eat copepods - tiny crustaceans found virtually everywhere. But raising copepods in the lab is extraordinarily difficult. The tiny animals have complicated temperature, salinity, and food requirements.“People have cultivated copepods over the years in moderate quantities, but no one has been able to do it in bulk,’’ said Nancy Marcus, a copepod specialist and dean of the graduate school at Florida State
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/09/28/aquarium_and_roger_williams_university_grow_first_triggerfish_to_be_raised_in_captivity/

National Marine Aquarium charters Boeing 767 to import fish
The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth has chartered a Boeing 767 plane to bring back a 42-tonne cargo of Caribbean fish for its new exhibit. According to This is Plymouth, the chartered flight is costing the Aquarium £100,000 and will bring back 100 fish spanning 18 species. It says the import is believed to be the largest of its kind. The fish were purchased "for a nominal fee" from the Ocean World aquarium in Barbados and are being transported to the UK in 19 purpose-built tanks. Staff from the Aquarium flew to Barbados this weekend to oversee the shipment, which is due to include Nurse sharks, Spotted eagle rays, Southern rays, and Reef sharks. The fish will receive a police escort to the Aquarium upon arrival to the UK. Earlier this year sources reported that several jobs were under threat at the Aquarium and that the NMA was going to 'refocus its activities'. Redundancies are believed
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=2240



Palau creates world's first shark sanctuary

The tiny Pacific nation of Palau is creating the world's first shark sanctuary, a biological hotspot to protect great hammerheads, leopard sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and more than 130 other species fighting extinction in the Pacific Ocean.
But with only one boat to patrol 240,000 square miles (621,600 square kilometers) of Palau's newly protected waters — including its exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, that extends 200 miles (320 kilometers) from its coastline — enforcement of the new measure could be almost like swimming against the tide.
Palau's president, who is to announce the news to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, acknowledges the difficulty of patrolling ocean waters nearly the size of Texas or France with a single boat. But he hopes others will respect Palauan territorial waters — and that the shark haven inspires more such conservation efforts globally.
"Palau will declare its territorial waters and extended


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Journal of Threatened Taxa

Contents Pp. 445-496.
PDF (192Kb)

Observations of the seasonal dietary preference of male Gazella subgutturosa marica Thomas, 1897 (Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) along foraging trails of central Saudi Arabia
--Peter Low Cunningham, Pp.445-449
Abstract HTML PDF (280Kb)

Modelling spider monkeys Ateles spp. Gray, 1825: ecological responses and conservation implications to increased elevation
--Sam Shanee, Pp.450-456
Abstract HTML PDF (213Kb)

Abundance of food plant species and food habits of Rhinoceros unicornis Linn. In Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India
--Pradip Konwar, Malabika Kakati Saikia & P.K. Saikia, Pp.457-460
Abstract HTML PDF (153Kb)

New record of a freshwater crab Phricotelphusa callianira (De Man, 1887) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from Thailand
--Vachira Lheknim & Pimonpan Leelawathanagoon, Pp.461-465
Abstract HTML PDF (301Kb)

A new catfish, Hara koladynensis from northeastern India (Siluriformes: Erethistidae)
--N. Anganthoibi & W. Vishwanath, Pp.466-470
Abstract HTML PDF (372Kb)

How not to write in defense of threatened tortoises
--Yehudah L. Werner, Pp.471-473
Abstract HTML PDF (135Kb)

Asteridiella ficicola sp. nov. (Meliolaceae) from Kerala, India
--V.B. Hosagoudar, G.R. Archana & T. Sabu, P.474
Abstract HTML PDF (185Kb)

Additional floral elements to the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India
--Anshu Shrivastava & V. Singh, Pp.475-480
Abstract HTML PDF (147Kb)

Temporal variations in dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) assemblages in Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
--Nidhi Kakkar & Sanjeev K. Gupta, Pp.481-483
Abstract HTML PDF (127Kb)

Morphology of the external male genitalia of five Indian geometrid species (Lepidoptera)
--Jagbir Singh Kirti, Tarun Goyal & Mandeep Kaur,, Pp.484-487
Abstract HTML PDF (452Kb)

Notes on the reproductive biology of Heterometrus phipsoni Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)
--Zeeshan A. Mirza & Rajesh Sanap, Pp.488-490
Abstract HTML PDF (337Kb)

Acridid (Orthoptera) fauna of agricultural ecosystem in some southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India
--R. Ananthaselvi, P. Suresh, S. Janarthanan, K.A.M. Karthikeyan & I. Vijayakumar, Pp.491-492
Abstract HTML PDF (119Kb)

Checklist of freshwater fishes collected from Ernakulam District, Kerala, India
--K.S. Jameela Beevi & A. Ramachandran, Pp.493-494
Abstract HTML PDF (109Kb)

Stress free oral medication in captive cervids
--Garga M. Das, Anupam Srivastav, Debashish Chakraborty, S.K. Gupta & Parag Nigam, Pp.495-496
Abstract HTML PDF (131Kb)
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Animal Art from the Zoo at Thompson Park


When my colleague Sue was planning her art project she says "I truly did not need 41 emails in my Inbox about animal paintings. And I didn't even post anything, I just surfed the Zoo News Digest for "animal painting" and got all the info I needed."
This is true enough. The Zoo Biology archives too are a mass of information.

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6.00pm, 13 October 2009 - CONSERVATION AND THE WORLD IN 2050 - ZSL Wildlife Conservation series
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Tusker Times - Elefant Asia
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How Dublin zoo has morphed
There have been over 45 million visitors to Dublin Zoo since it opened on four acres in the Phoenix Park in September 1831. Created by the Zoological Society of Ireland, its early days were precarious. The land was borrowed from the Lord Lieutenant on the promise that it would be vacated with two months notice. All funding for the animals, buildings and staff came from membership fees, entrance charges and donations.
Keepers and gardeners were employed but the management of the Zoo was entirely in the hands of a voluntary council drawn from the membership.
Yet the founders, who included anatomists and physicians, did not consider failure and put great energy into this ambitious undertaking.
They had several reasons for creating a zoo, the most practical of which was access to exotic animals, alive and dead, for study, dissection and analysis.
In the 1830s elephants, lions and other animals could sometimes be seen in the rowdy atmosphere of the fairgrounds, such as Donnybrook Fair. In contrast Dublin Zoo was deliberately designed to be a place of genteel recreation and study with neat gardens, fashionable parties attended by the Lord Lieutenant, the patronage of Queen Victoria and many titled members whose names were posted on a board inside the gate.
Yet in 1840, urged on by liberal members of the Society, the council decided to allow the public in for a penny on Sundays. Not everyone was happy with this radical development; some members complained that the Sunday crowds teased the animals and cut the flowers. But the objectors were in a minority and, before long, cheap entry was extended to summer evenings and public holidays. This decision created a close and enduring bond between Dublin Zoo and Dubliners, which became critical for the Zoo’s survival in the late 20th century.
London Zoo (opened in 1828) provided Dublin with many of its animals in the early years. These included an elephant, which arrived in 1836 on condition that, after its death, its skeleton would be returned to London Zoo. The elephant died in 1842 but London allowed Dublin to keep it. After being used for a ....




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FALCO
Nr.34 of The Newsletter of the Middle East Falcon Research Group (MEFRG)
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Giraffe Care Professionals

The international Association of Giraffe Care Professionals is pleased to announce the first-ever conference “All of the Above” devoted to all aspects of Giraffe care in captivity. All individuals interested in Giraffe and the advancement of their care are invited to join us for this groundbreaking event. Hosted by the Phoenix Zoo with sponsorship from the Oakland Zoo, the conference will take place February 21-24, 2010. For more information, registration or for those who may be interested in presenting at the conference, please visit http://www.giraffecare.org/



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The 30th Annual International Sea Turtle Society is holding its Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation.

April 27-29 2010
Goa
India


For information on registration, travel grants and abstract submissions go to http://india.seaturtle.org/symposium2010/registration-travel-grants




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ZSL Science and Conservation Events 2009-2010 programme now available


Details of the 2009-2010 ZSL Science and Conservation Events programme can now be found online.

The first event, 'Conservation and the world in 2050', introduces the Wildlife Conservation series which will complement and broaden ZSL’s previous scientific events programme and highlight pressing conservation issues.

The integrated programme of science and conservation events includes Symposia, the Wildlife Conservation and Communicating Science series and the annual Stamford Raffles Lecture; this programme will run between October 2009 and July 2010.

The 'Impacts of environmental change on reproduction and development in wildlife symposium' will be held on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October 2009. This two-day symposium has been organised by Professor William V. Holt (ZSL), Professor Stuart R. Milligan (King's College London) and Dr Rhiannon E. Lloyd (ZSL). Please click here for further information.

Up-to-date information on all ZSL Science and Conservation Events is also available from http://ctt-news.org/9GD-1YEE-110QE2-17F0X-1/c.aspx. Dinner booking forms and registration forms for symposium attendance will be available on the ZSL site a month before each event.

I hope these events will be of interest to you. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any comments or queries on ZSL Science and Conservation Events or if you would like additional copies of any of our publicity materials.

With thanks & kind regards,Joy :-)

Joy Hayward
Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator
Zoological Society of London
Regents Park,
London
NW1 4RY

Tel: +44 (0)20 7449 6227. Fax: +44 (0)20 7449 6411. E-mail: joy.hayward@zsl.org



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Wildlife Conservation: South Asia vultures

Dates: 10 Nov 2009
Times: 6:00 pm - 7:40 pm

South Asia vultures: catastrophic declines and environmental impact - a ZSL Science and Conservation Event.

Around the world vultures are under pressure for a variety of reasons but in South Asia over the past 15 years a catastrophic decline of three species has been identified. The challenge now faced by conservationists and the governments of India, Nepal and Pakistan is to reverse the trend and save these species from the brink of extinction.

The decline, its causes and the impact on the environment will be examined, and actions now under way to ensure the long-term survival of the three species of vulture will be discussed.

Details of how a veterinary drug used in cattle led to the loss of millions of vultures, how local communities have coped with the loss of vultures in their environment and the effect on human health, the search to find safe replacement drugs and how breeding centres can re-establish populations of these Critically Endangered vultures in the wild are given.

Is this a one-off problem or is other wildlife facing similar threats?

Talks and speakers TBC

Organised by Nick Lindsay, ZSL.

This event in the 'Wildlife Conservation' series will begin at 6.00pm (doors from 5.00pm) and talks are scheduled to finish at 7.30pm; admission is free and open to everyone (no advance booking or registration required).
This event will be held in the ZSL Meeting Rooms and seats will be on a first-come, first-served basis. A dinner with the speakers will follow this event and places must be booked in advance. A dinner booking form will be available from this page by mid-October; please download for further information.

ZSL Science and Conservation Events: An essential part of ZSL's work is to communicate relevant, high-quality zoological and conservation science. The integrated ZSL Science and Conservation Events programme includes Symposia, and the new 'Wildlife Conservation' and 'Communicating Science' series. Topics cover a wide variety of zoological and conservation themes, and international experts present and discuss their research

Further Information: please contact Joy Hayward, Scientific Meetings Coordinator, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY.Tel:+44 (0)20 7449 6227. Fax: +44 (0)20 7449 6411. E-mail: joy.hayward@zsl.org



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ZOOS' PRINT MAGAZINE



Volume XXIV, Number 10


October 2009
ISSN 0971-6378 (Print edition); 0973-2543 (Online edition); RNI 11:1



Date of publication 21 September 2009

List of Individual Articles


Cover - including contents, publication information and other cover material
PDF ( 327Kb )

Complete Magazine, Pp. 1-28
PDF ( 1463Kb )

Zoo Management (including Conservation Breeding) and the Policy of routine Transfer of Officials
Pp. 1-2
PDF ( 24Kb )

A Strategic Paper for the Future of the South East Asian Zoo Association SEAZA —> ZOOsAsia
P. 3
PDF ( 33Kb )

Seoul Grand Park Zoo celebrates 100 years by hosting SEAZA conference
P. 4
PDF ( 23Kb )

Great Opportunities
Pp. 5-8
PDF ( 100Kb )

Herptile Activities
P. 9
PDF ( 23Kb )

Announcement : 2010 International Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation vis-à-vis Climate Change
P. 10
PDF ( 19Kb )

CEE material available
P. 11
PDF ( 26Kb )

Study on tarantulas of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka and adjoining areas in Goa
-- Manju Siliwal, P. 11
PDF ( 26Kb )

Environmental Enrichment for Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus) at Mysore Zoo
-- Lakshminarasimha R & Vijay Ranjan Singh, Pp. 12-14
PDF ( 119Kb )

Leading, Following and Team Dynamics
-- R. Hemanth Kumar, Pp. 15-19
PDF ( 172Kb )

A Gathering of Experts for Asian Elephants
-- Ravi Corea, Pp. 20-22
PDF ( 188Kb )

Elephant business - Nepal, India & Bangladesh
Pp. 23-24
PDF ( 469Kb )

Vultures in South Asia
-- Aminur Rahman, Pp. 25-26
PDF ( 66Kb )

International Vulture Awareness Day
P. 27
PDF ( 43Kb )

Programme to celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day at Dhaka Zoo
P. 28
PDF ( 45Kb )


http://www.zoosprint.org/showMagazine.asp

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Communicate 09

Communicate is a conference for influential environmental communicators, attracting a cross-section of representatives from environmental and conservation organisations, business and CSR, policy makers, media, national and local government bodies and natural history filmmakers.

Get informed and get involved with the crucial current and upcoming debates and get direct feedback on your own communication campaigns. Learn about new research and initiatives, explore new trends and debate techniques for
communicating complex and difficult issues. Organisations from across the environmental network contribute to the content, helping Communicate to stay well ahead of the curve.

Be Inspired! Join the debate.
October 21/22 2009
HP Labs, Bristol


Register now at http://www.communicatenow.org/ or ring 0117 370 0973

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ABWAK - Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers

The ABWAK Regional Workshop is a one day event on Saturday 3/10/09 designed to provide a range of useful skills that can benefit Keepers in their everyday work.
A choice of workshops that are designed to introduce you to a particular skills base. You will be actively involved and provided with support material as well.


There will be time to network with fellow keepers and sharing of ideas over lunch and breaks.


The workshops include: Browse selection and database – the opportunity to look at the selection of browse you might use for a range of species, and how to develop knowledge further, alongside setting up a browse database


Artificial rock construction – you will learn the basics and help construct an artificial termite mound or range of rocks for enclosures, find out about the materials required and techniques used.


Animal Record Keeping (ARKS) introduction – this is ideal for those not yet using ARKS or at the early stages and it is designed to get you started , understand the basics and provide answers to your many questions.


Rope splicing – this activity will help you learn how to splice rope effectively, get the best out of your rope. You will be contributing to existing primate enclosures and so your work will also have additional benefits and not just a stand alone workshop.


Reaseheath Animal Centre is a BIAZA memebr and has a wide range of zoo, exotic and domestic animals and their will be an opprtunity to have a tour


ABWAK members £10 Non-Members £25 Includes tea/coffee and Lunch


Contact richardc@reaseheath.ac.uk or go to http://www.abwak.co.uk/



Workshop is at Reaseheath College Animal Centre, Nantwich Cheshire, UK


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Macropod Husbandry Workshop

October 22nd-23rd 2009

9am to 5pm

Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch

Pilot Point


TX 76258


Registration Fee:


(A) Both Days + lunches + T-shirt: $150


(B) One Day + lunch + T-shirt: $75


(Lunches will be all you can eat & catered, email me with any questions or concerns about food allergies, etc)


Optional: $20Thursday Night Dinner & Drinks w/ Lynda!


Includes: All you can eat gourmet meal, margaritas & possibly a little karaokeand dancin'! Begins at 7pm


Thursday, October 22nd from 5pm to 7pm:Behind the scenes tour of Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch


Registration, info on hotels, etc can be found at: http://www.sharkarosa.com/macropod.htm


Email me with any questions!


Sara


Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch


sharkarosa@aol.com



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ZOO ADVERTS OF NOTE:





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For Zoo Jobs and Related Vacancies please visit: http://zoowork.blogspot.com/

For notification of Zoo related Meetings, Conferences, Courses and Symposia go to: http://zoosymposia.blogspot.com/

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ZooNews Digest is an independent publication, not allied or attached to any zoological collection. Many thanks.


Kind Regards,

Wishing you a wonderful week,

Peter Dickinson

Zoo News Digest Blog
http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/

ZooNews Digest Webpage
http://www.zoonewsdigest.com/

Zoo Vacancies Blog
http://zoowork.blogspot.com/

Hub Pages
http://u.nu/2kx

Follow me on Twitter at:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PeterZoo

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