Zoo News Digest 10th October 2017 (ZooNews 972)
Zoo News Digest 10th October 2017 (ZooNews 972)
Peter Dickinson
elvinhow@gmail.com
Dear Colleague,
So a 'keeper' was
killed and partially eaten by two white tiger cubs in Bannerghatta Biological
Park zoo.
There have been some
rather unkind things said about this unfortunate man on social media so I
thought I would dig as deep as I could in the online news stories to make sense
of the incident. There are, as can be expected several contradictions.
It talks of 'tiger
cubs' but these animals were 18 months old and so of considerable size and I
doubt that any layman would describe them as cubs.
First and most
obvious is that he wasn't a keeper at all. He had only been in the job for a
week as a daily wage employee and was assisting the keeper. He was not alone.
Anji, 40, was killed late Saturday
at Bannerghatta Biological Park on the outskirts of Bangalore when the two cubs
attacked him as he herded them into their enclosure, park chief Santosh Kumar
said.
“The victim was assisting the
caretaker in pushing the cats into their enclosure for the night when they
turned around and pounced on him as one of the four gates was not shut and
latched by them,” Kumar said.
So he was in the
enclosure with the animals….that makes an unlatched gate rather irrelevant.
He said a senior staffer was around
at the time: "In fact, the tigers chased him too. But he was lucky to get
to a safe place. We're conducting an inquiry."
Kumar said it appears that Anjaneya
didn't operate the holding gates properly.
So Anjaneya is to
blame?
Kumar said zoo rules only allow
experienced staffers to work in the tiger enclosure.
Note the
"in".
How many days does
it take to become an "experienced staffer"? Remember this guy had
only been there a week.
Lastly and really
irrelevant to the story White Tigers are not rare or endangered. They are not a
species or even a subspecies but a naturally occurring rare mutation. There are
none in the wild and all of those in captivity are a result of deliberate inbreeding
of father to daughter, brother to sister and so on. It does tigers in general
no favours in producing them and is anti-conservation.
So Rest in Peace
Anjaneya and I do hope your family are properly compensated. It really does not
look like any of the blame rests with you.
*********
It was my birthday
last week. Over three days I was swamped with greetings which I really do
appreciate. I tried to acknowledge every one and I think I managed. If I missed
you, sorry and thank you.
Did You Know?
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If you are a subscriber to the email version then you probably knew this already. You would also know that ZooNews Digest pre-dates any of the others. It was there before FaceBook. It was there shortly after the internet became popular and was a 'Blog' before the word had been invented. ZooNews Digest reaches zoo people.
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
********
*****
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**
*
Guest Speaker: Ken
Ramirez – The Butterfly Project
I’ve met Ken several
times through IMATA. I first met him back in 2008 when I joined the first IMATA
conference in my career. It has been quite a ride for me since. To mention that
this year I will be serving as Vice President of IMATA. This gives me the honer
to work right next to Ken Ramirez. As we al know he has done a lot for many of
us if it has been the first steps in training or if it was the step what made
you get there. As Ken mentioned to me in a conversation last year, one of his
passions is conservation. He works with great people and conservationists to
make projects happen but this doesn’t always come with flowers. See one of his
stories about his latest project:
Navy dolphins arrive
for vaquita capture
What might be the
last stand in the fight to save the vaquita marina porpoise has begun with the
arrival in the upper Gulf of California of four trained dolphins.
Andrea, Fathom,
Katrina and Splash arrived yesterday in San Felipe, Baja California, where
they’ll spend the next month helping a team of specialists locate vaquitas so
they can be captured.
A team of scientists
and veterinarians plans to transport the captured porpoises to a
46-square-meter pen at the new Vaquita Care Center, located in San Felipe, with
the hope that they will breed and reverse the decline in numbers. It was
estimated in November that only 30 re
Learning About
Ourselves: A Conversation with Tim Morrow, CEO and Executive Director of the
San Antonio Zoo
The San Antonio Zoo is undergoing a
renaissance as several improvements and capital projects have taken place over
the past few years. Also, the zoo has dramatically improved its marketing to
put a larger focus on saving species and inspiring visitors to be involved with
conservation. The leader of this resurgence is Tim Morrow, the zoo’s CEO and
Executive Director. He has led the San Antonio Zoo since late 2014 and has
ambitious plans to make the zoo even better. Here is his story.
Dolphin killings
rise in Peru due to Asia shark fin sales
Peru has
dramatically increased its sales of shark fins to Asia, triggering the
slaughter of about 15,000 dolphins a year used as bait, officials said Friday.
Shark fin is viewed
by many Asians as a delicacy and is often served as a soup at expensive Chinese
banquets.
Most of Peru’s shark
fin exports, which jumped 10 percent in recent years, go to Japan, Hong Kong,
Singapore and other Asian Nations, the Production Ministry said.
Lemurpalooza: Duke
center aims to raise awareness for lemur care and conservation
The Duke Lemur
Center hosted its semiannual event, Lemurpalooza, on Saturday.
The event allowed
attendees to view the center's lemur habitats at their own pace and also
featured activities for families to learn more about lemurs and the center's
conservation projects.
Megan McGrath,
education programs manager at the center, said the importance of the event
cannot be overstated, because it gets people interested on a personal level.
“There’s a very
different connection people get going on our Walking With Lemurs tours out here
where they get to go into a forest with lemurs all around them, see them in
their natural setting,” she said.
Dade City's Wild
Things uses "hundreds of thousands" in zoo donations for personal
business, state alleges
The owners of Dade
City's Wild Things have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the
nonprofit zoo into their personal business account, paying for their son's
wedding and other private expenses with donations raised in the name of saving
animals, according to a lawsuit filed by Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services.
The civil suit
alleges proceeds from ticket sales and animal encounters were collected under
the guise of caring for animals and assisting conservation efforts but at least
$212,000 was transferred to Kathy and Kenneth Stearns' turf business since
March 2016.
The zoo money was
then used to pay $10,000 in wedding expenses for son Randall Stearns and
$24,143 in delinquent payments to Kathy Stearns' 2013 personal bankruptcy case,
according to Chase Bank statements the state obtained through a subpoena.
In addition to
transferring funds from the zoo to her for-profit business, the lawsuit alleges
Kathy Stearns paid $8,000 in 2015 and $7,350 in 2016 to her personal bankruptcy
case directly from zoo accounts.
The state is asking
the court to fine the Stearns and bar them perm
Tiger cub attacks
its keeper as it escapes its enclosure at a Chinese zoo before worker is forced
to catch it by clinging on to its TAIL
A tiger cub
reportedly escaped its enclosure yesterday at a Chinese zoo after attacking its
keepers.
The cub broke out of
its cage because it had missed its mother and was looking for its mother,
according to Chinese media.
Workers at the zoo
managed to catch the cub by grabbing its tail.
Establishing a
conservation breeding programme to save the last saola
The saola (Pseudoryx
nghetinhensis), a primitive wild cattle endemic to the Annamite mountain range
in Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), is in immediate danger
of extinction. The primary threat to its survival is intensive commercial snaring
to supply the thriving wild meat trade in Indochina. In order to save the
saola, it is essential to establish a conservation breeding programme. In a
letter published in Science, a group of conservationists and conservation
scientists, including members of the IUCN Saola Working Group and the Leibniz
Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin, have voiced their concern about
the future of the species and stressed the importance of urgent ex situ
management.
A Santa Rosa
wildlife preserve is trying to evacuate its animals
Santa Rosa wildlife
preserve Safari West posted on its Facebook page Monday morning that "for
the moment, it looks like our preserve and our animals are ok."
“While the situation
remains dynamic and very dangerous, we have received word that the Safari West
Wildlife Preserve appears to have weathered the worst of this firestorm."
Two white tigers
kill Bengaluru zoo keeper...
Two white tigers in
Bannerghatta National Park here on Saturday mauled a keeper to death when he
en...
http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2017/10/08/white-tigers-kill-bengaluru-zoo-keeper.html
White Tiger Cubs
Kill Caretaker At Bengaluru's Bannerghatta Biological Park
A few days into his
new job at the Bannerghatta Biological Park near Bengaluru, an animal keeper
was killed by two white tiger cubs. Anji, 41, was recruited about a week ago.
He had gone to place meat inside the enclosure for the animals without noticing
it was open on the other side where the cubs were resting, sources said.
He tried to escape,
but the cubs of tigress Sowbhagya chased and killed him, they said. The police
have registered a case of unnatural death based on a complaint by the park
authorities. The park's executive director Santosh Kumar confirmed Anji's
death, but said, "Since a police investigation is on, it is not fair on my
part to give any reason behind Anji's death."
Two years ago,
another animal keeper
Mohamed bin Zayed
Species Conservation Fund benefits 1,677 projects to conserve endangered
species
The total value of
grants provided by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, MBZ Fund,
has reached AED58,852,000, benefitting 1,677 projects in efforts to protect
1,133 endangered species, according to its published statistics.
Over 150 countries
from around the world have benefitted from the grants provided by the MBZ Fund
since its establishment in October 2008, reflecting the UAE's role in
protecting the environment and wildlife and in conserving rare species.
The grants have also
supported research and individual projects to rescue many endangered species in
Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, including amphibians, reptiles, mammals,
birds, fungi, fish, plants and other living organisms.
The largest portion
of these grants, totallin
One dead in shooting
at Wynnewood zoo
The husband of Oklahoma gubernatorial
candidate Joseph "Joe Exotic" Maldonado is dead after a shooting at
Greater Wynnewood Animal Park.
Joseph Maldonado
said in a Facebook post that his husband, Travis Maldonado, died after
accidentally shooting himself at the zoo on Friday.
In the Facebook
post, Joseph Maldonado said the shooting was a "terrible accident."
Calls to the zoo
were unanswered Friday.
The Garvin County
Sheriff's Office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were on the scene
Friday investigating the incident.
The sheriff's office
responded to a report of a gun discharge at
Cotswold Wildlife
Park keeper needed hospital treatment after lemur incident
A keeper at Cotswold
Wildlife Park had to get hospital treatment for a broken nose after a 'head-on'
collision with a lemur.
The animal
specialist said they were left with splintered bones after the tiny animal
'came flying out of the hatch' of its enclosure.
The encounter was
one of ten accidents at the West Oxfordshire park reported to the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) in the 2016/17 financial year.
The other nine
injuries affected members of
10 things a penguin
can do better than a human
African penguins are
amazing animals with unique adaptations that make them true masters of their
environment. Here are 10 ways that African penguins are better at doing things
than humans - we hope that after reading this you will appreciate these awesome
endangered, endemic birds a bit more on this African Penguin Awareness Day.
'Leasing' rare
animals flagged as a way to fund wildlife conservation programs
Australia should
consider 'leasing' its rare and endangered wildlife as 'ambassadors for
conservation' to raise cash for conservation programs, similar to what China
already does with the giant panda.
That is the parting
advice from Australia's Threatened Species commissioner, Gregory Andrews, who
is leaving after three years in the job.
"Each panda
bear that's overseas from China brings in at least $1 million a year on a
novated lease," Mr Andrews told Radio National Breakfast.
"That's
something that I've been encouraging … the same principle here in Australia,
sharing some of our wildlife, of course with the utmost care and only with the
most reputable zoos, but using that money to fund th
Joburg City Parks
confirms outbreak of bird flu
Avian influenza has
hit Johannesburg with 598 carcasses of birds having been recovered from the
City of Joburg facilities at Westdene Dam, Emmarentia Dam, Zoo Lake and and
Joburg Zoo.
Johannesburg City
Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) has confirmed that some of its facilities have been
affected by the outbreak that was first detected in Limpopo and which has been
spread by the seasonal migration of birds.
JCPZ spokesperson
Jenny Moodley said that from September 1 to date, the facility has recovered
over 548 carcasses and “most have tested positive for the strain of Avian
Influenza that is not contagious to humans.”
All the dead birds
are being incinerated and ar
Jealous chimp named
Romeo BEATS UP zookeeper because he thought he was flirting with a female chimp
named Juliet
A JEALOUS chimp
called Romeo beat up a zookeeper and chewed off his ear because he thought the
man was flirting with his partner Juliet.
Romeo flew into a
rage when his female mate tried to kiss zookeeper Sergey through a glass window
in their cage at the Feldman Eco Park zoo in Lisne, Ukraine.
Port Lympne gorilla
brothers heading to Congo in Back to the Wild initiative
A family of gorillas
will be swapping Kent for the Congo as they embark on an epic journey into the
wild.
The four western
lowland gorillas are park favourites at Port Lympne but the brothers are
heading to Africa later this month.
The reserve near
Hythe has now set up a campaign - Congo Calling, which is backed by the
Congolese government - asking for the public to support the primates returning
to the wild.
In La., a modern-day
ark for vulnerable species
Audubon Nature
Institute curator Michelle Hatwood stepped off the back of a flatbed trailer,
rattling a bright red bucket of carrots and yams as three bongos watched
skeptically from beyond the edge of the nearby tree line.
The African
antelopes weren’t wary of Hatwood or her Audubon colleagues. They’ve grown
quite accustomed to them since arriving in Algiers this spring. It was more
likely the gaggle of news reporters and photographers Hatwood had in tow, there
to get a first look at the newest initiative at the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon
Species Survival Center.
“Hey, honey!”
Hatwood beckoned as Betty Jean, a 7-year-old female, finally approached, her
head bobbing slightly from side to side.
Kiba, a 3-year-old
male, opted to remain at a comfortable distance.
“Usually he’s all up
in our faces and won’t leave us alone,” Hatwood said. “It’s nice he’s kind of
relaxed.”
Betty Jean and Kiba
are just two of 28 hoofed animals -- including giraffes, sable antelopes,
common elands, okapis and yellow-backed duikers -- that arrived about two weeks
ago from the San Diego Zoo at their new 425-acre home at Audubon’s West Bank
campus in Lower Coast Algiers. Some arrived solo, w
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A ZOOLOGICAL FACILITY AND A SANCTUARY
Zoological
facilities and sanctuaries in the United States tend to appear to the general
public to be fairly similar enterprises, separated in their minds mainly by
semantics and the origin of the animals in their collections; in reality,
they're very distinct business types that appear to be superficially similar.
As no standardized definition of the two types of businesses appears to be
extant within the animal management field, WADTT offers these lists of defining
characteristics as as starting point for discussion.
Why do we have such
a close relationship with animals?
THE interaction
between human and non-human animals fascinates everyone from anthropologists to
the average pet owner. It even has a name – anthrozoology – as biologist John
Bradshaw reminds us in the subtitle of his new book, The Animals Among Us.
As Bradshaw points
out, for humans to consistently live with and nurture animals is a most unusual
trait in nature. So a strong, fact-based discussion of how and why we do this
and its effects should be eye-opening, engaging and thought-provoking.
Animals ticks some
of those boxes, but by no means all. Bradshaw knows how to produce a
well-written and accessible tome. A veteran of popular books about the lives
and habits of cats and dogs, he focuses most on the ubiquity of people keeping
animals, today and over the past few hundred years, and specifically on pets.
All zoos should be
closed – other species have rights
hat does it take to
close down a zoo? The death of nearly 500 of its captives in less than four
years? The tragedy of South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria is measured out in
those losses – inconsequential or unlucky as they may be seen in the eyes of
some, pathetic and terrible in the eyes of others. It is a tragedy that is both
human and animal, one in which our emotional investment in, or disconnection
from, the natural world plays out. It is the paradox with which we have to
live, if we live with animals. And it is one in which there will, it seems,
always be one set of losers – those who do not possess our language or our
culture with which to protest at their treatment.
For the vast
majority of us, a zoo is our first and perhaps only introduction to a living
“wild” animal. The power of that communion is not to be understated. I asked a
friend if he felt visits to a city zoo with his five-year-old daughter and
four-year-old son were valuable – or even valid – as educational experiences,
beyond the obvious moral questions that underlie them. “Yes,” he replied,
without equivocation. “But we don’t have the right to see all animals. [They]
not should expect to be able to see a tiger.”
We want our children
to know that the world is full of beautiful animals, beyond the cartoons of Paw
Patrol and social media clip
What a Zoo:
Hellbenders
It's a conservation
project that the Toledo Zoo has been part of for six years.
Newly-plucked
hellbenders will spend the next three years here before they'll return home to
the creeks of southern Ohio.
They've only been at
the Toledo Zoo for a few months.
John Chastain,
associate curator of herpetology with the Zoo explains, "Hellbender
numbers in general have been greatly decreasing over the years. All of this is
mainly due to habitat destruction, siltation of streams. So with a lot of land
restoration and management techniques, the habitat's coming back."
Hellbenders are a
type of salamander found in southern Ohio.
And for the past 6
years, the Toledo Zoo has been collecting eggs from the wild, and raising them
for three years before sending them back to their habitats.
The hardest part,
john says, has been getting them to hatch.
He says,
"Unlike most amphibian eggs, which we usually just leave alone and they
kind of do their thing, there are different issues with the hellbender eggs. In
the wild, the males actually d
Czech zoo to lead
campaign to save southeast Asian songbirds
The Czech Republic
will head a European campaign for the protection of endangered songbirds in
southeast Asia starting in October, Barbara Tesarova, spokeswoman for the
Liberec Zoo in which the campaign's main office will be, has told CTK.
"We expect at
least 200 European zoological gardens to join the campaign and 500,000 euros to
be raised," she said.
"Trading in
songbirds has become a very profitable business, which leads to an unchecked
depletion of bird species," she said about the Silent Forest - Asian
Songbird Crisis campaign organised by the The European Association of Zoos and
Aquaria (EAZA).
Unless action is
taken quickly, these species will die out, Tesarova said.
The campaign is to
last two years and approximately 280 million people are to visit the European
zoos participating in it during this time. The campaign aims
How did the dingo
get to Australia?
Dogs and people have
been traveling the world together for possibly 30,000 years, with one
exception: Australia. Archaeological evidence, from bones to rock art
paintings, suggests that Australia’s native dog, the dingo, didn’t arrive down
under until at least 4000 years ago. So who brought them? Two archaeologists
think they’ve now identified the likely suspects in the long-running mystery.
The question is not
just a matter of curiosity about dingoes. “For some reason, we know relatively
little about this time compared with other regions of the world,” says
psychologist Bradley Smith, who specializes in canine behavior and cognition at
Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, in Australia and who did not
contribute to the study. That means that “understanding the origins of the
dingo will shed light on human history in Southeast Asia, the process of dog
domestication, and the prehistory of Australia,” adds Mathew Crowther, a
wildlife biologist at the University of Sydney also not involved in the study.
There are several
groups of people who could have brought the dingo to Australia. Among the
front-runners are Indian mariners who may
Evolving Techniques
with Birds of Prey
In our everyday life
we grow in what we do, our thoughts become different and our actions are being
considered more as we get older. When I was younger I used to do a lot more
reckless things what I wouldn’t do today. Opinions have changed due to experiences
and so does your character. Your acceptance and maybe your curiosity goes to
another point in your life where you wonder about different subjects as you
used to wonder about. I’m nonstop asking the “Why” questions to myself and I
can’t get tired of it. Some answers are easy made but some answers reflect to
me with but “why can’t it be different?”. With the Job I have today I try to
put this in practice on a daily base. Quite a while ago I had a talk with
somebody from another Zoo who asked me, Does Kolmården Zoo have the highest
animal training standard in Sweden? My answer was that we all do the same but
we come from a different corner and that’s the difference. So, No we are not
the highest standard. We just make ourselves different with the actions and
techniques we take for the best care of our animals. This could maybe be an
outcome of the thought “Why can’t it be different?”
Care, Connect,
Conserve, Coastal: A Conversation with Joe Fitting, Deputy Director of the San
Francisco zoo
Sitting on 100 acres
and home to over 1,000 animals, the San Francisco Zoo is a large zoo and
features a great diversity of wildlife. Joe Fitting is the deputy director of
the Zoo and has been there since 1979. “I’m kind of like the sheriff,” he said.
“I constantly ask why we are doing things the way we do them. I help our
director Tanya Peterson with specialized projects. I’ve been here a long time
so I have institutional knowledge.” Here is his story.
Wellington Zoo
contributes nearly $390K towards conservation
Conservation is the
heart of Wellington Zoo and in the financial year ending 30 June, the Zoo is
proud to have contributed staff time and commitment and nearly $390K towards
local and global field conservation efforts. Recently appointed Conservation
Manager Peter Fraser will help drive the Zoo’s ongoing mission to save animals
in the wild.
“I’m really excited
to be joining Wellington Zoo as part of a fantastic team of like-minded
individuals who are all so passionate about animal conservation,” says Peter,
who has previously worked as Auckland Zoo’s Conservation Fund Programme
Coordinator, Zoo Keeper, and a founding Trustee for the Kea Conservation Trust,
one of Wellington Zoo’s long standing conservation partners.
“Seeing this
significant field conservation contribution just confirms that I’ve chosen to
work for the right organisation, on
Leopards And Monkeys
Burn To Death As Massive Fire Engulfs Maltese Zoo
Two leopards and
several monkeys have reportedly burned to death after a massive fire broke out
at the Mtahleb Wildlife Park this morning.
However,
firefighters managed to rescue some tigers, lions, bears and a puma after they
ran into a pool. These animals will be treated wth opium and transported to a
secure location.
The fire has been
completely extinguished now, but the damage to the zoo is said to be extensive
- the entire park is destroyed, as is the nearby home of the family who owns
it.
According to the
Times of Malta, police investigators suspect the fire broke out after a gas
cylinder expl
Merlin floated
possible deal with SeaWorld
Merlin
Entertainments, the operator of Legoland theme parks, has approached SeaWorld
about a possible deal.
US-based SeaWorld,
which operates marine theme parks, saw its shares jump as high as 8 per cent in
after-hours trading on Wednesday before clawing back some of those gains to
trade up more than 4 per cent. The approach was first reported by Bloomberg and
confirmed to the FT by a source familiar with the matter.
The sources told the
FT that Merlin had approached with an interest in parts of SeaWorld, but that
SeaWorld had been reluctant to break itself into pieces instead of selling
itself as a whole.
Merlin and SeaWorld
both declined to comment.
SeaWorld, which has
a market cap of $1.22bn, recently replaced the longtime chairman of its board
of directors amid falling attendance and revenues in the wake of criticism over
its treatme
Captured in 1974,
Shimoda aquarium dolphin Nana sets record breeding duration of nearly 43 years
An aquarium in the
city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, said Wednesday that it marked Japan’s
longest breeding record of bottlenose dolphin, with 15,666 days, or 42 years
and 10 months.
Shimoda Aquarium
said the dolphin Nana, whose age is estimated 45 to 47, has been bred there
since it was captured in the sea off the city of Ito in Shizuoka in November
1974.
By 1994, she had
given birth to eight dolphins. Nana still has a big appetite and likes to eat
mackerel.
Bottlenose dolphins
normally live for 10 to 15 years.
The aquarium held a
ceremony for Nana Wednesday, where Shimoda Mayor Yusuke Fukui handed a special
residence certificate to the dolphin.
Nana swam and jumped
with other dolphins that are as young as her great-grandchildren on Wednesday.
“Because we breed
her in a natural bay, she may not have a lot of stress. I hope she will stay
healthy and live a l
New animal director
threatened to quit post over 'misunderstandings and disagreements' with zoo
boss
SOUTH Lakes Safari
Zoo is complying with the conditions of its licence - despite the man tasked
with changing its fortunes threatening to resign.
Andreas Kaufmann was
officially appointed animal director in August as part of the conditions of
Cumbria Zoo Company Limited's licence awarded by Barrow Borough Council.
Yet he handed in his
resignation amid a series of "misunderstandings and disagreements"
with zoo boss Karen Brewer, including the animals’ diets.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"Everything worked really well for about a month until I felt there were
issues. I did resign because I couldn't work at the pace I was used to.
"It wasn't a
spontaneous decision. There was a few different things and a few of them were
just misunderstandings and disagreements and different approaches.
"English isn't
my first language and there are also differences in culture. I'm quite
straightforward and that's sometimes too much for some.
"Many things
came together and we've sorted things and we're now back to a good
process."
Under the terms of
the licence, awarded to CZCL on May 11, an animal director must be employed on
a permanent and full-time basis before July 31.
Councillors
expressed concerns about Mr Kaufmann's dedication to the zoo and its operations
in his absence.
While he has a
number of pre-existing national and international commitments, CZCL has also
employed an animal manager to deputise for Mr Kaufmann during his time away
from the zoo.
Dr Matthew Brash,
one of three inspectors to visit the zoo unannounced on August 3, said:
"It is a completely understandable concern. By the letter of the law he
has a contract now and he has signed it.
"He is there
and has put in place a number two to run the zoo when he can't.
Stewart Lambert,
chairman of the board at the zoo, said: "Because of our current reputation
we recognised that we were unlikely to get anyone else of equal stature at this
time, and he's one of the world's best."
Despite councillors'
concerns, Barrow Borough Council's licensing regulatory committee found that,
while Mr Kaufmann's position was not fully agreed until August 4, CZCL is
complying with this requirement.
Council hears of
animal injuries
THE inspection
detailed during today’s (October 5) meeting also noted that CZCL was following
an order to eliminate as many bites and injuries as possible, despite a number
of incidents observed during the inspection.
A number of the
incidents surrounded the public feeding of lemurs and squirrel monkeys in open
areas.
The inspection found
considerable contact between the animals and the public, including one instance
of a lemur climbing onto a pram.
In his report, Dr
Brash said: "Lemur feeding by the public has historically been of concern.
The large number of lemurs and people involved in these public feeding sessions
has the potential for them to come into contact with these primates and the potential
for them to be bitten.
"The inspectors
observed a feeding session and noted the keepers do a good job instructing the
public about safety and requesting they stay approximately one metre back from
the rail. It's educational and informative and the public obviously hugely enjoyed
the experience."
Mr Kaufmann
confirmed changes had been put in place during his short time as animal
director.
He said: "Some
changes have already been put in place regarding interactions between animals
and the public.
"Squirrel
monkeys are no longer allowed in public contact areas and they never will be
again.
"Some changes
have already been made to lemur feedings such as less attractive food items and
organisational and constructional ones are on the way.
"However, we
are aiming to replace the current lemur interactions with more attractive
experiences involving zero risk."
The changes included
feeding the animals multiple times each day to reduce hunger at public
feedings, while there are plans to limit the number of people at feedings to
three or four.
Safe transfer of
animals to resume
A NUMBER of lemurs
at the zoo have been placed on the surplus list, as bosses attempt to safely
reduce the number of animals on site.
The zoo had lost its
government-approved BALAI status, which prevented the sale of animals to other
sites around the country.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"We will move a number of animals to other zoos. This is a great place but
one of the areas we have to work on is the number of animals for our
capabilities.
"We are doing a
good job of finding good homes for them. We're looking at other institutions
and we make sure they are in a position to care for them appropriately.
"We do not
euthanise our animals."
A number of male
kangaroos were also placed on the list following an injury to a kangaroo found
during the inspection.
The kangaroo was
observed with a damaged area of skin over the left pouch following a mating
session.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"If you're a parent and your child is sick it doesn't make you a bad
parent.
"When you care
for animals in a zoo they will get sick and you need to provide the care to
make them better."
MP writes to
secretary of state following zoo 'scandal'
FOLLOWING the
decision from Barrow Borough Council, the area's MP John Woodcock has written
to secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Michael
Gove.
Mr Woodcock has
previously criticised the zoo management for their failings under David Gill's
leadership.
In his letter to Mr
Gove, he said: "I am writing to you to request a meeting to discuss
animals at risk at South Lakes Safari Zoo in my constituency and seek to
persuade you to act to overhaul the country’s wholly inadequate zoo licensing
framework.
"I congratulate
you on your decision to increase the criminal penalty to those found guilty of
cruelty to pets. I understand this would also apply to zoo animals, can you
confirm that this is the case please? Would the new guidelines you are drawing
up encapsulate neglect such as that witnessed in South Lakes Safari Zoo?
"As you will be
aware, earlier this year there was the shocking discovery of large-scale
neglect of animals, over 500 animals died some in horrific circumstances.
"This finding
came a few years after the tragic death of my constituent, zookeeper Sarah
McClay, who was killed by a tiger in 2013. Barrow Borough Council is meeting
today to discuss the findings of a new inspection of the zoo which is now
nominally under new management.
"Whatever the
council’s decision, it is essential that the government now commits to root and
branch reform of the wider zoo licensing regime which is simply not fit for
purpose and is leaving many zoo animals across the country at risk of cruelty and
neglect.
"In South Lakes
Zoo, a fresh licence to operate was granted to a new company made up of many
members of the regime that was stripped of its license following the
inspection.
"As it stands,
any council charged with making a decision on zoo licenses has no legal
authority to take into account issues such as this. They are forced to rely
solely on a snapshot provided by inspectors who are not full time
professionals, and often riven with conflicts of interest.
"Surely, in the
wake of the South Lakes scandal the government should act to establish a fit
and proper person’s test that would bar those who have been in positions of
responsibility under a previous failed regime. It should also consult on how
the regulatory system for zoos can be professionalised so it replicates the
standards seen in other professions where welfare and safety are at risk.
"I would really
welcome the chance to put this case to you in person and discuss your views on
how to improve this inadequate, out-of-date system that has demonstrably failed
in its basic purpose.
"Given the high
level of interest in this matter, I am making this letter publicly
available."
Zoo Interviews
Solving the Jigsaw
Puzzles of the Natural World: A Conversation with Dr. David Jones, Retired
Director of the North Carolina Zoo
With over 500 developed acres, the North
Carolina Zoo is the largest walkthrough zoo in the United States of America.
Focused exclusively on recreating the habitats of Africa and North America, it
is known for its enormous animal spaces, beautiful landscape and abundance of
artwork. It is truly one of the best zoos in the world. From 1993 to 2015, the
zoo was lead by Dr. David Jones, who formerly directed the Zoological Society
of London. He oversaw much progress and growth at the zoo including significant
expansions and renovations of habitats for African elephants, polar bears and
chimpanzees. Here is his story.
Giant stick insects
found on Lord Howe Island a genetic match for 'extinct' phasmids
Scientists have
confirmed that giant insects found on a rocky outcrop off Lord Howe Island are
a genetic match for the island’s stick insects that were believed to have gone
extinct almost 100 years earlier.
The species were
assumed to be one and the same. However significant morphological differences
between the Lord Howe Island stick insects collected in the early 1900s and
stored in museum collections, and the phasmids discovered in 2001 on Ball’s
Pyramid (a remnant volcano about 23km off the main island), created a suspicion
the latter could be a related species – rather than the original back from the
dead.
That suspicion
prompted scientists to map the genome from descendants of the Ball’s Pyramid
phasmids, which were bred in captivity at Melbourne zoo. They compared it to
DNA extracted from museum specimens held by the CSIRO.
Flying Foxes Play
Important Role in Pollination of Durian
Large fruit bats of
the genus Pteropus are severely threatened by hunting and deforestation.
They are often sold
and eaten as exotic meat due to an unsubstantiated belief that consuming them
can help cure asthma and other respiratory problems.
They are also
persecuted and killed as agricultural pests, as some people claim that the bats
cause damage and economic loss by feeding on cultivated fruits.
A new study
published in the Journal of Ecology and Evolution shows that these bats play
important roles as seed dispersers and pollinators in rainforests, especially
on islands.
“Previously it was
known that the smaller, nectar-feeding bats are pollinators for durian — but
many people believed that flying foxes were too large and destructive to play
such a role,
Devon zoo is world's
first in keeping three breeding pairs of slow loris
Slow loris are the
only venomous primate in the world and Shaldon Zoo staff are among a determined
group of conservationists trying to preserve this unusual nocturnal primate
from becoming extinct.
There are nine
species of slow loris and two slender loris. Shaldon work with three of these
species; the most in any zoological centre in the world.
Lahore zoo ignores
WAZA guidelines in a bid to procure single elephant
At a time when
Islamabad administration is thinking about shifting Kaavan, the depressed lone
male elephant in Islamabad Margazhar zoo, to an elephant sanctuary abroad for
rehabilitation, the Lahore zoo authorities are once again all set to procure
one female elephant against the recommendation of World Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (WAZA).
On the international
level, animal experts have been extremely vocal about banning elephants in zoos
since the large creature requires expansive space to exercise its muscles,
while it is also a social animal that likes to move long distances with a herd.
The unavailability of potential mates
Malta SPCA says
islands’ zoos cannot give good quality of life to wild animals
The MSPCA said it is
concerned with the growing reports of wild animals in so called private
collections. “MSPCA urges the
authorities to monitor this and other operations to prevent further
deterioration in Malta as wild animals, even in private collections, have made
the news before for all the wrong reasons.”
Wildlife Park Malta,
a licensed zoo, was hit by a fire on Tuesday early morning, which claimed the
lives of many of their animals.
The MSPCA said it
was saddened by the unnecessary death of the animals killed in the blaze, while
animal lovers all over social media are expressing their anger that this
happened.
“Several animals
have had to be displaced as their enclosures are no longer safe or secure,
while two leopards, three parrots, two lemurs, two monkeys and a squirrel
monkey were less fortunate and died in the fire. While this nightmare unfolds
MSPCA hopes that these animals are not further stressed by being kept in
Hurricane mauled
PR's renowned Monkey Island research center
As thousands of
troops and government workers struggle to restore normal life to Puerto Rico, a
small group of scientists is racing to save more than 1,000 monkeys whose
brains may contain clues to mysteries of the human mind.
One of the first
places Hurricane Maria hit in the U.S. territory Sept. 20 was Cayo Santiago,
known as Monkey Island, a 40-acre outcropping off the east coast that is one of
the world's most important sites for research into how primates think,
socialize and evolve.
The storm destroyed
virtually everything on the island, stripping it of vegetation, wrecking the
monkeys' metal drinking troughs and crushing the piers that University of
Puerto Rico workers use to bring in bags of monkey chow—brown pellets of
processed food that complete the primates' natural vegetation diet.
"All of our
tools were destroyed," said Angelina Ruiz Lambides, the director of the
Cayo Santiago facility. "Does FEMA cover this? Does the university's
insurance cover this? I don't kno
So a 'keeper' was
killed and partially eaten by two white tiger cubs in Bannerghatta Biological
Park zoo.
There have been some
rather unkind things said about this unfortunate man on social media so I
thought I would dig as deep as I could in the online news stories to make sense
of the incident. There are, as can be expected several contradictions.
It talks of 'tiger
cubs' but these animals were 18 months old and so of considerable size and I
doubt that any layman would describe them as cubs.
First and most
obvious is that he wasn't a keeper at all. He had only been in the job for a
week as a daily wage employee and was assisting the keeper. He was not alone.
Anji, 40, was killed late Saturday
at Bannerghatta Biological Park on the outskirts of Bangalore when the two cubs
attacked him as he herded them into their enclosure, park chief Santosh Kumar
said.
“The victim was assisting the
caretaker in pushing the cats into their enclosure for the night when they
turned around and pounced on him as one of the four gates was not shut and
latched by them,” Kumar said.
So he was in the
enclosure with the animals….that makes an unlatched gate rather irrelevant.
He said a senior staffer was around
at the time: "In fact, the tigers chased him too. But he was lucky to get
to a safe place. We're conducting an inquiry."
Kumar said it appears that Anjaneya
didn't operate the holding gates properly.
So Anjaneya is to
blame?
Kumar said zoo rules only allow
experienced staffers to work in the tiger enclosure.
Note the
"in".
How many days does
it take to become an "experienced staffer"? Remember this guy had
only been there a week.
Lastly and really
irrelevant to the story White Tigers are not rare or endangered. They are not a
species or even a subspecies but a naturally occurring rare mutation. There are
none in the wild and all of those in captivity are a result of deliberate inbreeding
of father to daughter, brother to sister and so on. It does tigers in general
no favours in producing them and is anti-conservation.
So Rest in Peace
Anjaneya and I do hope your family are properly compensated. It really does not
look like any of the blame rests with you.
*********
It was my birthday
last week. Over three days I was swamped with greetings which I really do
appreciate. I tried to acknowledge every one and I think I managed. If I missed
you, sorry and thank you.
Did You Know?
ZooNews Digest has over 61,000 Followers on Facebook( and over 62,000 likes) and has a weekly reach often exceeding over 350,000 people? That ZooNews Digest has subscribers in over 823 Zoos in 154+ countries? That the subscriber list for the mail out reads like a 'Zoos Who's Who?'
If you are a subscriber to the email version then you probably knew this already. You would also know that ZooNews Digest pre-dates any of the others. It was there before FaceBook. It was there shortly after the internet became popular and was a 'Blog' before the word had been invented. ZooNews Digest reaches zoo people.
I remain committed to the work of GOOD zoos,
********
*****
***
**
*
Guest Speaker: Ken
Ramirez – The Butterfly Project
I’ve met Ken several
times through IMATA. I first met him back in 2008 when I joined the first IMATA
conference in my career. It has been quite a ride for me since. To mention that
this year I will be serving as Vice President of IMATA. This gives me the honer
to work right next to Ken Ramirez. As we al know he has done a lot for many of
us if it has been the first steps in training or if it was the step what made
you get there. As Ken mentioned to me in a conversation last year, one of his
passions is conservation. He works with great people and conservationists to
make projects happen but this doesn’t always come with flowers. See one of his
stories about his latest project:
Navy dolphins arrive
for vaquita capture
What might be the
last stand in the fight to save the vaquita marina porpoise has begun with the
arrival in the upper Gulf of California of four trained dolphins.
Andrea, Fathom,
Katrina and Splash arrived yesterday in San Felipe, Baja California, where
they’ll spend the next month helping a team of specialists locate vaquitas so
they can be captured.
A team of scientists
and veterinarians plans to transport the captured porpoises to a
46-square-meter pen at the new Vaquita Care Center, located in San Felipe, with
the hope that they will breed and reverse the decline in numbers. It was
estimated in November that only 30 re
Learning About
Ourselves: A Conversation with Tim Morrow, CEO and Executive Director of the
San Antonio Zoo
The San Antonio Zoo is undergoing a
renaissance as several improvements and capital projects have taken place over
the past few years. Also, the zoo has dramatically improved its marketing to
put a larger focus on saving species and inspiring visitors to be involved with
conservation. The leader of this resurgence is Tim Morrow, the zoo’s CEO and
Executive Director. He has led the San Antonio Zoo since late 2014 and has
ambitious plans to make the zoo even better. Here is his story.
Dolphin killings
rise in Peru due to Asia shark fin sales
Peru has
dramatically increased its sales of shark fins to Asia, triggering the
slaughter of about 15,000 dolphins a year used as bait, officials said Friday.
Shark fin is viewed
by many Asians as a delicacy and is often served as a soup at expensive Chinese
banquets.
Most of Peru’s shark
fin exports, which jumped 10 percent in recent years, go to Japan, Hong Kong,
Singapore and other Asian Nations, the Production Ministry said.
Lemurpalooza: Duke
center aims to raise awareness for lemur care and conservation
The Duke Lemur
Center hosted its semiannual event, Lemurpalooza, on Saturday.
The event allowed
attendees to view the center's lemur habitats at their own pace and also
featured activities for families to learn more about lemurs and the center's
conservation projects.
Megan McGrath,
education programs manager at the center, said the importance of the event
cannot be overstated, because it gets people interested on a personal level.
“There’s a very
different connection people get going on our Walking With Lemurs tours out here
where they get to go into a forest with lemurs all around them, see them in
their natural setting,” she said.
Dade City's Wild
Things uses "hundreds of thousands" in zoo donations for personal
business, state alleges
The owners of Dade
City's Wild Things have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the
nonprofit zoo into their personal business account, paying for their son's
wedding and other private expenses with donations raised in the name of saving
animals, according to a lawsuit filed by Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services.
The civil suit
alleges proceeds from ticket sales and animal encounters were collected under
the guise of caring for animals and assisting conservation efforts but at least
$212,000 was transferred to Kathy and Kenneth Stearns' turf business since
March 2016.
The zoo money was
then used to pay $10,000 in wedding expenses for son Randall Stearns and
$24,143 in delinquent payments to Kathy Stearns' 2013 personal bankruptcy case,
according to Chase Bank statements the state obtained through a subpoena.
In addition to
transferring funds from the zoo to her for-profit business, the lawsuit alleges
Kathy Stearns paid $8,000 in 2015 and $7,350 in 2016 to her personal bankruptcy
case directly from zoo accounts.
The state is asking
the court to fine the Stearns and bar them perm
Tiger cub attacks
its keeper as it escapes its enclosure at a Chinese zoo before worker is forced
to catch it by clinging on to its TAIL
A tiger cub
reportedly escaped its enclosure yesterday at a Chinese zoo after attacking its
keepers.
The cub broke out of
its cage because it had missed its mother and was looking for its mother,
according to Chinese media.
Workers at the zoo
managed to catch the cub by grabbing its tail.
Establishing a
conservation breeding programme to save the last saola
The saola (Pseudoryx
nghetinhensis), a primitive wild cattle endemic to the Annamite mountain range
in Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), is in immediate danger
of extinction. The primary threat to its survival is intensive commercial snaring
to supply the thriving wild meat trade in Indochina. In order to save the
saola, it is essential to establish a conservation breeding programme. In a
letter published in Science, a group of conservationists and conservation
scientists, including members of the IUCN Saola Working Group and the Leibniz
Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin, have voiced their concern about
the future of the species and stressed the importance of urgent ex situ
management.
A Santa Rosa
wildlife preserve is trying to evacuate its animals
Santa Rosa wildlife
preserve Safari West posted on its Facebook page Monday morning that "for
the moment, it looks like our preserve and our animals are ok."
“While the situation
remains dynamic and very dangerous, we have received word that the Safari West
Wildlife Preserve appears to have weathered the worst of this firestorm."
Two white tigers kill Bengaluru zoo keeper...
Two white tigers in
Bannerghatta National Park here on Saturday mauled a keeper to death when he
en...
http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2017/10/08/white-tigers-kill-bengaluru-zoo-keeper.html
White Tiger Cubs
Kill Caretaker At Bengaluru's Bannerghatta Biological Park
A few days into his
new job at the Bannerghatta Biological Park near Bengaluru, an animal keeper
was killed by two white tiger cubs. Anji, 41, was recruited about a week ago.
He had gone to place meat inside the enclosure for the animals without noticing
it was open on the other side where the cubs were resting, sources said.
He tried to escape,
but the cubs of tigress Sowbhagya chased and killed him, they said. The police
have registered a case of unnatural death based on a complaint by the park
authorities. The park's executive director Santosh Kumar confirmed Anji's
death, but said, "Since a police investigation is on, it is not fair on my
part to give any reason behind Anji's death."
Two years ago,
another animal keeper
Mohamed bin Zayed
Species Conservation Fund benefits 1,677 projects to conserve endangered
species
The total value of
grants provided by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, MBZ Fund,
has reached AED58,852,000, benefitting 1,677 projects in efforts to protect
1,133 endangered species, according to its published statistics.
Over 150 countries
from around the world have benefitted from the grants provided by the MBZ Fund
since its establishment in October 2008, reflecting the UAE's role in
protecting the environment and wildlife and in conserving rare species.
The grants have also
supported research and individual projects to rescue many endangered species in
Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, including amphibians, reptiles, mammals,
birds, fungi, fish, plants and other living organisms.
The largest portion
of these grants, totallin
One dead in shooting
at Wynnewood zoo
The husband of Oklahoma gubernatorial
candidate Joseph "Joe Exotic" Maldonado is dead after a shooting at
Greater Wynnewood Animal Park.
Joseph Maldonado
said in a Facebook post that his husband, Travis Maldonado, died after
accidentally shooting himself at the zoo on Friday.
In the Facebook
post, Joseph Maldonado said the shooting was a "terrible accident."
Calls to the zoo
were unanswered Friday.
The Garvin County
Sheriff's Office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were on the scene
Friday investigating the incident.
The sheriff's office
responded to a report of a gun discharge at
Cotswold Wildlife
Park keeper needed hospital treatment after lemur incident
A keeper at Cotswold
Wildlife Park had to get hospital treatment for a broken nose after a 'head-on'
collision with a lemur.
The animal
specialist said they were left with splintered bones after the tiny animal
'came flying out of the hatch' of its enclosure.
The encounter was
one of ten accidents at the West Oxfordshire park reported to the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) in the 2016/17 financial year.
The other nine
injuries affected members of
10 things a penguin
can do better than a human
African penguins are
amazing animals with unique adaptations that make them true masters of their
environment. Here are 10 ways that African penguins are better at doing things
than humans - we hope that after reading this you will appreciate these awesome
endangered, endemic birds a bit more on this African Penguin Awareness Day.
'Leasing' rare
animals flagged as a way to fund wildlife conservation programs
Australia should
consider 'leasing' its rare and endangered wildlife as 'ambassadors for
conservation' to raise cash for conservation programs, similar to what China
already does with the giant panda.
That is the parting
advice from Australia's Threatened Species commissioner, Gregory Andrews, who
is leaving after three years in the job.
"Each panda
bear that's overseas from China brings in at least $1 million a year on a
novated lease," Mr Andrews told Radio National Breakfast.
"That's
something that I've been encouraging … the same principle here in Australia,
sharing some of our wildlife, of course with the utmost care and only with the
most reputable zoos, but using that money to fund th
Joburg City Parks
confirms outbreak of bird flu
Avian influenza has
hit Johannesburg with 598 carcasses of birds having been recovered from the
City of Joburg facilities at Westdene Dam, Emmarentia Dam, Zoo Lake and and
Joburg Zoo.
Johannesburg City
Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) has confirmed that some of its facilities have been
affected by the outbreak that was first detected in Limpopo and which has been
spread by the seasonal migration of birds.
JCPZ spokesperson
Jenny Moodley said that from September 1 to date, the facility has recovered
over 548 carcasses and “most have tested positive for the strain of Avian
Influenza that is not contagious to humans.”
All the dead birds
are being incinerated and ar
Jealous chimp named
Romeo BEATS UP zookeeper because he thought he was flirting with a female chimp
named Juliet
A JEALOUS chimp
called Romeo beat up a zookeeper and chewed off his ear because he thought the
man was flirting with his partner Juliet.
Romeo flew into a
rage when his female mate tried to kiss zookeeper Sergey through a glass window
in their cage at the Feldman Eco Park zoo in Lisne, Ukraine.
Port Lympne gorilla
brothers heading to Congo in Back to the Wild initiative
A family of gorillas
will be swapping Kent for the Congo as they embark on an epic journey into the
wild.
The four western
lowland gorillas are park favourites at Port Lympne but the brothers are
heading to Africa later this month.
The reserve near
Hythe has now set up a campaign - Congo Calling, which is backed by the
Congolese government - asking for the public to support the primates returning
to the wild.
In La., a modern-day
ark for vulnerable species
Audubon Nature
Institute curator Michelle Hatwood stepped off the back of a flatbed trailer,
rattling a bright red bucket of carrots and yams as three bongos watched
skeptically from beyond the edge of the nearby tree line.
The African
antelopes weren’t wary of Hatwood or her Audubon colleagues. They’ve grown
quite accustomed to them since arriving in Algiers this spring. It was more
likely the gaggle of news reporters and photographers Hatwood had in tow, there
to get a first look at the newest initiative at the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon
Species Survival Center.
“Hey, honey!”
Hatwood beckoned as Betty Jean, a 7-year-old female, finally approached, her
head bobbing slightly from side to side.
Kiba, a 3-year-old
male, opted to remain at a comfortable distance.
“Usually he’s all up
in our faces and won’t leave us alone,” Hatwood said. “It’s nice he’s kind of
relaxed.”
Betty Jean and Kiba
are just two of 28 hoofed animals -- including giraffes, sable antelopes,
common elands, okapis and yellow-backed duikers -- that arrived about two weeks
ago from the San Diego Zoo at their new 425-acre home at Audubon’s West Bank
campus in Lower Coast Algiers. Some arrived solo, w
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A ZOOLOGICAL FACILITY AND A SANCTUARY
Zoological
facilities and sanctuaries in the United States tend to appear to the general
public to be fairly similar enterprises, separated in their minds mainly by
semantics and the origin of the animals in their collections; in reality,
they're very distinct business types that appear to be superficially similar.
As no standardized definition of the two types of businesses appears to be
extant within the animal management field, WADTT offers these lists of defining
characteristics as as starting point for discussion.
Why do we have such
a close relationship with animals?
THE interaction
between human and non-human animals fascinates everyone from anthropologists to
the average pet owner. It even has a name – anthrozoology – as biologist John
Bradshaw reminds us in the subtitle of his new book, The Animals Among Us.
As Bradshaw points
out, for humans to consistently live with and nurture animals is a most unusual
trait in nature. So a strong, fact-based discussion of how and why we do this
and its effects should be eye-opening, engaging and thought-provoking.
Animals ticks some
of those boxes, but by no means all. Bradshaw knows how to produce a
well-written and accessible tome. A veteran of popular books about the lives
and habits of cats and dogs, he focuses most on the ubiquity of people keeping
animals, today and over the past few hundred years, and specifically on pets.
All zoos should be
closed – other species have rights
hat does it take to
close down a zoo? The death of nearly 500 of its captives in less than four
years? The tragedy of South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria is measured out in
those losses – inconsequential or unlucky as they may be seen in the eyes of
some, pathetic and terrible in the eyes of others. It is a tragedy that is both
human and animal, one in which our emotional investment in, or disconnection
from, the natural world plays out. It is the paradox with which we have to
live, if we live with animals. And it is one in which there will, it seems,
always be one set of losers – those who do not possess our language or our
culture with which to protest at their treatment.
For the vast
majority of us, a zoo is our first and perhaps only introduction to a living
“wild” animal. The power of that communion is not to be understated. I asked a
friend if he felt visits to a city zoo with his five-year-old daughter and
four-year-old son were valuable – or even valid – as educational experiences,
beyond the obvious moral questions that underlie them. “Yes,” he replied,
without equivocation. “But we don’t have the right to see all animals. [They]
not should expect to be able to see a tiger.”
We want our children
to know that the world is full of beautiful animals, beyond the cartoons of Paw
Patrol and social media clip
What a Zoo:
Hellbenders
It's a conservation
project that the Toledo Zoo has been part of for six years.
Newly-plucked
hellbenders will spend the next three years here before they'll return home to
the creeks of southern Ohio.
They've only been at
the Toledo Zoo for a few months.
John Chastain,
associate curator of herpetology with the Zoo explains, "Hellbender
numbers in general have been greatly decreasing over the years. All of this is
mainly due to habitat destruction, siltation of streams. So with a lot of land
restoration and management techniques, the habitat's coming back."
Hellbenders are a
type of salamander found in southern Ohio.
And for the past 6
years, the Toledo Zoo has been collecting eggs from the wild, and raising them
for three years before sending them back to their habitats.
The hardest part,
john says, has been getting them to hatch.
He says,
"Unlike most amphibian eggs, which we usually just leave alone and they
kind of do their thing, there are different issues with the hellbender eggs. In
the wild, the males actually d
Czech zoo to lead
campaign to save southeast Asian songbirds
The Czech Republic
will head a European campaign for the protection of endangered songbirds in
southeast Asia starting in October, Barbara Tesarova, spokeswoman for the
Liberec Zoo in which the campaign's main office will be, has told CTK.
"We expect at
least 200 European zoological gardens to join the campaign and 500,000 euros to
be raised," she said.
"Trading in
songbirds has become a very profitable business, which leads to an unchecked
depletion of bird species," she said about the Silent Forest - Asian
Songbird Crisis campaign organised by the The European Association of Zoos and
Aquaria (EAZA).
Unless action is
taken quickly, these species will die out, Tesarova said.
The campaign is to
last two years and approximately 280 million people are to visit the European
zoos participating in it during this time. The campaign aims
How did the dingo
get to Australia?
Dogs and people have
been traveling the world together for possibly 30,000 years, with one
exception: Australia. Archaeological evidence, from bones to rock art
paintings, suggests that Australia’s native dog, the dingo, didn’t arrive down
under until at least 4000 years ago. So who brought them? Two archaeologists
think they’ve now identified the likely suspects in the long-running mystery.
The question is not
just a matter of curiosity about dingoes. “For some reason, we know relatively
little about this time compared with other regions of the world,” says
psychologist Bradley Smith, who specializes in canine behavior and cognition at
Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, in Australia and who did not
contribute to the study. That means that “understanding the origins of the
dingo will shed light on human history in Southeast Asia, the process of dog
domestication, and the prehistory of Australia,” adds Mathew Crowther, a
wildlife biologist at the University of Sydney also not involved in the study.
There are several
groups of people who could have brought the dingo to Australia. Among the
front-runners are Indian mariners who may
Evolving Techniques
with Birds of Prey
In our everyday life
we grow in what we do, our thoughts become different and our actions are being
considered more as we get older. When I was younger I used to do a lot more
reckless things what I wouldn’t do today. Opinions have changed due to experiences
and so does your character. Your acceptance and maybe your curiosity goes to
another point in your life where you wonder about different subjects as you
used to wonder about. I’m nonstop asking the “Why” questions to myself and I
can’t get tired of it. Some answers are easy made but some answers reflect to
me with but “why can’t it be different?”. With the Job I have today I try to
put this in practice on a daily base. Quite a while ago I had a talk with
somebody from another Zoo who asked me, Does Kolmården Zoo have the highest
animal training standard in Sweden? My answer was that we all do the same but
we come from a different corner and that’s the difference. So, No we are not
the highest standard. We just make ourselves different with the actions and
techniques we take for the best care of our animals. This could maybe be an
outcome of the thought “Why can’t it be different?”
Care, Connect,
Conserve, Coastal: A Conversation with Joe Fitting, Deputy Director of the San
Francisco zoo
Sitting on 100 acres
and home to over 1,000 animals, the San Francisco Zoo is a large zoo and
features a great diversity of wildlife. Joe Fitting is the deputy director of
the Zoo and has been there since 1979. “I’m kind of like the sheriff,” he said.
“I constantly ask why we are doing things the way we do them. I help our
director Tanya Peterson with specialized projects. I’ve been here a long time
so I have institutional knowledge.” Here is his story.
Wellington Zoo
contributes nearly $390K towards conservation
Conservation is the
heart of Wellington Zoo and in the financial year ending 30 June, the Zoo is
proud to have contributed staff time and commitment and nearly $390K towards
local and global field conservation efforts. Recently appointed Conservation
Manager Peter Fraser will help drive the Zoo’s ongoing mission to save animals
in the wild.
“I’m really excited
to be joining Wellington Zoo as part of a fantastic team of like-minded
individuals who are all so passionate about animal conservation,” says Peter,
who has previously worked as Auckland Zoo’s Conservation Fund Programme
Coordinator, Zoo Keeper, and a founding Trustee for the Kea Conservation Trust,
one of Wellington Zoo’s long standing conservation partners.
“Seeing this
significant field conservation contribution just confirms that I’ve chosen to
work for the right organisation, on
Leopards And Monkeys
Burn To Death As Massive Fire Engulfs Maltese Zoo
Two leopards and
several monkeys have reportedly burned to death after a massive fire broke out
at the Mtahleb Wildlife Park this morning.
However,
firefighters managed to rescue some tigers, lions, bears and a puma after they
ran into a pool. These animals will be treated wth opium and transported to a
secure location.
The fire has been
completely extinguished now, but the damage to the zoo is said to be extensive
- the entire park is destroyed, as is the nearby home of the family who owns
it.
According to the
Times of Malta, police investigators suspect the fire broke out after a gas
cylinder expl
Merlin floated
possible deal with SeaWorld
Merlin
Entertainments, the operator of Legoland theme parks, has approached SeaWorld
about a possible deal.
US-based SeaWorld,
which operates marine theme parks, saw its shares jump as high as 8 per cent in
after-hours trading on Wednesday before clawing back some of those gains to
trade up more than 4 per cent. The approach was first reported by Bloomberg and
confirmed to the FT by a source familiar with the matter.
The sources told the
FT that Merlin had approached with an interest in parts of SeaWorld, but that
SeaWorld had been reluctant to break itself into pieces instead of selling
itself as a whole.
Merlin and SeaWorld
both declined to comment.
SeaWorld, which has
a market cap of $1.22bn, recently replaced the longtime chairman of its board
of directors amid falling attendance and revenues in the wake of criticism over
its treatme
Captured in 1974,
Shimoda aquarium dolphin Nana sets record breeding duration of nearly 43 years
An aquarium in the
city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, said Wednesday that it marked Japan’s
longest breeding record of bottlenose dolphin, with 15,666 days, or 42 years
and 10 months.
Shimoda Aquarium
said the dolphin Nana, whose age is estimated 45 to 47, has been bred there
since it was captured in the sea off the city of Ito in Shizuoka in November
1974.
By 1994, she had
given birth to eight dolphins. Nana still has a big appetite and likes to eat
mackerel.
Bottlenose dolphins
normally live for 10 to 15 years.
The aquarium held a
ceremony for Nana Wednesday, where Shimoda Mayor Yusuke Fukui handed a special
residence certificate to the dolphin.
Nana swam and jumped
with other dolphins that are as young as her great-grandchildren on Wednesday.
“Because we breed
her in a natural bay, she may not have a lot of stress. I hope she will stay
healthy and live a l
New animal director
threatened to quit post over 'misunderstandings and disagreements' with zoo
boss
SOUTH Lakes Safari
Zoo is complying with the conditions of its licence - despite the man tasked
with changing its fortunes threatening to resign.
Andreas Kaufmann was
officially appointed animal director in August as part of the conditions of
Cumbria Zoo Company Limited's licence awarded by Barrow Borough Council.
Yet he handed in his
resignation amid a series of "misunderstandings and disagreements"
with zoo boss Karen Brewer, including the animals’ diets.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"Everything worked really well for about a month until I felt there were
issues. I did resign because I couldn't work at the pace I was used to.
"It wasn't a
spontaneous decision. There was a few different things and a few of them were
just misunderstandings and disagreements and different approaches.
"English isn't
my first language and there are also differences in culture. I'm quite
straightforward and that's sometimes too much for some.
"Many things
came together and we've sorted things and we're now back to a good
process."
Under the terms of
the licence, awarded to CZCL on May 11, an animal director must be employed on
a permanent and full-time basis before July 31.
Councillors
expressed concerns about Mr Kaufmann's dedication to the zoo and its operations
in his absence.
While he has a
number of pre-existing national and international commitments, CZCL has also
employed an animal manager to deputise for Mr Kaufmann during his time away
from the zoo.
Dr Matthew Brash,
one of three inspectors to visit the zoo unannounced on August 3, said:
"It is a completely understandable concern. By the letter of the law he
has a contract now and he has signed it.
"He is there
and has put in place a number two to run the zoo when he can't.
Stewart Lambert,
chairman of the board at the zoo, said: "Because of our current reputation
we recognised that we were unlikely to get anyone else of equal stature at this
time, and he's one of the world's best."
Despite councillors'
concerns, Barrow Borough Council's licensing regulatory committee found that,
while Mr Kaufmann's position was not fully agreed until August 4, CZCL is
complying with this requirement.
Council hears of
animal injuries
THE inspection
detailed during today’s (October 5) meeting also noted that CZCL was following
an order to eliminate as many bites and injuries as possible, despite a number
of incidents observed during the inspection.
A number of the
incidents surrounded the public feeding of lemurs and squirrel monkeys in open
areas.
The inspection found
considerable contact between the animals and the public, including one instance
of a lemur climbing onto a pram.
In his report, Dr
Brash said: "Lemur feeding by the public has historically been of concern.
The large number of lemurs and people involved in these public feeding sessions
has the potential for them to come into contact with these primates and the potential
for them to be bitten.
"The inspectors
observed a feeding session and noted the keepers do a good job instructing the
public about safety and requesting they stay approximately one metre back from
the rail. It's educational and informative and the public obviously hugely enjoyed
the experience."
Mr Kaufmann
confirmed changes had been put in place during his short time as animal
director.
He said: "Some
changes have already been put in place regarding interactions between animals
and the public.
"Squirrel
monkeys are no longer allowed in public contact areas and they never will be
again.
"Some changes
have already been made to lemur feedings such as less attractive food items and
organisational and constructional ones are on the way.
"However, we
are aiming to replace the current lemur interactions with more attractive
experiences involving zero risk."
The changes included
feeding the animals multiple times each day to reduce hunger at public
feedings, while there are plans to limit the number of people at feedings to
three or four.
Safe transfer of
animals to resume
A NUMBER of lemurs
at the zoo have been placed on the surplus list, as bosses attempt to safely
reduce the number of animals on site.
The zoo had lost its
government-approved BALAI status, which prevented the sale of animals to other
sites around the country.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"We will move a number of animals to other zoos. This is a great place but
one of the areas we have to work on is the number of animals for our
capabilities.
"We are doing a
good job of finding good homes for them. We're looking at other institutions
and we make sure they are in a position to care for them appropriately.
"We do not
euthanise our animals."
A number of male
kangaroos were also placed on the list following an injury to a kangaroo found
during the inspection.
The kangaroo was
observed with a damaged area of skin over the left pouch following a mating
session.
Mr Kaufmann said:
"If you're a parent and your child is sick it doesn't make you a bad
parent.
"When you care
for animals in a zoo they will get sick and you need to provide the care to
make them better."
MP writes to
secretary of state following zoo 'scandal'
FOLLOWING the
decision from Barrow Borough Council, the area's MP John Woodcock has written
to secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Michael
Gove.
Mr Woodcock has
previously criticised the zoo management for their failings under David Gill's
leadership.
In his letter to Mr
Gove, he said: "I am writing to you to request a meeting to discuss
animals at risk at South Lakes Safari Zoo in my constituency and seek to
persuade you to act to overhaul the country’s wholly inadequate zoo licensing
framework.
"I congratulate
you on your decision to increase the criminal penalty to those found guilty of
cruelty to pets. I understand this would also apply to zoo animals, can you
confirm that this is the case please? Would the new guidelines you are drawing
up encapsulate neglect such as that witnessed in South Lakes Safari Zoo?
"As you will be
aware, earlier this year there was the shocking discovery of large-scale
neglect of animals, over 500 animals died some in horrific circumstances.
"This finding
came a few years after the tragic death of my constituent, zookeeper Sarah
McClay, who was killed by a tiger in 2013. Barrow Borough Council is meeting
today to discuss the findings of a new inspection of the zoo which is now
nominally under new management.
"Whatever the
council’s decision, it is essential that the government now commits to root and
branch reform of the wider zoo licensing regime which is simply not fit for
purpose and is leaving many zoo animals across the country at risk of cruelty and
neglect.
"In South Lakes
Zoo, a fresh licence to operate was granted to a new company made up of many
members of the regime that was stripped of its license following the
inspection.
"As it stands,
any council charged with making a decision on zoo licenses has no legal
authority to take into account issues such as this. They are forced to rely
solely on a snapshot provided by inspectors who are not full time
professionals, and often riven with conflicts of interest.
"Surely, in the
wake of the South Lakes scandal the government should act to establish a fit
and proper person’s test that would bar those who have been in positions of
responsibility under a previous failed regime. It should also consult on how
the regulatory system for zoos can be professionalised so it replicates the
standards seen in other professions where welfare and safety are at risk.
"I would really
welcome the chance to put this case to you in person and discuss your views on
how to improve this inadequate, out-of-date system that has demonstrably failed
in its basic purpose.
"Given the high
level of interest in this matter, I am making this letter publicly
available."
Zoo Interviews
Solving the Jigsaw
Puzzles of the Natural World: A Conversation with Dr. David Jones, Retired
Director of the North Carolina Zoo
With over 500 developed acres, the North
Carolina Zoo is the largest walkthrough zoo in the United States of America.
Focused exclusively on recreating the habitats of Africa and North America, it
is known for its enormous animal spaces, beautiful landscape and abundance of
artwork. It is truly one of the best zoos in the world. From 1993 to 2015, the
zoo was lead by Dr. David Jones, who formerly directed the Zoological Society
of London. He oversaw much progress and growth at the zoo including significant
expansions and renovations of habitats for African elephants, polar bears and
chimpanzees. Here is his story.
Giant stick insects
found on Lord Howe Island a genetic match for 'extinct' phasmids
Scientists have
confirmed that giant insects found on a rocky outcrop off Lord Howe Island are
a genetic match for the island’s stick insects that were believed to have gone
extinct almost 100 years earlier.
The species were
assumed to be one and the same. However significant morphological differences
between the Lord Howe Island stick insects collected in the early 1900s and
stored in museum collections, and the phasmids discovered in 2001 on Ball’s
Pyramid (a remnant volcano about 23km off the main island), created a suspicion
the latter could be a related species – rather than the original back from the
dead.
That suspicion
prompted scientists to map the genome from descendants of the Ball’s Pyramid
phasmids, which were bred in captivity at Melbourne zoo. They compared it to
DNA extracted from museum specimens held by the CSIRO.
Flying Foxes Play
Important Role in Pollination of Durian
Large fruit bats of
the genus Pteropus are severely threatened by hunting and deforestation.
They are often sold
and eaten as exotic meat due to an unsubstantiated belief that consuming them
can help cure asthma and other respiratory problems.
They are also
persecuted and killed as agricultural pests, as some people claim that the bats
cause damage and economic loss by feeding on cultivated fruits.
A new study
published in the Journal of Ecology and Evolution shows that these bats play
important roles as seed dispersers and pollinators in rainforests, especially
on islands.
“Previously it was
known that the smaller, nectar-feeding bats are pollinators for durian — but
many people believed that flying foxes were too large and destructive to play
such a role,
Devon zoo is world's
first in keeping three breeding pairs of slow loris
Slow loris are the
only venomous primate in the world and Shaldon Zoo staff are among a determined
group of conservationists trying to preserve this unusual nocturnal primate
from becoming extinct.
There are nine
species of slow loris and two slender loris. Shaldon work with three of these
species; the most in any zoological centre in the world.
Lahore zoo ignores
WAZA guidelines in a bid to procure single elephant
At a time when
Islamabad administration is thinking about shifting Kaavan, the depressed lone
male elephant in Islamabad Margazhar zoo, to an elephant sanctuary abroad for
rehabilitation, the Lahore zoo authorities are once again all set to procure
one female elephant against the recommendation of World Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (WAZA).
On the international
level, animal experts have been extremely vocal about banning elephants in zoos
since the large creature requires expansive space to exercise its muscles,
while it is also a social animal that likes to move long distances with a herd.
The unavailability of potential mates
Malta SPCA says
islands’ zoos cannot give good quality of life to wild animals
The MSPCA said it is
concerned with the growing reports of wild animals in so called private
collections. “MSPCA urges the
authorities to monitor this and other operations to prevent further
deterioration in Malta as wild animals, even in private collections, have made
the news before for all the wrong reasons.”
Wildlife Park Malta,
a licensed zoo, was hit by a fire on Tuesday early morning, which claimed the
lives of many of their animals.
The MSPCA said it
was saddened by the unnecessary death of the animals killed in the blaze, while
animal lovers all over social media are expressing their anger that this
happened.
“Several animals
have had to be displaced as their enclosures are no longer safe or secure,
while two leopards, three parrots, two lemurs, two monkeys and a squirrel
monkey were less fortunate and died in the fire. While this nightmare unfolds
MSPCA hopes that these animals are not further stressed by being kept in
Hurricane mauled
PR's renowned Monkey Island research center
As thousands of
troops and government workers struggle to restore normal life to Puerto Rico, a
small group of scientists is racing to save more than 1,000 monkeys whose
brains may contain clues to mysteries of the human mind.
One of the first
places Hurricane Maria hit in the U.S. territory Sept. 20 was Cayo Santiago,
known as Monkey Island, a 40-acre outcropping off the east coast that is one of
the world's most important sites for research into how primates think,
socialize and evolve.
The storm destroyed
virtually everything on the island, stripping it of vegetation, wrecking the
monkeys' metal drinking troughs and crushing the piers that University of
Puerto Rico workers use to bring in bags of monkey chow—brown pellets of
processed food that complete the primates' natural vegetation diet.
"All of our
tools were destroyed," said Angelina Ruiz Lambides, the director of the
Cayo Santiago facility. "Does FEMA cover this? Does the university's
insurance cover this? I don't kno
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New Meetings and Conferences updated Here
If you have anything to add then please email me at elvinhow@gmail.com
I will include it when I get a minute. You know it makes sense.
Recent Zoo Vacancies
Vacancies in Zoos and Aquariums and Wildlife/Conservation facilities around the World
*****
About me
After more than 49 years working in private, commercial and National zoos in the capacity of keeper, head keeper and curator Peter Dickinson started to travel. He sold house and all his possessions and hit the road. He has traveled extensively in Turkey, Southern India and much of South East Asia before settling in Thailand. In his travels he has visited well over 200 zoos and many more before 'hitting the road' and writes about these in his blog http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/
or on Hubpages http://hubpages.com/profile/Peter+Dickinson
Peter earns his living as an independent international zoo consultant, critic and writer. Currently working as Curator of Penguins in Ski Dubai. United Arab Emirates. He describes himself as an itinerant zoo keeper, one time zoo inspector, a dreamer, a traveler, an introvert, a people watcher, a lover, a thinker, a cosmopolitan, a writer, a hedonist, an explorer, a pantheist, a gastronome, sometime fool, a good friend to some and a pain in the butt to others.
"These are the best days of my life"
Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
If you have anything to add then please email me at elvinhow@gmail.com
I will include it when I get a minute. You know it makes sense.
Recent Zoo Vacancies
Vacancies in Zoos and Aquariums and Wildlife/Conservation facilities around the World
*****
About me
After more than 49 years working in private, commercial and National zoos in the capacity of keeper, head keeper and curator Peter Dickinson started to travel. He sold house and all his possessions and hit the road. He has traveled extensively in Turkey, Southern India and much of South East Asia before settling in Thailand. In his travels he has visited well over 200 zoos and many more before 'hitting the road' and writes about these in his blog http://zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/
or on Hubpages http://hubpages.com/profile/Peter+Dickinson
Peter earns his living as an independent international zoo consultant, critic and writer. Currently working as Curator of Penguins in Ski Dubai. United Arab Emirates. He describes himself as an itinerant zoo keeper, one time zoo inspector, a dreamer, a traveler, an introvert, a people watcher, a lover, a thinker, a cosmopolitan, a writer, a hedonist, an explorer, a pantheist, a gastronome, sometime fool, a good friend to some and a pain in the butt to others.
"These are the best days of my life"
Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
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