Back Soon

Off to check out the SE South Dakota wildlife. Back soon.

Happy trails to you.

Free Zoo Learning Games

My fav here is the NC Zoo memory game. I'm slow, but get it done eventually.

Free Zoo Desktop "Wallpaper"

Here are some nice, free, NC Zoo "wallpapers". My fav is the alligator.

The Kids Grow Up

Kwanza, the gorilla born at the NC Zoo March 1, 1989, is a father.

Evan Williams, my second child, born 50 hours after Kwanza, started driving this year and I had dinner with Evan and his young lady friend the night before last.

I remember that when they were quite young, meeting at their respective sides of the glass at the Forest Edge habitat at the NC Zoo, they remained a similar size and were at similar developmental ages for years. They would "play" with each other through the glass. Kwanza seemed to especially appreciate a visitor of his age.

Remember Evan running back and forth in front of the glass with Kwanza chasing after. The game most resembled "tag".

Of course, there came the day when Evan was still a very young "primate" and Kwanza had accelerated past him, a large adolescent. It was as it should be, but I felt a little something was lost too.

I'll be in Chicago in September for the annual American Zoo and Aquarium conference. Hope I see the "grand" baby.

Kwanza's a Dad!

This is from today's NC Zoo press release:

ASHEBORO—Kwanza, the 16-year-old Western Lowland gorilla who made history when he became the first of his species to be born at the North Carolina Zoo in 1989, has himself become a first-time father.
Officials with Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo announced that Kwanza, whose name was shortened to “Kwan” after his transfer to Chicago, became a dad sometime between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on July 26. The mother is Kowali, a 27-year-old female. Kowali became a mother for the fifth time in Lincoln Park’s Regenstein Center for African Apes, a $25 million facility for gorillas and chimpanzees that opened in July 2004.

Remember when he was born. My second child, Evan, was born 50 hours later. In Asheboro, got congratulations on the birth - Kwanza's, not Evan's.

Tree Hugger III

Another tree hugger. PG-13.

Tree Hugger II

Wanna declare yourself a tree hugger? Wear it on your sleeve.

Tree Huggers

Ann tells me that she heard on the radio that the some of the lemurs at the Duke Primate Center were "hugging" trees during the recent heatwave to cool themselves...the trees being cooler than the surrounding air.

Adult Parma

Parma Wallaby
Originally uploaded by russlings.

As you look for the new Parma wallaby joey at the NC Zoo, you'll need to know, if you don't already, what a Parma adult looks like.

NC Zoo photo/ Tom Gillespie.

Joey Showing

There is a new Parma wallaby joey just beginning to show itself at the NC Zoo. Head for the Progress Energy Australian Walkabout and check out the Parma pouches.

Piping Plovers PFlying (3 P's)

As an update to this recent story, saw in today's News and Record (Greensboro, NC) that the young plovers are flying and that part of the outer banks of NC is being reopened.

Pfollow-up will be offered here, if anything pfurther develops.

Science of Taste

Coturnix has offered this. Providing the science behind the "cats can't taste sweet" story of a couple days back.

Enriching

The "Wall Street Journal"'s "Weekend Journal" has a big article about animal enrichment at the nation's zoos.

We've posted photos here of NC Zoo animals "attacking" papier-mache "prey" and holiday presents. Many other zoos are doing the same...stuffing rigid "water buffalo" and "gazelles" with meat.

The article talks about other interesting attempts to keep zoo animals active by triggering natural behaviors.

At San Diego's Wild Animal Park some visitors see cheetahs chase a mechanical rabbit, sprinting as fast as 60 mph.

Wild dogs at the Oklahoma City Zoo are lured into sight with popsicles made of horse blood.

Soap bubbles and remote controlled cars are even employed at some zoos to enrich lives.

The Denver Zoo rotates lions, hyenas and wild dogs through the same three enclosures. This is a great idea! The newly introduced animals spend much time smelling and tracking the prior presence of other species. Very natural and "meaningful" to these competing predators!

The intelligent octopus needs stimulation too. At the National Aquarium in Baltimore it gets plastic toys "to keep its tentacles occupied", according to reporter Conor Dougherty.

The NC Zoo used to keep chimps interested by dropping monkey biscuits at random intervals from randomly selected holes in an artificial termite mound. (Actually a computer handled the random "dropping" chores.) Now chimps dig treats out of a "fallen tree" with any tool they can fashion.

NC Zoo Polar bears love fishsicles (fish frozen in large blocks of ice).

Thanks to good NC Zoo Society friend Nancy Proia for forwarding the "Journal" story.

"Heat Wave? What Heat Wave?"

polar bear backstroke
Originally uploaded by russlings.

NC Zoo polar bears beat the 100 degree heat.

Tom Gillespie/NC Zoo photo.

The Right Whale to Hunt

Called the right whale because it was a prized "product", easy to kill, it was almost ended as a species many years ago.

Can it last much longer given all this?

It looks pretty doubtful.

Human Brain

My good friend (and good friend of the NC Zoo and NC Zoo Society) Helen Brown died this month.

I took her flowers in Raleigh earlier this month, on the occasion of her 103rd birthday.

She was gracious in her words of appreciation, as she always was.

Helen was active in her book club and Springmoor retirement/medical center exercise and activity programs well into her nineties. She taught English as a second language to many in recent years.

So, Helen left her brain to Duke Medical Center's Alzheimer research experts. They wanted it and she wanted them to have it...a great model of how one should work after over 100 years of excellent use.

It's My Party and...

In a morning meeting in Raleigh today about Sylvan Heights Waterfowl, Mike Lubbock was asked to tell "the Queen" story to the N.C. legislators considering funding help to his Scotland Neck, NC, waterfowl breeding and conservation facility.

In a nutshell, many years ago, early in Mike's waterfowl career, he was called to Buckingham Palace to help the Queen deal with the fact that her geese there were not breeding.

Mike's advice: different diet, stop landing the Royal helicoptor so near the pond and, when she holds her annual series of largely-attended garden parties, stop the guests from circling the pond.

The Queen was fine with recommendations 1 and 2, but told Mike she felt she could not do the latter.

Mike worried that his advice would not fix the situation and he would end up in the "Tower of London".

He was invited to one of the new season's garden parties and found that the guests were roped off from the pond.

The result: three new clutches of eggs.

Long live the geese! Long live Mike! Long live the Queen!

Flaw or Improvement?

This is the second story on this report I've come across today. The other was on National Public Radio.

Both treat the absence of a "sweet tooth" in cats (lions and tigers and house cats, oh my!) as a "flaw" or "dysfuntion".

Wouldn't it also make sense that such an evolution would make the cat an even more efficient carnivore, securing it a niche in the animal environment, as it eschewed anything but meat on the run? (While the dog is lapping up ice cream, the cat is pouncing on birds, mice, moles, voles and more.)

Lucky Bats

Moka commented on my Batfest post:

"My son recently had a bat event. The rental house across from him cleared out an attic full of bats and they proceeded to wherever they could find shelter including my son's house. Eight bats later he was free of them. Fortunately, my son also loves to explore caves so he is OK with bats and easily caught them. The air conditioning in his home really slowed them down and made them easy to catch. His dog helped locate them too."

The bats were lucky to move in with Moka's catch-and-release son, rather than some broom-wielding, bat-phobic, homo sapien.

It's Not So Much the Heat...

It's the heat and the humidity that has the snakes on the move in North Carolina, according to NC Zoo herpetologist John Groves.

In much less than 24 hours I had come across two live snakes on the same section of road as my moving car. It was a good sized, black rat snake that I came upon on the way back from the beach yesterday. It was slowly crossing the road when I spotted it. It went into rapid motion as I safely passed over it. (I hope that its acceleration got it off the road before it was hit by another car.)

The other little snake was on Zoo Parkway this morning.

John reports that, without the need to "thermo-regulate", snakes are quite active. The humidity holds the heat on days like we've been having, creating ideal conditions for snake activity.

Reminds me of the snake I saw crossing the road as I drove a lightly traveled back road between Asheboro and High Point earlier this season. As cars approached me I flashed my lights to alert them to be on the lookout for the little creature. I thought then that they might think I was one of those drivers who warn you of the police car in hiding. (The third or fourth car was a police car; I did not blink, in part because I felt the snake had been given time for safe passage.)

When I got to my destination, my host for a service club talk I was to give was the police chief. When conversation with others got to a related topic, I told him of what I had done and asked if he ever arrested anyone for flashing their lights.

Others, seeming to speak from experience, answered for him that police do not tend to arrest one for flashing one's lights. What they will do is stop you and be very interested in what might have been your problem that caused you to flash your lights at all those people and to offer, at length, any assistance that they might be to you in your distress.

Seems like a good approach.

African Eagle

Bateleur eagle
Originally uploaded by russlings.

The Bateleur eagles are found outside the African Pavilion in the African continental region at the NC Zoo.

They seem at ease in their newly constructed habitat.

NC Zoo photo by Tom Gillespie.

More Space to Come

elephants (2)
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Two NC Zoo African elephants on a portion of their large habitat.

Plans call for a herd of 10 to 12 Africans at the NC Zoo on twice the existing exhibit space...and with a much larger holding, and adjacent exercise, facilities.

The Zoo's rhinos (southern whites) will move onto a 30-acre African Plains habitat to free more acres for the elephants.

NC Zoo photo/ Tom Gillespie.

Oversized Passenger

Did you see the recent stories about the scientist who wants to move some grey whales from the Pacific coast of California to the North Atlantic coast of England, where they have long been extinct?

Most ambitious relocation!? Or just a bad idea!? What do you think?

Looks Promising

Things are looking up for the red-cockaded woodpecker.

The prescribed burns we've seen of longleaf pine forests to the south of the NC Zoo (in the Sand Hills of North Carolina), it would appear, have contributed to this success, providing the birds with the very specialized habitat they require.

Batfest!

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na...Batfest!

Batfest 2005, Austin, TX, September 3 and 4.

Be on hand, or it won't be so grand.

Elephants Stray toward Trouble

A major finding the article "Monitoring radio-collared forest elephants", co-authored by NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis and WWF-Cameroon experts, including the recently-injured Dr. Martin Tchamba (attacked by one of the elephants he works to help), is:

"the elephants spend at least 80% of their time in buffer forest areas such as logging concessions and professional sport hunting zones. Effective protection of elephant populations will therefore require combined efforts of law enforcement inside and beyond national parks and the active collaboration of logging companies and professional hunting companies operating in surrounding areas. Park authorities are now planning their anti-poaching operations accordingly."

These important NC Zoo/NC Zoo Society/WWF/Cameroon studies have shown that these elephants reside within the protected (national park) areas much less than many had thought.

Research Saves Turtle

Perhaps you've seen the recent story. A Cambodian turtle is poached for the Vietnamese food trade and taken across the border to that country. Wildlife officers note that it is not the "common" turtle they are used to seeing and look closer.

They find a microchip under the turtle's skin. Further investigation tells them that this turtle was poached from the Sre Ambel River of southern Cambodia. (The microchip tells them the location.)The turtle is destined to be saved and returned to Cambodia.

It is a rare and endangered Batagur baska or Asian river terrapin. Researchers had placed the microchip in the terrapin to study the declining species about two years ago.

Poached about two months ago, this turtle is returned because "every single turtle is vital to the population (of the Batagur baska)" and because it was one lucky terrapin.

Visiting Moth

Purple coneflower
Originally uploaded by russlings.

The moth is not part of the NC Zoo collection. The purple coneflower is.

The coneflower is part of the very valuable horticulture collection at the NC Zoo. (Tens of thousands of imported plants mix with many hundreds of animal species at the state zoo in Asheboro.)

Tom Gillespie took this NC Zoo photo.

Dr. Mike Returns

NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis stopped in today on his return from Cameroon. He told us more about the severe elephant injuries inflicted on Dr. Martin Tchamba.

The more serious of two wounds the elephant inflicted on Dr. Mike's colleague, as Mike watched it all happen so quickly, was the one that opened up his back down to his kidney.

It sounds to me that Mike saved Martin's life then by finding a way to stop the bleeding in the field, without proper medical supplies. A T-shirt, a rifle strap and some other binding materials were employed by Mike to put very tight pressure on the wounds.

It took about four hours to get Dr. Tchamba to the hospital, and to the doctor with whom Mike had been so impressed when the Society's Dr. Jayne Owen Parker went into a coma in Cameroon a few years back.

Martin's recovery was quick after that doctor marveled at how little blood Martin had lost to his severe wounds and then worked his own magic to stop infection and repair the damage.

Mike feels that the big female elephant came out of anesthesia without trying to get up, as other elephants have, while still woozy. When she got up, she rose and charged Martin Tchamba all in one, surprise motion. He had no chance to escape. The sound of a team member's rifle shot sent her away, but only after she had inflicted two serious wounds.

Mike is thankful that they were not four DAYS away from hospital, as is sometimes the case on these research endeavors.

New protocols and training have followed the mishap, Mike reports.

Pickle Barrel Enrichment

NC Zoo elephant keeper Brad Lympany has picked up 30 plastic barrels from the Mount Olive Pickle Company. These 55-gallon, screw top, sealable barrels are "perfect for enrichment or storage", he reports in an e-mail, as he offers extras to other NC Zoo keepers and staff.

Animal enrichment at the NC Zoo takes many forms. I can see the elephants picking up, rolling and crushing their pickle barrels. The Polar bears will rather pounce on and "drown" theirs.

Mount Olive Pickle Company once brought huge plastic pickles to the Polar bears here for the same purpose.

The Arctic foxes have dug up little cloth packets that keepers have filled with a food favorite and buried in their habitat. Enrichment, in that case, involved smell, predatory behavior and taste.

Saving the Last 100

There are just about 100 Western Pacific gray whales left.

Environmental groups have succeeded in having an oil pipeline planned for their habitat near Sakhalin Island, Russia, moved 20 kilometers south of the gray whales' feeding ground.

Time Running Out?

Regarding those tusks found at the link in my previous post, the July IFAW News (quarterly publication of the International Fund for Animal Welfare) reports that IFAW's United Kingdom office destroyed a "Memorial Tusk" in London's Trafalgar Square.

The "Memorial Tusk" was "built from pieces of ivory donated to IFAW during its Ivory Amnesty, a symbolic rejection of the ivory trade. This campaign sent the strong message: 'Don't buy ivory - it belongs to elephants.'"

Talk about symbolic: the ivory was ground down and placed in an hourglass to emphasize that time is running out for elephants!

The group hopes that governments will destroy their ivory stockpiles to demonstrate that ivory should have no economic value. It should only have value to the elephant.

World Record No. 1 All-Time Elephant

Check out this photo of the record African elephant tusks dating back over 100 years.

You will not find anything like this today! All the big "tuskers" are long gone.

Polar Bear Gallery

Check out image # 2. Remarkable shot! (Well fed bear!)

A dozen other good ones too.

Interesting

Riverbanks Zoo has a white alligator but it is not on exhibit because it is "State's evidence".

MIKE

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released a new update on its African elephant programs. You can download it at this post's link. (Must admit I could not get all of this to download on this computer, although I saw the full report earlier, as an attachment to an e-mail from NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis, to my computer in Asheboro.) (Further NOTE - 7/20/05 - It downloaded cleanly and easily on my office PC; the Mac, and its software set-up at home, had the problem.)

Of about 20 pages of report, the first program reported on, in six pages or so of the overall report, is the one upon which Dr. Mike, Dr. Martin Tchamba, WWF, the NC Zoo Society and Cameroon have combined.

The study of Cameroonian African elephants aims to learn where they go (in and outside the preserves), what routes they follow, what interactions they have with people and how those interactions might be changed for the better of elephants and humans. Dr. Mike is the veterinarian who is needed to dart and anesthetize the elephants, so tracking collars can be installed.

The report includes tracking maps of two of the individual elephants involved in the study.

Interestingly, the report notes that the project compares its results with another study called, coincidentally "MIKE" (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants").

Dr. Mike has seen much evidence of poaching activity this trip. And the report's findings includes evidence that logging operations are often a "breeding ground" for illegal poaching and illegal hunting. (Illegal hunters will often lure elephants with salt licks; elephants like the vegetation that comes up in logged areas.)

The WWF update includes a photo of NC Zoo vet Dr. Mike as he works over an anesthetized elephant.

Sunday Theme: "The Man"

Spent the morning watching Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods continue their admirable dominations of their respective sports.

Heard someone call out, after Tiger hit one of his big British Open drives, "You're 'the man'". That phrase has become a cliche in golf because it has been used too often for too little reason. Tiger's 10th "Major" victory makes him an appropriate target for use of the term. (He actually earned the term well before today!)

What Lance did today, and has done through his career, also deserves "THE man" recognition in his sport.

Both earned their dominating positions through hard work and a focus on doing a few things very, very well.

When I headed off on my hour jog on the Owl's Roost Trail, Greensboro, NC, I was passed by a younger man on his bike. (The Owl's Roost Trail is a wonderful trail bike course which will be featured in a couple days of competition on a weekend coming up very soon.) He said to me, "Running the Owl's Roost! You're the man!"

Don't know if he was most impressed by my age, the fact that I would have to run the winding trail and dodge flying bikes or the day's oppressive heat and humidity.

Just glad he didn't see me a half hour later. The day's conditions (and mine!) resulted in my hour run consisting of 45 minutes of actual jogging, a half hour of walking and a lot of sweating. Running for 36 minutes before my first short walk, it was a lot longer trip "in" than the one "out".

At one point in my run, I came upon a doe, just off the trail to my right. She did her own jog, putting a little more distance between us, before she stopped to look back at me. (She seemed to know I was too slow and weak to need to really flee.) We spent a little time more like that before I resumed my jog. Me looking at the deer.

Her looking at "the man".

Loud Frog

Hawaii has long had problems with introduced species. It has so few animals that are native. The introduction of a new creature often causes problems because there are not sufficient predators to keep many introduced species in check.

The new example in the news is the coqui frog. A loud calling frog, it has created large populations on some Hawaiian islands. The noise problem has raised concerns about dropping property values.

By the way, they love the little critter in Puerto Rico.

Finally

Sea Turtles are finally coming to nest on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This recent Field Trip Earth story, with pix, tells how nesting has reached the far northern range of the sea turtles.

It has been wonderful, over recent years, to see how helpful we humans are becoming in regard to the sea turtles. My beach jogs through recent years have seen more and more early morning patrols by volunteers looking to find new nests and secure them from human disturbance.

Read how these particular humans even relocated one needing that help.

Good Lookin' Fellow?

DeBrazza's profile
Originally uploaded by russlings.

This handsome DeBrazza's monkey has new digs at the NC Zoo. (Looks to me to be trying to remember where he -or is it she?- has left something important.)

Tom Gillespie/NC Zoo photo.

Fewer Low Throaty Grunts

Northern leopard frog populations have been declining for about 30 years across their western range. The Calgary Zoo is studying this, in co-operation with the University of Calgary.

The fact sheet on the linked page (which is deep within the Calgary Zoo website) contains good info. This is real science and meaningful research aimed at understanding a loss of species that goes beyond the Northern leopard frog and its low throaty grunts.

Little, Little Hippo

A baby (little), pygmy (little) hippo was born May 4 at the Louisville Zoo.

Only seven pygmy hippos have been born in the last five years in North America.

Topping out at an average 500 pounds (compared to the Nile hippo's 8,000 pounds), pgymy hippos are found in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Little Tigers

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo announced the birth of 2.2 Amur tiger cubs, April 15. ("2.2" means two males and two females, in Zoo speak.)

As often happens with "litters", one did not survive.

The mother and three surviving (2.1 because a female died) tigers are doing well.

Amur tigers are endangered and used to be called Siberian tigers only in the U.S. They never lived in Siberia. Their native habitat is in the Russian Far East, through which the Amur River runs.

And the Web Winner Is...

Want to see the Webby Awards ("Oscars of the Internet", according to the "New York Times") People's Voice Award winner for Best Cultural Institution Website?

It is the very "friendly" site of the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Click on Seymour the scuba diver to "see more" kids club content and tips for youthful divers.

New Logo?

Society garlic
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Maybe this should be the NC Zoo Society's new logo.

Tom Gillespie, of the NC Zoo, has taken a strong photo of "Society garlic" at the zoological garden at the center of North Carolina.

Note the Green Species

blanket flower
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Don't miss the flowers on your next NC Zoo visit. The horticultural collection (imports) cost more to bring to the zoo than the animals.

Nice shot (of plants and the little, resident animal) Tom Gillespie, of NC Zoo!

Skinny Fox "Creature"

What I saw last evening in the NC Zoo parking lot looked more like the mysterious "Randolph Creature" than like any of those fluffy grey foxes you usually see in photos.

I figure the "Randolph Creature" is, however, a near-hairless grey fox because what I saw had a bushier, grey fox tail yet, with a thin, summer coat, looked much like the "creature".

Pythons Do Yawn

This site tells us that ball pythons do "yawn".

"Ball pythons yawn. Do we know why? No. We do know that they do it after eating to realign their jaws. But for some reason ball pythons do this quite frequently. If your snake is holding it's mouth open for long periods of time, say more than 30 seconds or so, then you may have a RI on the way. But normally ball pythons will just do this for no apparent reason. It is really amazing to watch as they flex the muscles in their jaws. It's not always fun to see them do it while your holding them and your thumb is right in front of it's mouth!"

(RI equals respiratory infection, in The Reptile Rooms (TM).)

Python Yawn?

python yawn
Originally uploaded by russlings.

A slow day in the ball python exhibit at the African Pavilion, NC Zoo? Or maybe food is on its way?

Tom Gillespie photo.

Before or After?

ball python
Originally uploaded by russlings.

This new, NC Zoo photo by Tom Gillespie was taken just before or after a big "ball python yawn". (See next post.)

Two Photos Tell Stories

Field Trip Earth has an update on the condition of Dr. Martin Tchamba. Two photos on the side of the web page relate to the ongoing NC Zoo/WWF research program aiding Cameroonian elephants.

One was taken just before the anesthetized elephant severely injured Dr. Tchamba. (He's now much better.) The other relates to a run-in the team had prior with another elephant. The little African elephant is pictured chasing after the team which included the NC Zoo's Dr. Mike Loomis and Dr. Tchamba. (Great shot, especially when you know the rest of the story.)

Links are offered to the rest of the stories.

Saw It Again

A better look this time. As I left the NC Zoo at 5:10 p.m., at the woods at the west end of the "North American" parking lot, a very "skinny" (summer coated), resident gray fox. (The linked photo is much more "plush" than what I saw; still a thrill to make such a rare, for me, sighting.)

It stopped to look at me pass in my car. When I backed up for a better look, it gave the look back for a short time and then disappeared into that wooded area.

Hellbenders At Risk

Hellbenders (species of giant salamanders) are being found to have serious deformities in Missouri and Arkansas. These are not birth defects, but rather deformities which appear to have been caused by their environments. They are not regenerating the missing parts, a further sign of trouble, according to NC Zoo herpetologist John Groves.

John offers the good news that NC populations of Eastern hellbenders are stable and healthy. The NC Zoo has an Eastern hellbender that John and his staff are trying to get back in the Streamside exhibit. The goal is to introduce it into the trout habitat.

Eastern and Ozark hellbenders are the ones showing up deformed in Missouri and Arkansas. John believes fertilizers or other chemicals might be the cause. He has been to two hellbender symposia in recent years at which these issues have been discussed.

Vulture Counting

Field Trip Earth put up an interesting addition yesterday.

Vulture populations in South Asia are the topic. Populations there are declining, as elsewhere. Todd Katzner, director of conservation and field research, National Aviary, Pittsburgh, Pa., offers journal entries from May 21-June 7.

Mr. Katzner and his colleagues are trying to estimate the population size of vulture species in Asia, including the Caucasus and Kazakhstan.

Watching carcasses, and collecting and studying the feathers dropped by vultures of various species which visit those carcasses, is called for.

Mr. Katzner notes that while the Caucasus are high in species diversity, these four countries are also high in human diversity, with "hundreds of peoples, languages and cultures".

Lions "Attack"

MoKa commented to my last post with a link to great action photos of the lions attacking the younger ones' birthday cake Saturday.

MoKa reminds me that all sang Happy Birthday to the one-year olds.

Happy Lions

Happy Lions
Originally uploaded by russlings.

One more Ann Lynch photo of the lion birthday festivities at the NC Zoo this Saturday.

Herb Enrichment

Interesting e-mail just circulated at NC Zoo. Keeper Wendy Green, at the Sonora Desert exhibit, offers herbs to other keepers for animal enrichment.

Smells, tastes and textures all can offer enrichment to Zoo animals. So herbs are a "natural".

Wendy reports "We have fresh mint, lemon balm, catnip and parsley. They are all approved on the mammal enrichment list (I am pretty sure for birds as well)."

Nice by-product of weeding just done at the Desert "herb garden".

Not surprised fresh mint heads the list. It sure does grow well in this part of Carolina. (Ann was doing a little container-garden, mint-weeding just last night.)

Far From Fun and Games

As Dr. Mike Loomis of the NC Zoo and others continue field research on African elephant migration in Cameroon, the challenges are many and the discomforts are too.

Mike's latest journal entry includes reports of his trials: ant bites, eye injury, wet conditions and punishing treks.

Martin Going Home

Dr. Martin Tchamba, the WWF lead conservationist in Cameroon who was severely injured by an African elephant as he and NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis were doing field research in Cameroon, will go home from the hospital today.

Dr. Loomis continues the project without Martin, but with other top researchers. The field research is designed to track the movement of Cameroonian elephant herds and to help those herds avoid sometimes devastating interactions with farmers and poachers.

Find the Baby

Also look for the new Hamadryas baboon baby on your visit to the NC Zoo. Look for mother and child in the African Pavilion.

The little youngster's black hair will make it easy to find on Mom's belly, reports African Pavilion Zookeeper II Jennifer Ireland.

The NC Zoo's 19 Hamadryas baboons create the largest grouping in North American zoos. Jennifer predicts that two or three more baboon babies are on the way.

Giraffe Watch

Watch for a two-legged giraffe at the NC Zoo's Leopard Spot gift shop tomorrow.

The facts that my son Evan now works at that African gift shop run by the NC Zoo Society and whenever the giraffe is entertaining young Zoo visitors Evan is no where to be found should not cause suspicion. (It was also just coincidence that Clark Kent and Superman were never seen in the same place at the same time!)

Before

Birthday Cake
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Before it was savagely dispatched by the mother of NC Zoo, one-year old lionesses Dandelion and Marigold, their birthday cake sat large and unperturbed in the lion
habitat today.

Ann Lynch photo.

Killing the Cake

Yum 2!
Originally uploaded by russlings.

The birthday cake for the NC Zoo's two one-year old sisters was very quickly dispatched by their Mom.

Mom treated it, at first, more like a threat to her young than a tasty treat, to this casual observer.

Ann Lynch photo.

All Gone!

All Gone!
Originally uploaded by russlings.

The NC Zoo lionesses have completely torn up the birthday cake for the twin sisters at this point today.

It was all over pretty quickly.

Ann Lynch photo.

This Is a Test

Green tree frog
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Or a scavenger hunt.

Come to the NC Zoo and find this little critter.

The green tree frog really blends in.

It is on exhibit in one of the Streamside exhibit buildings. See how many you can find.

NC Zoo photo/Tom Gillespie.

Polar Bear Threat

There was a time when the species that were specialized for life in regions too cold for human overpopulation were relatively unaffected by the threats faced by their brothers and sisters.

Now, however, even the Polar bear is threatened by global warming (which President Bush is just now also recognizing as real, at G8).

The loss of ice will threaten the Polar bears' hunting, breeding and more. Small populations will almost definitely grow smaller over the next few decades.

More Troubles

The NC Zoo exhibits endangered desert tortoises in its Sonoran Desert geodesic dome.

The species has suffered for humans' interest in them for the pet trade and, earlier, for jewelry.

Now wild fires are threatening their unique (and lovely) desert habitat.

Drought had been a big problem just prior to this new challenge.

Not the Same Robin

My son Noah's dog, Bijou, likes to look out our front door or window and bark at people, other dogs and, especially, robins.

Don't know what this young, miniature schnauzer has against robins, but she goes wild when she sees them.

And she see them all year long.

NC Zoo Cuartor of Amphibians and Reptiles, John D. Groves is quite the bird expert too. He reports that the American robins Bijou barks at in the summer spend their winters in the Deep South and Mexico, while the ones she barks at in the winter, summer up north.

Thatsa Lotta Species

NC Zoo staff has identified 124 species of native birds on the grounds throughout the year.

How Elephants Saved Those Tourists

You probably heard the story more than once. How elephants at one place the recent major tsunami struck headed for the hills, saving keepers and tourists on board for the ride to safety.

This elephant behavior is reported to have begun hours before the big wave struck. They went a half mile inland to a spot the wave did not reach.

Recent research at Stanford suggests that the elephants "heard" the seismic vibrations through the ground. The elephant footpad is like the cushion bottom of a sneaker. Scientists believe seismic vibrations can be passed from the ground, to the pad, to the toenails and through the bones to the elephant's ears, where it is heard.

It has long been understood that elephants have a unique, "subsonic" method of communications. They may "talk" to each other, in deep forested areas and elsewhere, through foot movements.

Fix It

Wind power has such great potential. Energy from the wind. (Not from one of "your" non-renewable sources.)

But really nasty to birds.

Some modern, high-tech, windmill "farms" are especially effective at killing raptors.

Wind has promise. But we must insist that the "industry" find a solution to that nasty side effect.

Happy Happy...Bye Bye

A papier-mache cake filled with bones and carnivore diet will serve as birthday treat and going-away present for the pair of female lion cubs born last summer at the NC Zoo.

Cake will be served the two young "ladies" at ll a.m., Saturday, at the lion exhibit, "Africa".

The now adolescent lions will soon leave the Zoo on recommendations of the Lion Species Survival Plan of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Dandelion will leave soon for the Racine Zoo, in Wisconsin. Marigold leaves earlier (next week) for the Virginia Zoo, Norfolk.

Seabird Mystery

Why are greater shearwater seabirds washing up dead on North Carolina and Virginia coasts?

It is a mystery for now. Scientific investigators have ruled out oil spill and red tide.

These birds should be well out to sea.

"New" Dolphin

DNA studies support the theory that the Australian snubfin dolphin is a unique species from the Asian Irrawaddy.

There are often controversies in the zoo world about sub-species, hybrid individuals and outright separate species. Scientists will study long and hard to support one theory or another. (Even the red wolf has been at the center of some scientific contention.)

Cypress Swamp Alligator

American Alligator
Originally uploaded by russlings.

This strong Tom Gillespie/NC Zoo photo captures the American alligators and the feel of the NC Zoo's Cypress Swamp exhibit.

Cougars, water and waterfowl, cypress trees and "elbows", pitcher plants and Venus fly traps also add to the North American swamp ambiance.

For the Birds

The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) published a lengthy story, July 3, on Sylvan Heights Waterfowl and the NC Zoo Society's efforts to help it create an education center and "zoo" in Scotland Neck, NC.

""The first thing to disappear are the little guys," says Brent Lubbock, 26, whose family breeds rare birds and is developing the zoo."

Read about how Brent's father, Mike, once helped Queen Elizabeth solve a problem in breeding her red-breasted geese.

This big project can help save ducks, geese and swans, while bringing tourists to a struggling (Halifax) county and an educational resource to many.

Lecture and Tour

Carnivore Preservation Trust (CPT) offers a free lecture (to all) and tour (to members) July 7, 6:15 p.m., beginning at the Pittsboro (NC) Campus of Central Carolina Community College.

Shannon Haney, past CPT exec, will speak on "The Role of the Wildlife Sanctuary in Animal Conservation". A twilight tour of CPT will follow.

No reservations required.

Improvements Planned

India has a Central Zoo Authority that oversees its 160-plus zoos.

There is a plan to make big improvements.

Looks like some very poor conditions at some Indian zoos, as well as embarrassment about the losses within India's tiger population, might have much to do with the move.

Baltimore Orioles

Been seeing Baltimore orioles around Greensboro recently.

On yesterday's run and with Ann on a recent walk. Can't miss 'em.

Where's Bryan Park?

Saw a billboard for the Dynamos, Greensboro's pro soccer team, yesterday. It revealed that they played at Bryan Park. "Where is Bryan Park?", I asked Ann. She didn't know.

This morning, that little scene from yesterday forgotten, I set out to try to get on the other end of the Lake Townsend Trail, which I ran on, from its southern trail head, last week.

My NC map showed that NC 29 gets one quite close to the north end of Lake Townsend. Using my GPS, I saw that, as I neared being parallel with the top of the lake, I was coming to the exit for Bryan Park!

Drove by the turn to the soccer fields, thinking I wanted to get to the water's edge. Drove through some of Bryan Park's golf course to picnic shelters and parking.

Parked and started running. Searching for a trail head. Soon I was at the marina, where a nice employee gave me directions to the trailhead, a good two miles away.

Jogged back to the car. Drove through the middle of the golf course to the soccer complex. Instead of going in, I turned right, looking for the trail head on the left, as I was directed. Ignored the trail head for the trail to a couple of the soccer fields (also on the left). Came to the Sierra Club sign for the real trail head.

Ran for about five minutes on a well kept, narrow, wooded trail before coming to a bridge and then stone steps, with crude hand rail, for a steep climb out of a ravine created over the centuries by a little stream that contributes to the current Lake Townsend.

After following the crest of the ravine, the trail crosses the brick and cinder block foundation of a home which once overlooked what is now Lake Townsend. The trail then dropped, for the first time, to the shore of the lake itself (about 8 minutes into my trail run).

In 15 minutes I reached the same rickety foot bridge over a low wet spot that I had come to after about 25 minutes from the other trail head, last Sunday.

So I got to run much new territory again this week. Its great to keep finding these new trails!

In an hour on this trail, on July 3, mid-day, I saw no one.

Top nature views were birds. A hawk, ducks and song birds.

Net Gain?

Regarding the current reports on studies of frog species in Sri Lanka, a quick, and exceedingly foolish, read of the articles could make one think we are ahead of the biodiversity game.

The peer-reviewed study has found 35 new frog species. It also found that 17 species once found there are extinct and another 11 are in imminent danger.

That, of course, is not a net gain in species. Those newly identified frogs have long been with us, just not yet identified and named.

Many millions of species are not yet named. Many species, no doubt, are disappearing before they are ever known to exist. Of course many of these are tiny beetles, mussels, snails, and aquatic critters.

They all combine to create the Earth's unique habitats, which work together to support us all with food, water, oxygen. (Important stuff, that.)

How many can be lost before the whole fabric of life unravels is not known. Which ones can be lost without making a huge rend in the fabric is not known.

The author of this Sri Lankan study is of the opinion that the public and governments are not engaged in any meaningful understanding of this.

Evidence also supports that finding.

Trumpet creeper

Trumpet creeper
Originally uploaded by russlings.

A tiny bee creeps on one trumpet of the trumpet creeper in bloom at the NC Zoo.

Another strong NC Zoo photo by Tom Gillespie.


The NC Zoo horticultural collection cost more to purchase/relocate than the animal collection.

Tempting

pitcher plant
Originally uploaded by russlings.

Don't miss the carnivorous pitcher plants on your NC Zoo visit. Look for them near the water in the "Cypress Swamp" habitat.

Insects are tempted to feed on the tasty treat down inside these plants. Entering at the top, they venture down. Slanting hairs stop them from climbing back up as digestive juices turn them into pitcher plant food.

NC Zoo photo by Tom Gillespie.

Asian Elephant Collaring

Keep reading down through the pages of this story of Silver Moon, an Asian elephant, then click onto more of the story.

It puts in one place (in words and pictures) another report on efforts to learn about elephants through satellite collars. This time the National Zoo, Smithsonian and Asian elephants are involved (as opposed the North Carolina Zoo, NC Zoo Society and African elephants).

Wolf Pup Growth

Here are more red wolf pup photos. See this zoo's five newcomers at ages 10 days, 21 days and 38 days, all on one web page.

"This zoo" is the wonderfully-named Oglebay Good Zoo of Wheeling, West Virginia.

Satellite Similarities

Here is a good story about darting elephants and collaring them with satellite tracking equipment. It is also done in conjunction with WWF.

It is not about NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis and African elephants. It is about rare pygmy elephants in Malaysia.

Big Fish

You might have just seen the picture of that nine-foot, 600-plus pound, Thai giant catfish thought be the largest freshwater fish ever caught there.

Waterfowl Video

Take this link to Field Trip Earth for eleven Quick-Time videos of various Sylvan Heights Waterfowl (Scotland Neck, N.C.) species.

Only time for one? Check out the black-necked swan and cygnets (young swans) video. The cygnets spend their first three weeks on the backs of female and male adults alike. Great video of how the little ones swim aboard.

Sylvan Heights and NC Zoo volunteer Dale True took all the video. You can also hear the species shown, as well as some in the background (Dale identifies those in his adjacent writings) and Sylvan Heights director Mike Lubbock speaks in a few segments.

There is a further link from the white winged (wood) duck segment to an interesting, longer "article", with visuals, on the field work and Sylvan Heights breeding efforts for these very rare ducks.