Baby giraf and mother

Baby giraf and mother
Originally uploaded by JeanKern.

Looks like Gaia Park, Netherlands, has had a very recent birth...as this was taken today and a newborn giraffe is about 6 feet tall. The babies can stand and walk on day one. They grow about an inch a day for quite some time, as they move toward twice the size of your largest pro basketball star.

Title and photo by the prolific JeanKern.

Jealous, Ordinary Animals

The Toronto Zoo is promoting a visit to see their exotic animals by depicting the jealous pigeons and squirrels. The squirrels throw nuts at people who praise the Toronto Zoo collection of exotics. A pigeon poops on their cars, according to "adland". (Link)

The plain little critters have their own "pro-ordinary animal" campaign. "The campaign...includes t-shirts with pro-ordinary animal slogans, a MySpace page hosted by a jealous pigeon, and a "Pigeons Against the Zoo's Extraordinary Animals" protest rally, complete with tiny picket signs."

Monkey Theft

Gangs of thieves are stealing zoo animals in large quantities in Europe. About 40 percent of those zoos report one or more theft, according to Jonathan Brown and Canon Kemp, for NZHerald.co.NZ. (Link)

Small monkeys are the top target, although one gang was stopped while trying to steal a lion!

Private collectors are willing to pay a premium for a rare, illegal species.

""There are private collectors out there just like in the art world. They have serious money and they all want to own the Mona Lisa," [John Hayward, former detective who now heads the National Theft Register for stolen species], said. "People just aren't satisfied with a budgie or a goldfish.""

Otter Still at Large

The Aukland (New Zealand) Zoo believes it is closing in on its escaped otter, Jin. (Link)

"Jin has now spent two weeks on the run after managing to dig through two walls and scaling a six foot barrier around her enclosure," TVNZ reports.

Catching Red Wolf Pups

Here is a great story about biologists capturing red wolf pups for a study by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (Link)

Ford Mauney, of the Service's Red Wolf Recovery Program (Manteo, NC), writes for the NC Zoo Society's "Field Trip Earth.

"Moving quickly and quietly, we cross the canal and I cover the far end of the culvert with one net and stand ready with a second. Chris peers into the culvert and shouts, “One coming at you.” The pup hits the net and I scoop it up, moving quickly to cover the exit with the second net. Simultaneously, Chris shouts, “Two more coming!”"

"The sun sets on my drive home and I feel good about what I do. It is satisfying to know that the information we collect on the pups’ movements and adult visitation will answer many questions about canid behavior in the wild that scientists previously had not had a chance to document."

The 4-page story comes with some strong photos, including one of a pup about to be released.

Zoo to Monitor Water Quality

A series of test wells are being drilled at the North Carolina Zoo.

They will help the Zoo and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) monitor "how sub-surface water moves through our Piedmont rock formations, how rain affects the quantity and quality of our water at different levels, etc.", according to John Ferree, of the NC Zoo Planning & Construction Office.

DENR wants to accumulate long-term data on water resources.

Deep wells will be installed at each of three locations. Later in the summer (or in early Fall) a series of shallower monitoring wells will be drilled at each of the three sites. Automatic electronic monitoring equipment will be installed on all wells.

This is another of the NC Zoo's many environmental initiatives.

I'm so happy!

I'm so happy!
Originally uploaded by Edgar Thissen.

Goat photo and title by Edgar Thissan.

Flickr (TM) "The Netherlands" pool.

Major dose of wrinkles

Major dose of wrinkles
Originally uploaded by Doxieone.

Uploaded and titled by Doxieone today.

Possible alternative title: "The End" (or "The Ends"?).

Moving Water

penguin
Originally uploaded by cashback.

Uploaded by cashback today.

Sharp Image

Blue grub
Originally uploaded by wetwater.

Uploaded by wetwater today.

Mistaken Identity - 100 Years

You may have read that the animal recognized by Guiness as the world's oldest has died at the age of 176. (Link)

Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise, was called Harry for 100 years before the mistake was caught. Anadolu News Agency, Sidney, Australia, reports she is believed to have been caught by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands in 1830. She had resided at the Australian Zoo, Queensland.

Source to Sea Update

Received an e-mail today from John Pugh. I had offered a post in May 2005 about this NC State recreation Ph. D. who made a trip from the source of the Mississippi River to the sea in a canoe with Ph. D. partner, Jessica.

He reported that he had been at the North Carolina Zoo yesterday "collecting surveys for our folks here at N.C. State. The place looks wonderful, and I was very impressed by the growth in the past ten years."

"Things are going well on the Source to Sea front. Jess is in Australia for the summer on a research trip..."

John has an article on the Haw River coming out sometime in the middle of next month, I believe, in the News and Record (Greensboro).

He is updating their website and has written a book (on the Source to Sea trip), to be released in October.

Great Blue Heron 2 Osprey 0

Hour run today on Greensboro's Osprey Trail along the banks of Lake Townsend.

Spotted no osprey...two great blues.

Great Galapagos Pix

Sandra W. Boren, once deputy director of the North Carolina Zoo Society, and husband Bud are recently back from a Galapagos vacation. She suggested this link for great pix taken by one of their party.

They are great!

Platoons of Woodpeckers

No, a platoon is not a name for a grouping of woodpeckers. (That would be a "descent" of woodpeckers.)

But Bruce Henderson, of the Charlotte "Observer", writes: "Along with Army paratroopers, Fort Bragg grows platoons of red-cockaded woodpeckers."

The rare woodpeckers are thriving on Fort Bragg's 120,000 acres, thanks to efforts the Fort is making to accommodate them. Bragg has met a recovery goal for the woodpeckers five years early, increasing breeding groups from 238 in 1992 to 347 last year.

"Bragg burns 40,000 acres of its forests a year with low-intensity blazes that kill alien plants and provide seed beds for [longleaf] pines," the preferred nesting tree for red-cockaded woodpeckers.

Thank you, Hackey Pitts, for another useful clipping!

7 Python Species at NC Zoo

Speaking of Tom Gillespie's "Zoo Tales", another recent High Point "Enterprise" clipping sent by Hackey Pitts is of Tom's article about the North Carolina Zoological Park's Australian and African pythons.

On display at the Australian Walkabout are "the scrub, the jungle carpet, the woma, the Mocklot's and the green tree pythons". At the African Pavilion are the rock and ball python's.

"[C]ontrary to popular belief, pythons...do not kill their prey by crushing them. They actually squeeze their prey only long enough to stop it from inhaling. The animal then dies of asphyxiation (lack of oxygen)," Tom reports.

Are they man eaters? "The largest reliably recorded meal taken by a python is a 130-pound impala eaten by a 16-footer."

A Murder of Crows

Speaking of a crash of rhinos, there are, of course, many other names for a group of animals of one species. Not all are as common as pod of whales and colony of termites. The almighty guru website offers a wide variety.

Included are: congregation of alligators,
shrewdness of apes,
quiver of cobras,
piteousness of turtle doves,
business of ferrets,
towers of giraffes,
bloat of hippos,
scold of jays,
richness of martens,
scourge of mosquitoes,
romp of otters,
Parliament of owls,
ostentation of peacocks,
prickle of porcupines,
rhumba of rattlesnakes,
crossing of zebras, and
ambush of tigers.

A Crash of Rhinos

Southern white rhinos nearly went extinct near the turn of the 20th century...now there are 7500 and the population in Southern Africa is rising, Tom Gillespie, of the North Carolina Zoo, reminds us in one of his recent "Zoo Tales", run by the High Point "Enterprise", clipped and passed on to me by Zoo Friend Hackey Pitts.

He also reminds us that a group of rhinos is called, not surprisingly, a "crash".

superzoom

superzoom
Originally uploaded by belgianchocolate.

Zebra photo and title by belgianchocolate who took it at Gaia Park.

Unique Polar Bear View

Polar Bear @ MD Zoo
Originally uploaded by Nikographer [Jon].

Underwater view of Maryland Zoo Polar bear and ball by Nikographer.

Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

"A Spider on the Window - used a blue paper in front of my flash."

Title, technique, photo and quote by the incomparable True_Bavarian.

4 Species, 4 Locations

The NC Zoo offers four species of raptors (birds of prey) at four separate exhibit complexes. (Link)

They are: "a female peregrine falcon (at the Rocky Coast exhibit), two female elf owls (at the Sonora Desert exhibit), a pair of male and female bateleur eagles (at the African Pavilion exhibit) and a female barred owl (at the Streamside exhibit)," Tom Gillespie, of the NC Zoo reports for "The Pilot".

Danger and Low Pay

Where a recent post cites the "Human Toll" of rangers killed in anti-poaching efforts at Virunga National Park, Congo, this UPI story, notes that those rangers work to protect large mammals for $1 per month, although a UN supplement raises that to $30 per month.

What is this ?

What is this ?
Originally uploaded by JeanKern.

JeanKern asks this question about her close-up.

Clue: it is not an elephant.

Click on "What is this?" below the photo, scroll down to "Comments" for JeanKern's answer.

Polar Bear Shake

Polar Bear shake
Originally uploaded by MarkWells.

" Getting out of the pool, Polar Bears don't reach for towels."

Photo, title and quote by MarkWells.

Looks like NC Zoo's Rocky Coast but the bear looks, perhaps, too plump to be one of our two. (Mark doesn't say where he took this.)

Human Toll

While large mammal populations are on the comeback after years of decline in the Congo, the human toll has been almost unbelievable, LiveScience (Animal Domain) reports. (Link)

"More than 100 park guards been killed since 1996 while trying to prevent poaching."

Roo Poo Paper

After having had some success with making and selling paper made from Kangaroo poo, a Tasmanian firm is now working with a zoo to create paper from elephant dung. (Link)

Enrichment

Here is a good, involved article on a zoo's efforts toward enriching the lives of its animals. (Link)

The zoo: Johannesburg.

The article: by Belinda Beresford for the "Mail & Guardian".

"Logs, ropes, love nests and ice lollies are among the ploys being used to improve the lives of animals at the zoo, one of two in South Africa to have a dedicated “animal enrichment officer”. Nomusa Mhlungu works with zoo keepers to make the lives of animals as “natural” and stress-free as possible."

Syncranized

Syncranized
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

Love African crowned crane photos. Here is double the fun. Taken and titled by True_Bavarian.

Comb Jelly (Ctenophore)

Comb Jelly (Ctenophore)
Originally uploaded by Nikographer [Jon].

Strong Nikographer [Jon] photo and title.

Giraf - Laying down

Giraf - Laying down
Originally uploaded by JeanKern.

JeanKern photo and title. Gaia Park.

Short & Sweet

Kangaroo named Buddy escapes when the wind blows his cage door open. He is big. Spotted easily. Caught. Returned. ShortNews.com offers the summary. (Link)

Marmosets Stolen

Rare and valuable little primates (marmosets) have been stolen from a UK zoo, according to David Sapsted, for the Telegraph. (Link)

"Two silvery marmosets, Captain Jack and Jazz, and their six-week-old baby, Larkin, were taken along with a pair of Geoffrey marmosets - Calli and Cartman - from a glass-fronted enclosure.

"The zoo fears for the well-being of Jazz as she needs medication twice a day for a jaw infection. Without her, it is unlikely that Larkin will survive."

Zoo Commissary Challenge

Preparing diets for all the creatures at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is quite a challenge. Marlene Parrish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offers many of the details in this long article. (Link)

"Just be glad you're not Patrick Kennedy, commissary supervisor at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

"We make the daily meals for approximately 400 species. That's roughly 4,000 mouths to feed every day, sometimes three and four times," he said. "I buy 575 to 600 tons of food a year.""

The North Carolina Zoo commissary is much larger than Pittsburgh's.

It is much cleaner than my kitchen...and much better stocked.

We do not have live meal worms and crickets...but do also have peanut butter (which helps the medicine go down for some NC Zoo creatures).

The NC Zoo carrots are bigger and better than any I've ever found at my grocery store.

Bird diets are interesting to see prepared at a zoo. There are the fruit eaters, the seed eaters, the insect eaters and the combination-of-the-above eaters.

Bushmeat

This Reuters article offers some of the bushmeat trade story.

"Elephant trunks and smoked gorilla limbs hang from Emile Ndong's stall, "ripening" in the tropical heat.

""A good ceremony, a marriage or an initiation is worthless unless you serve game at the table," said Ndong, a hawker at the Oloumi market in Gabon's capital of Libreville."

In Africa, many now-urban residents still have a "taste" for the exotic wildlife they ate earlier to survive.

""Bushmeat is probably the biggest threat to biodiversity in central Africa," said Juan Carlos Bonilla, head of the Central Africa programme for Conservation International."

Tai Shan Studied

Tai Shan, the giant panda cub born at the National Zoo, Washington, D.C., last summer was monitored 24/7 in his first two months, according to the AP. (Link)

That is just a part of all the studying being done on this very rare, difficult-to-breed creature:

"Beginning in 1998, U.S. scientists began traveling regularly to China, where they and their Chinese colleagues assessed the health, reproduction, genetics, behavior and nutrition of 61 animals at China's largest breeding centers, in Wolong, Chengdu and Beijing.

"The survey's most surprising finding was that 80 percent of the pandas, even those that had been dismissed as "poor breeders," were in fact "healthy, reproductively competent animals that had potential to contribute to the captive population," Wildt says. A decade later, most of those animals are indeed contributing, thanks to the surge in panda science spawned by the collaboration."

Uncoordinated Fireflies

Greenmon reports putting our local, Randolph-County (NC) fireflies to the Smokey Mountains National Park synchronous fireflies test.

The locals failed.

zaadjes

zaadjes
Originally uploaded by belgianchocolate.

Orangutan studies a handful of habitat in this photo, with title, by belgianchocolate, who indicates it was taken at Jardin des Plantes, Paris.

Grotto Falls

I hiked to Grotto Falls (from farther away than the closest trail head) last week.

Great destination. The wide, rather easy, trail runs right behind, and under, the falls and continues on. Wonderful view back through the falling waters.

Shark Lagoon

Noah and I went to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies last week. (Evan had been before and opted out.)

Shark Lagoon is a huge exhibit full of various sharks and other fish, large and small.

Like the one in Myrtle Beach, Ripley's - Gatlinburg is full of very interesting creatures of varying sizes, in huge and small aquaria.

Speaking of Synchronous Fireflies

And SMNP. And Greenmon.

The AP article today about "Smokey Mountain Pain" makes reference to the growing popularity of the viewing of the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont in the Smokey Mountains, TN: "turn-away crowds of hundreds to see" them.

Glad we (Evan, Noah, Greenmon, Nancy and I) found a spot to watch them virtually by ourselves.

Greenmon and Nancy had gone to Sugarlands Visitor Center to meet us and go on to Sugarlands Nature Trail. They called to say it was a madhouse at the visitor center and to get directions to our quiet little viewing area.

Speaking of SMNP

The "News and Record" (Greensboro, NC) this morning had a front page, above-the-fold story they titled "Smokey Mountain Pain". It is about the "soot, smog, pests and development ...threatening the [nation's most] popular park.

The boys and I noticed the haze that often made the multi-ridge-line views less than sharp. And we saw plenty of development and the dead trees at higher elevations due to those tiny bugs. (I've often posted here about the impacts of non-native (introduced) species, including the "pests" affecting the trees on Mount Le Conte as well as Grandfather Mountain (NC).)

"Air pollution may be the Smokies' biggest challenge," offers Duncan Mansfield, The Associated Press.

The biggest polluter? The Tennessee Valley Authority, Mansfield reports.

The good news? The TVA "stepped up a multi-billion-dollar program to clean up its coal-fired power plants. In 2005, park and TVA officials announced emissions were going down."

Rare Pregnancy

A Sumatran rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo is about one-third into her 16-month pregnancy. Great news for a species with perhaps less than 300 in the wild, according to the Associated Press and Neil Relyea. (Link)

Who Indeed?

"Time" magazine has a lengthy article in its June 18 issue questioning whether zoos need to reinvent themselves. Michael D. Lemonick does a good job of offering a balanced look at "Who Belongs in the Zoo?".

However, I have a problem when David Hancocks, zoo consultant and past director of Woodlands Parks Zoo, Seattle, offers a suggestion for the future exhibiting of elephants:

"Hancocks' solution? A few national zoos in appropriate climates that tourists from all over the country can visit. "There are two Disney parks," he says. "That's enough for America's children. Similarly, two really good spots for elephants in the country would be sufficient.""

That's a rather elitist "solution". What about the American children (and their parents) who can not afford a trip to Orlando or California?

Yes, the North Carolina Zoo might be one of Mr. Hancocks' two destinations for elephant viewing in this country. And yes, many zoos can not provide elephants satisfactory climate and few can afford to provide them what they will have near Asheboro and Greensboro, North Carolina. But how does Mr. Hancocks decide that only those children (and their parents) who can afford the destination-travel expenses of a trip from Kentucky or South Dakota to those elephant-offering two zoos in say Arizona and North Carolina should have that opportunity, when there may well be nearer zoos also willing and able to provide the opportunity?

"But given the pleasure zoos provide", as Mr. Lemonick wraps up, as well as the basic education (and the environmental/conservation education) they (and their elephants) also provide, why limit access to the nearby (to a rather random two locations) and the well-to-do?

Speaking of Greenmon

He has a useful website, especially if you are into beer can collecting, but also for photos and info on hiking, canoeing and Randolph County.

The hiking Evan and I did last week was on Mt. Le Conte. None to the top. We got to Baskins Creek Falls twice. You can find photos on Greenmon's site, under hiking.

I've gone to the top of Mt. Le Conte three times. Once was a round trip. Twice I stayed at the cabins at the top, hosted by Greenmon. He offers photos from several Mt. Le Conte to-the-top hikes on his site. (Click on "Another Mt. Le Conte hike" at the bottoms of several pages to see more.)

Spotted In SMNP

Just back from a week with the boys in Smokey Mountains National Park (Gatlinburg, TN).

The first, partial day Noah (27 years old) and I drove into the Park in the late afternoon and a wild Tom turkey was on the road.

The next morning Evan (17) and I headed to a trail head and there, on the road, was a black bear. My first spotting of a bear in "the wild". When it went into the woods, it stopped to roll on its back in the leaves, before disappearing into the moss-covered trees and rocks.

That evening I took a solo walk from our rooms into the Park and a different Tom, and hen, wild turkey were on the trail ahead of me.

The next evening we had dinner with Greenmon and his wife Nancy and then went to see the synchronous fireflies. Most folks gather at Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg and then ride trolleys to Elkmont. Hundreds did the same that evening. (Elkmont is where the sychronous fireflies were first "discovered".

Noah (who is disabled by cystic fibrosis) and I had talked to the folks at Sugarlands a couple days earlier and learned that the sychronous displays were really going on all over the area. Understanding Noah's difficulty walking any distances, the ranger recommended nearby Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail, a nice "handicapped" trail.

The five of us set up on beach chairs near dark. The fireflies spent a great deal of time blinking at random. We began to think we were given bad advice. Then we noticed that some fireflies seemed to be blinking in tandem with ones nearby.

Then we were sure that they were getting coordinated.

Soon there were long pauses, with no lightings, and then near simultaneous blinkings.

It made for a very nice evening.

On another solo hike, near dark, I came on a returning family. They told with excitement that a deer was near the trail and then pointed ahead to the doe. She was far enough up Mt. LeConte to probably be related to those very tame deer I've seen on a couple stays at the cabins at the top. (Greenmon had a standing, April 9 reservation for many years.) She paid me no mind as I hiked up beyond her. On my return I sneezed and heard something and looked to see that she was very near me, browsing just off the trail, and just as unperturbed.

Farther down the trail was another doe, also quite tame. (Not as tame as the other, however.)

It Happens...In the Wild Too

"Beloved Chimp Dies in Fight" is an Associated Press story out of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

The dominant male, age 42, was killed in a violent fight with the heretofore "lesser" male. My understanding is that this happens rather regularly in wild chimp societies.

""It seems we had a changing of the guard," [Zoo spokesperson Rachel] Nelson said."

What'r They Talkin' 'Bout, Earl?

This story about a San Francisco Zoo exhibit, offered online by NBC Channel 11, includes a quote that references the fact that you are in a confined area with 600 birds that you and others are feeding. The quote does not tell you just what it is talking about, but it does seem to address a reasonable concern of some Zoo visitors.

""These are seed eaters. What they eat is very, very dry, so you don't end up with a lot of watery results. Basically, you can just brush it off," said Bob Jenkins, of the SF Zoo."

Speaking of your more "watery results", I was visiting the National Aviary, which is in Pittsburgh, interestingly, with a group attending that year's national conference of the AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums), when "watery results" splattered across my shoulder.

The National Aviary and its volunteers had "been there before". Two smiling volunteers were "on me" in a second. One peeled a sticker off a roll and placed it on my chest. They both congratulated me. Not everyone, they explained, is so "blessed" on their visit to the National Aviary.

My sticker proclaimed "I Got It at the National Aviary!". It featured a handsome, photographic rendering of a first-class "watery result".

Can I have this dance?

Can I have this dance?
Originally uploaded by strtrkmonkeelvvr.

Great capture of multiple males "in velvet", two of which are getting territorial, by strtrkmonkeelvvvr, who writes:

"Taken at the Lee G Simmons Wildlife Safari in Ashland Nebraska. Thanks to Tut99 (Roger) for the wonderful title."

National Zoo Tiger Cubs Well

The National Zoo's three new, Sumatran tiger cubs had an exam Thursday and the two females and one male are doing well, WTOP reports (with a photo of the 5 and 6-pound tigers). (Link)

Endangered Pygmy Rabbit Boom

The Oregon Zoo has seen 17 Washington pygmy rabbits born in recent weeks and expects 50 more soon. (Link)

After that one can hope they will multiply like, well, rabbits.

And the subspecies was recently on the brink of extinction, according to MedfordNews.com.

"Pygmy rabbits are the only North American rabbits that dig burrows and reside in a sagebrush habitat. (Jackrabbits, which also reside in sagebrush communities, are actually hares, not rabbits.)"

No Pups for Millie

The North Carolina Zoo red wolf keepers (there is even a photo of the five) report that Millie (there is also aphoto of her and of mate Skippy) did not become pregnant this season, while telling us more about the overall red wolf breeding program, on the NC Zoo Society-supported Field Trip Earth website. (Link)

"This would have been the fifth litter of red wolf pups born at the NC Zoo; however, we’ll have to wait until next breeding season to possibly have number five. Luckily, not all of the institutions involved in the breeding program were disappointed."

Another Worthy Portrait

Photos
Originally uploaded by davidjschloss.

Bronx Zoo gorilla by davidjschloss, uploaded yesterday.

Another Strong Zebra Portrait

Eor
Originally uploaded by maxedaperture.

You'd think I'd tire of these...but then someone else offers another great look at these interesting "subjects".

Taken at National Zoo, Washington, D.C., by maxedaperture.

camel singing

camel singing
Originally uploaded by oatmeal20002k.

Photo and title by oatmeal20002k.

Jellies

IMG_0758
Originally uploaded by oatmeal20002k.

Monterey Bay Aquarium photo by oatmeal20002k.

Guess It Couldn't Hurt

A Belarus Zoo is offering its long-tailed monkeys as psychologists (or at least as good listeners), according to Mosnews.com (as in Moscow). (Link)

“Anyone can come into the room where the monkey family lives and tell them of their troubles and problems. You can whine, tell your secrets and even cry out loud.”

Extremely Rare Bison

Just one in 15 million bison are born white and Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo introduced theirs to the public June 5, the Ottawa Citizen reports. (Link)

Blizzard, the white bison, was kept top secret before the debut. The Lakota peoples of what is now Canada have a 2000-year history of valuing a white bison.

"Zookeepers are poised for pilgrimages to Winnipeg. Never before has a white bison been linked to Manitoba, which holds the bison as its provincial symbol, said zoo curator Bob Wrigley.

Pepper Spray Training

From this morning's management staff meeting at the North Carolina Zoo: animal curators and keepers of dangerous animals will receive training in the use of pepper spray over the next couple weeks.

Zoo Park Rangers on solitary duty, on the later shifts, will also receive the training.

Doing the Bearpaddle

Doing the Bearpaddle
Originally uploaded by Maia C.

"Talini doing laps in the Arctic Ring of Life of the Detroit Zoo, with a bright blue sky overhead."

Upload, title and quote by Maia C.

North American River Otter 21

North American River Otter 21
Originally uploaded by The Cats Jungle.

The 21st time is the charm.

What a portrait, uploaded by The Cat's Jungle, S. Pettitt Photography, taken at the San Francisco Zoo!

Sad report

This from the North Carolina Zoo today:

"North Carolina Zoo Loses Harbor Seal

"ASHEBORO—A harbor seal died Monday at the North Carolina Zoo. Staff veterinarians believe the most likely cause of death to be a brain lesion.

"The 16-year-old male seal began showing signs of illness last Friday, according to Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Ryan DeVoe. Among the symptoms displayed were lethargy, seizures and other indications of a progressive neurological disease, DeVoe said.

"Zoo staff continued diagnostic tests and treatment over the weekend. But the 240-pound animal showed no signs of improvement and died in the zoo’s seal and sea lion holding facilities late Monday morning. A necropsy, or animal autopsy, performed at the zoo’s Hanes Veterinary Center Monday afternoon revealed that the seal had a large lesion in the frontal lobe of the brain. But additional laboratory tests on tissue samples are being conducted to help confirm the cause of death, DeVoe said.

"The male seal arrived at the N.C. Zoo in May 1995 from Sea World in Orlando, Florida. He had been exhibited along with three California sea lions in the zoo’s RJR Nabisco Rocky Coast complex. The sea lions remain on exhibit and show no signs of illness. There are no immediate plans to replace the lost seal."

...Tranquility...

...Tranquility...
Originally uploaded by ...Random Images from The Heartland....

Taken, titled and uploaded by "Random Images from the Heartland".back in '04.

It is included in flickr's (TM) "South Dakota Pool".

White Faced Saki Monkey

White Faced Saki Monkey
Originally uploaded by Sunshine Hanan.

Sunshine Hanan's title tells you much of what you need to know about the subject of Sunshine's May upload.

The monkey was "captured" by Sunshine Hanan at Marwell Zoo, Hampton, UK.

This is a male. Females are brown with a "white stripes along the side of the nose", Sunshine reports.

Sleepy Time

Giraf baby
Originally uploaded by JeanKern.

"The baby was falling asleep all the time," says JeanKern, who uploaded this photo from Gaiapark, Netherlands today.

Small wonder. Looks like this young'un was just born. (Remember, giraffes are about 6 feet tall at birth; Mom is probably napping too.)

Low Cost Hospital

The Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at the North Carolina Zoo spends just $40 per animal as it works with 1000 injured and orphaned, native wildlife annually with the aim of release back to their habitats. (Link)

Print Your Field Guide

Here is the link to print your own color field guide for your next visit to the R.J. Reynolds Forest Aviary at the NC Zoo. (Link)

I Want What You Got!

IMG_6096
Originally uploaded by emphasis.

Cheetahs at Herberstein (Austria) Zoo. Uploaded today by "emphasis".

Giraffe, NC Zoo

Giraffe, NC Zoo
Originally uploaded by _mpd_.

This photo by mpd offers a "rural giraffe".

Urban giraffe schmoozing

Urban giraffe schmoozing
Originally uploaded by Amundn.

These are indeed "urban giraffes", as Amundn notes in the title for her/his (?) flickr (TM) upload of today.

Zoo animal photos with big city skylines in the background always give me a little jolt, as with this one from Taronga Zoo, Sydney.

It is nice when you can put the animals in settings that more represent their natural habitats.

Celebrate This Bamboo

The Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, is celebrating bamboo (it has quite a bit on site) with its Wild About Bamboo event, according to Rachel Seeman, Examiner.com. (Link)

They are welcome to all the "volunteer" bamboo that keeps appearing each year about this time in my back yard...sneaking under the fence from my neighbor's yard.

I hear that a bamboo "runner" was found many feet under the NC Zoo's African Pavilion, which features over 40,000 square feet of exhibit...mostly covered in layers of concrete. (Bamboo is quite the persistent plant; I admire it and respect it, but can't say that I'm "wild about" its insistance upon taking over all my other plants!)

Little Owls "Doing Fine"

"My initial thought is that the owls are doing fine," is the quote the News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) highlighted from the Associated Press story about the northern saw-whet owl. The quote is by Blue Ridge Parkway biologist Bob Cherry following a two-month study of the smallest owl in eastern North America (under 8 inches tall).

While the federal government classifies them as "a species of concern", "The owls generally seem to be in the same places they were 30 years ago," according to Cherry. (Those "same places" tend to be at high elevation.)

Woodpecker Is Pine Keystone

"It's invaluable. It's the keystone species of the longleaf pine, the "umbrella" species, because taking care of it takes care of so many other species," US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Ralph Costa is quoted as saying of the red-cockaded woodpecker in Bo Peterson's article for the (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier.

Protecting the woodpecker has helped restore and protect 500,000 acres of long-leaf pine habitat in South Carolina, up 100,000 acres since 1995, the article also reports. But once they were 90 million acres, "across the Southeast", it adds.

Other points from Peterson's article:
. "as many as 26 other types of birds use the nest holes the woodpecker carves"
. "conservation agreements for...longleaf acres also have provided habitat for bald eagles and swallow-tailed kites."

And don't forget all the little insects, plants and smaller things that occur only in long-leaf pine habitat...and help form the complex, living interaction that keeps our little planet ticking.

A new game of 'hide and go seek' is about to begin...

A new game of 'hide and go seek' is about to begin...
Originally uploaded by lynnedfw.

This is the way the gerunuk (the standing antelope, not the striped antelope) eats. It browses from higher horticulture than most antelopes. It does not have to be touching that tree to stand that erect and well-balanced.

Thanks to lynnedfw for the useful photo...and the fun title.

Hi there!

Hi there!
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

True Bavarian "captured" it, took it and titled it. Nice!

All Leg, Bill and Knees

Stork
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

Cypress knees, it appears...along with a stork's legs and bill. All by the prolific and talented True Bavarian.

Early Training

Those very rare whooping cranes that fly behind ultralight aircraft do that because of very early training. The Calgary Zoo introduces the whooping cranes to the sound of the ultralight while the cranes are still in their eggs.

The Calgary Sun's Todd Saelhof reports that the Calgary Zoo has used artificial insemination and other techniques to help the whooping crane population grow from 21 worldwide in 1945 to about 480 today. (Link)

"In the wild, each female lays just two eggs a year, but zookeepers can coax more by removing them from the mother so she’ll lay a second — and sometimes a third — clutch."

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center, which will open soon in Scotland Neck, N.C., with assistance from the NC Zoo Society, has high (and very real) hopes of getting whooping cranes for its exhibit area. The organization's Board Chair Walter Sturgeon is an active volunteer with whooping crane/ultralight training.

NC Zoo Friend Passes

An e-mail from his grandson 'Crae Morton advised me this evening that past NC Zoo Society Board Chair Hugh Morton has been taken by cancer.

Hugh worked for the creation and development of the NC Zoo for over 35 years, promoting it when it was only an idea...as he also did for his Grandfather Mountain, the Battleship in Wilmington and so much more.

He took photos of one of Grandfather Mountain's black bear cubs (Hobo, I believe) all over the State in the early 1970's, as the little bear was credited with asking for citizen support for a new State Zoo near Asheboro, while posed near various NC monuments and landmarks.

He got thousands of NC children to give a dollar each, I think it was. Whatever the amount, the participation rate had a big influence on NC legislators.

Now his grandson 'Crae serves the NC Zoo Society Board and runs Grandfather Mountain, an international wildlife reserve, tourists' treat and, now, monument to Hugh Morton.