Diving Puffin at NC Zoo

timothymclain offers video featuring a North Carolina Zoo puffin on YouTube (TM).

AZA's Big Impact

The 200-plus zoos and aquaria that meet the standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) host 143 million visitors a year.

The conference in Tampa which I attended this week is just one of its many services to member institutions.

Those institutions reach almost 45 million people via education programs; benefit from four and a half million hours contributed by volunteers; care for more than 700,000 animals; and participate in 1,719 conservation, research, and education projects in 97 countries or regions around the world.

According to a recent AZA/Harris Interactive poll:
* 93% of U.S. adults agree that families enjoy going to zoos and aquariums where they can see living animals up close;
* 94% agree that zoos and aquariums teach children about how people can protect animals and places they live.

Box Turtle Dogs - Update

North Carolina Zoo herpetologist John Groves has given an update on the efforts of trained dogs in recovering more box turtles for the ongoing study here.

In 3.5 hours September 25, two trained box turtle retrievers and one dog in training recovered 13 new turtles outside the NC Zoo perimeter fence but on Zoo grounds.
It "would probably take us human a couple week to find" as many, John suggests.

This takes the NC Zoo study over 100 box turtles collected and processed, with a few more weeks of 2006 box turtle activity remaining. (Most past years saw just 40-50 collected.)

This "may be due to a wet spring and summer", but also reflects the "increased staff interest", John reports.

It feels soooo good!

It feels soooo good!
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

Ucumari took it and titled it. North Carolina Zoo African lion.

Learned at the Aquarium

Learned at the Florida Aquarium that grey nurse sharks do not need to constantly swim. And that they are among several species of sharks that do not swim constantly.

Also learned that zebra sharks, which are spotted, not striped, are not so poorly named as it might seem. Young zebra sharks are striped.

Dragons Down Under

A great exhibit space at The Florida Aquarium offers "Dragons Down Under" - Australian leafy and weedy sea dragons. They look more like seaweed floating than their aquatic cousins, the sea horses.

Snakes Not Slimy

It was Busch Gardens last evening, after a full day of seminars. Really liked the side-by-side hyena and lion habitats...and SheikRa - the 200-foot, totally-vertical drop roller coaster (rode it twice).

The opening "Icebreaker" was at The Florida Aquarium. Nice educational moment for kids is when the Aquarium's young "edutainers" bring out a corn snake to make the point that snakes shine from dry scales, not from sliminess.

A young volunteer (a boy about six) puts his hand in a bucket of sand. Some sticks. The sand is also poured over the snake. None sticks.

They call the whole program "Truth or Tails". Young people address statements like "Snakes are slimy" and learn whether it is the truth or a tall "tail".

Risking It All for Wildlife

Keynote speaker this morning for the AZA conference of zoos and aquariums in Tampa was Stephen Galster of WildAid.

He is risking his life, doing undercover work exposing wildlife poachers.

Porpoise Jog

Jogged from Tampa Marriott Waterside yesterday morning. Last five minutes was running alongside a porpoise (or some air-breathing, marine mammal with fin) as I neared the hotel following a channel.

"Everything Under the Sun"

Heading to Tampa for the American Zoo & Aquarium (AZA) conference "Everything Under the Sun...Land, Sea and Sky!", Monday through Friday. (Ann, son Noah, his dog, Bijou, and our cats, Mango Mousse and Ace, will hold down the Greensboro fort.)

With what Hurricane Katrina did to many AZA institutions last year and the prospects of avian flu, there is much interest in an all-day seminar tomorrow on "Disaster Planning and Survival for Zoos and Aquariums".

There will be much talk about elephants and rhinos. (Taxon advisory groups, or TAG's, meet tomorrow.) North Carolina Zoo and Society reps will probably be in conversations about new requirements for the breeding of African elephants. (Expect to hear more about this later on this blog.)

Conferees will gather at the Florida Aquarium ("It's a Cool Way to Sea Life") tomorrow night; at Busch Gardens for a Wednesday evening reception and will tour Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo Thursday afternoon.

May not be able to blog for a while. If not, as Greensboro blog expert Ed Cone advises when he's away from the keyboard: "Talk among yourselves."

Another Handsome Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl
Originally uploaded by MarkWells.

A snowy owl and Frank Gifford were on hand when we kicked off the Project:North America capital campaign at the North Carolina Zoo in 1986. (Believe the owl got more column inches of press clippings.)

This handsome owl was photographed at Northwest Trek by MarkWells.

Cougar Stalking

Cougar Stalking
Originally uploaded by MarkWells.

Like it when real exotic animal behavior is displayed in a "zoo" exhibit.

Here MarkWells has captured such at Northwest Trek.

Northwest Trek features a 435-acre, "free-range" animal habitat experience.

Point Defiance Silver Otter Wink

Point Defiance Silver Otter
Originally uploaded by MarkWells.

Had hoped to see sea otters on our recent North Carolina Zoo Society trip to Alaska's "Inside Passage".

While the bear, whale and wolf sightings were wonderful this time, did not get the sea otter experience of another Yorktown Clipper cruise of the "Inside Passage":

Woke early one morning of that cruise to find a "raft" of sea otters at the stern of the anchored ship. (In order to stay together on the water, as they sleep, sea otters "link" up and float in one raft of sometimes dozens of animals.)

Watched the sea otters wake that clear, cool morning. Yes, they cutely rub their eyes with their front paws as they are waking.

MarkWells captured the otter wink.

Baby Giants Develop Slowly

The baby giant panda born at Zoo Atlanta is about three weeks old, is hairless and won't open its eyes until it's about 75 days old. Its gender will not be known for some time yet.

Lun Lun, a 9-year-old giant panda on loan from China, has been an excellent mother, reports Tracy Christensen for News 11, Atlanta. (Link, with a photo of the tiny "giant".)

"She broke her nearly week-long fast on September 12 when she ate her first food -- a bit of sugarcane – for the first time since the historic birth. The snack took Lun Lun away from the cub for just three minutes."

Rhino Tetherball

Rhino Tether Ball
Originally uploaded by russlings.

At the North Carolina Zoo's new rhino holding area a play device for the southern white rhinos has been built in their off-exhibit paddock. Anyone for a game of rhino tetherball?

The sturdy device features a large, round "pig" - a rubber ball used in oil pipelines to keep lines clear and open.

Thanks to the NC Zoo's mammal curator Guy Lichty for the photo.

Box Turtles on Field Trip Earth

A great deal of the North Carolina Zoo box turtle study content is now up on Field Trip Earth, the web project of the NC Zoo Society.

Jessica Foti, of the NC Zoo, is the author. "We believe that our population totals over 3000 turtles in the Park."

The turtle dogs are also addressed.

Red Clay Elephant

Elephant
Originally uploaded by Miracle Man.

Taken at the North Carolina Zoo Sunday by Miracle Man.

Why are NC Zoo African elephants red? Because that's the color of our mud, which they apply to protect themselves from sun and bugs...and "just for fun".

Miracle Man has received much good comment already about his strong portrait, with reflection.

Cleaningtime

Cleaningtime
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

True_Bavarian is posting some more winners.

He titled and took it.

More Rhinos Headed for NC Zoo

From a memo from North Carolina Zoo Director Dr. David Jones to Zoo staff today, as he updated us on efforts to bring a breeding group of southern white rhinos to the Park in the near future:

"Earlier information that we had gathered suggested that potential breeding females were not likely to be available within the U.S. and so we started looking for animals to come in from private game parks in South Africa. In the meantime, discussions here about how to ensure the long-term sustainability of rhino breeding led to our conclusion that it would be preferable to try to find adult females with a proven breeding history and with calves already accompanying them. Somewhat "tongue-in-cheek" we approached a small number of collections within the U.S. that have at least 10 White Rhinos to see whether any of them would be willing to release a breeding female and her most recent calf.

"Rather surprisingly, we appear to have hit the jackpot and on the basis that you "don't get if you don't ask", it turned out that White Oak in North Florida, that has done very well with this species, needs to reduce the numbers of White Rhinos they are currently holding and have offered us a compatible group of three adult proven breeding females with their three current calves born about a year ago. Depending on the various practicalities surrounding the ongoing construction work, we expect to move these animals here in the spring of next year."

NC Zoo Gets $1.5 Million from State

From a media release the NC Zoo sent late today: "The North Carolina Zoo has been awarded more than $1.5 million in state funds for improvements and repairs to a number of facilities around the zoo.

"State Representative Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph) called zoo officials this week to inform them that the funds had been awarded from the state’s Repair and Renovation (R&R) budget.

"Among the zoo projects that will receive a total of $1,550,360 in R&R funds are: $779,242 for the design and planning of a new Children’s Discovery Center that will replace the Australian Walkabout exhibit slated to close at the end of September; $141,000 to design major renovations to the zoo’s African Amphitheater; $161,787 for roof repairs to the chimpanzee holding facilities; $179,636 for upgrades in the zoo’s computerized energy management system; and $288,696 for development and paving of a area to provide food catering for large groups.

"According to Zoo Chief of Staff Mary Joan Pugh, the Commission on Governmental Operations this year approved $120 million in R&R funds for state agencies other than colleges and universities. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the division of state government that operates the zoo, received $7.9 million of that total, with the Zoo receiving $1.5 million."

The NC Zoo is asking a total of over $5 million from the State for the Children's Discovery Center. It will replace the Progress Energy Australian Walkabout, in place the last three seasons.

Turtle Dogs (or Turtle Round-Up)

Boykin spaniels will help the North Carolina Zoo with its ongoing box turtle study.

NC Zoo herpetologist John Groves reports that the dogs, which have assisted before in the study, will "work" a portion of the perimeter fence of the Zoo in locating box turtles on some of the 1450-acres site.

"They work very quickly," John reports.

Yuck! He licked me!

Yuck! He licked me!
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

This ucumari, North Carolina Zoo photo shows "our" male grizzly bears getting along much better than the two I spotted recently in Alaska.

They probably do so because they are "nuisance" bears that became used to people in Montana and were scheduled to be "destroyed" before the NC Zoo "rescued" them. (The two in Alaska were true wild bears in a wild place, behaving according to their true natures.)

Ucumari also titled her photo.

Box Turtle Study Joining Field Trip Earth

The multi-year study of box turtles on the North Carolina Zoo's 1450-acre site will be added to the field research being tracked by Field Trip Earth, NC Zoo herpetologist and box turtle researcher John Groves reported to our management staff gathering this morning.

Field Trip Earth is a website sponsored by the NC Zoo Society which offers contact with, and info from, field researchers around the world, including those working with African elephants in Cameroon and red wolves in Alligator River, NC. Many teachers and classrooms make regular use of the site.

NC Zoo Herpetologist Publishes

North Carolina Zoo herpetologist John Groves has had a research paper accepted for publication by The South American Journal of Herpetology.

John reported in management staff meeting this morning that his study deals with the practice of some reptiles of eating their shed skin.

Coming Soon to NC Zoo?

cubs
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

Looks like there is a very good chance that a scene like this will again be offered at the North Carolina Zoo.

With luck it won't be very long.

Ucumari took these youngsters' photo some time back. The last NC Zoo cubs have grown and moved on.

Visit "Australia" Soon!

October 1 will be the last day for the three-year run of the "Australian Walkabout" exhibit complex at the North Carolina Zoo.

As was the plan, the kangaroos, wallabies, emus, kookaburras, reptiles and more will be heading to other good homes and the Zoo will begin to ready a children's center in the space. (An interim exhibit, with maze, will be in place next season.)

Lot's 'o baboons

Lot's 'o baboons
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

Another Hamadryas baboon birth is expected at the North Carolina Zoo this week.

Ucumari captured some of the NC Zoo baboons in her photo uploaded August 14.

2 More Chimps to Join NC Zoo Troop

106_0685
Originally uploaded by danisaacs.

The North Carolina Zoo will soon add two 4-year-old male chimpanzees to its large troop (some of which are pictured here in danisaacs photo of last year).

The Species Survival Plan for North American chimps calls for the NC Zoo to accept the two, "rescued" from poor conditions in another state.

3 Meerkats Born at NC Zoo

meerkat
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

Three meerkats were born "on exhibit" at the North Carolina Zoo recently.

This NC Zoo meerkat was captured by NC Zoo Society volunteer ucumari (Valerie).

Red River Hogs Update

Three red river hogs should arrive at the North Carolina Zoo the first week of October and be on exhibit after a quarantine period of about a month.

Arctic Fox (Winter Phase)

Artic Fox
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

The days are getting shorter and this North Carolina Zoo Arctic fox will again start growing its long, white, insulating hairs and again look like it did in this earlier 2006 photo by ucumari. (The long days of summer changed it to the "skinnier", gray version of itself.)

Trouble Fish

Imagine you are enjoying your outing with friends in your small boat on a Midwest river when a 25-pound fish leaps eight feet out of the water and into your vehicle. The "driving" hazard could be worse than a Japanese hornet flying into your speeding car.

Invasive Asian fish, the silver carp, are doing just that on Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. The invasive and Asian bighead carp is also "taking over" those rivers, with the silver carp.

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia, the federal government and the St. Louis Zoo are collaborating on a plan to market the troublesome fish, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune's Terry Ganey.

"Work is under way to develop fish patties made of ground up Asian carp that can be served as food to captive zoo animals. If the commercial market develops, it could provide multiple conservation benefits.

"One dividend would be a reduction in the number of the troublesome fish in the rivers. The other benefit is the reduction in fishing pressure on species such as herring and mackerel, which are now fed at zoos at a cost of 30 to 70 cents per pound."

One challenge: "Questions still abound about texture and whether the fish food will stick together when the trainer tosses a morsel to a sea lion for positive reinforcement."

Why all the fuss about getting zoo animals to eat the trouble fish, when they are such a popular part of the diet in Europe and Asia? Because humans in the USA have not developed a liking for the nutritious carp.

More on Murphy

From a media release the North Carolina Zoo has just sent regarding the unexpected death of Murphy, the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center groundhog:

"A necropsy, or animal autopsy, performed Monday found tumors on Murphy'’s liver and nodules on his lungs. While groundhogs are susceptible to viruses that can cause tumors and in some cases cancer, the exact nature of Murphy'’s condition will not be known until pathological exams are completed in one to two weeks."

True_Hermit Crab

That's (hermit) crab
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian.

True_Bavarian uploaded this today.

Murphy to Manteo No More

Murphy, the groundhog who became a spokescritter for the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, at the North Carolina Zoo, has died unexpectedly.

I traveled to Manteo, and the NC Aquarium there, the past few Groundhog Days with Murphy (and Schindler Center lead volunteer Joan McMurray) to promote the Center.

Murphy was a great travel companion, who could always be counted upon to entertain the Manteo school children who came out in large numbers to greet his annual prognostication of winter weather. (He was expert at predicting upcoming weather at the NC Zoo; we counted on him...and Joan's interpretation of his pre-storm activities.)

Murphy was one of the thousands of animals aided by the rehab center over its short history. He was one of a few rehabbed animals who could not be returned to an exotic, wild life. He was just too friendly. He would have walked up to an unfriendly dog or worse.

I remember opening a door to his (and Joan's...and another center volunteer's) hotel room, in one city we visited with Murphy, to see him run under my legs and into the hallway. Joan ran him down in a hurry...bundled him back to the room...and flopped down on the bed, still clutching Murph and laughing.

I'll miss that big squirrel!

NC Zoo Photo Website

Asheboro resident Stephen ("Beach Bum") Wilmoth has a photo website that features some great North Carolina Zoo photos with some helpful facts associated.

"The Beach Bum's Site" is under construction, but already well worth the visit.

mandrill

mandrill
Originally uploaded by joyrex.

joyrex took it at Antwerp Zoo.

Hybrid Hype?!

"Parade" - "The Sunday Newspaper Magazine" inserted in my paper this morning has a disappointing (to me) article entitled "Are Hybrids Worth the Hype?".

The "answer", offered by Paul A. Eisenstein for "Parade", is based totally on current dollars and cents. No mention of the long-term impacts on the Earth and its "usability" by humans.

"Even with tax incentives, analysts say, most motorists won't save money during a hybrid's normal ownership cycle," Eisenstein reports. "But don't give up on hybrids: The equation may change with new, less expensive models..."

That latter remark writes off the current hybrids, even as they stretch our limited (it will take millions of years to make more) oil reserves by a factor of two or three.

What all these pop "analyses" of hybrids ignore is the emissions performance.

For many years, big cities have recognized the value of L.E.V.'s (low-emission vehicles), giving them lane preference on busy commuter roadways. When Honda came out with the two-seater Insight several years back, it was determined a U.L.E.V. (ultra low-emission vehicle). When I bought the earlier, compact Toyota Prius as a personal car in 2001, it was a four (or five) seat vehicle that put just one-quarter the emissions of the Honda Insight into our environment (and the environment of all of Earth's species).

That Prius is considered an S.U.L.E.V. (super ultra low-emission vehicle). The 2004-2007 Prius is a mid-sized car that has better gas mileage and lower emissions than the compact Prius before it.

What are those lower emissions worth, Mr. Eisenstein?

"Parade" does articles on other automobiles. I do not recall them questioning the facts that one pays more for "performance" (measured by the car's ability to snap your head back as it accelerates from a standing start), comfort (heated, power, leather seats and tilting steering wheel, etc.) or "luxury" (wood, leather, cushiony suspension, a famous designer approved the seat fabric and pin-striping, etc.) or "prestige" (big and heavy grill, "my SUV is bigger than yours and could clear more off-road obstacles if I ever took it off-road, which I don't", etc.).

Why is it assumed that hybrid buyers should just consider the current dollars and cents when other car owners pay a premium for what they desire in a vehicle?

I submit that many are happy to pay more for "performance" as revealed in a measurable, healthy respect for the environment...to make that small sacrifice for the little more time it gives our endangered Earth.

Elephants on "The Pill"

A multi-sided controversy has been sparked by Bengal authorities who are putting tamed Asian elephants on birth control. (Link)

"Although revered on the Indian subcontinent, Indian elephants are under threat. While there are more than 15,000 Asian elephants in captivity, only some 30,000 are thought to roam wild in the tropical foothills of south-east Asia ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gifnd India, less than a 10th of the number of wild African elephants," writes Kate Thomas, Independent News & Media Limited.

Another Opinion

Chris Palmer, Director, Centre for Environmental Filmmaking School of Communication, American University, speaks out on the death of Steve Irwin:

"Steve Irwin was a wonderfully passionate and well-meaning advocate for wildlife. He was a good person who inspired millions to have an increased appreciation for the importance of wildlife, especially reptiles. But he sometimes stepped over the line by inadvertently encouraging people to get too close to wild animals and by provoking animals into behaviors likely never to have occurred if no cameras had been rolling."

Talking Elephant?

A 16 year-old elephant at Seoul's Everland theme park has learned to speak eight Korean words, reports Sin Chew Daily. (Link)

"The elephant can speak by placing its trunk into its mouth and wriggling it as it exhales. It's the same principle as when people stick their fingers in their mouths when whistling. It's an ingenious way for the elephant to overcome the problem of not having a human tongue. Its pronunciation is also extremely accurate."

While I will look to see this confirmed elsewhere, it sounds quite plausible to me. Elephants are quite smart. It has been determined that one has mimicked the sound of passing trucks. And I have long compared the elephant's trunk to our tongue (the former has tens of thousands of muscles; our tongue is the most muscled part of our body with just a few dozen).

I am not surprised that an elephant can make part of its trunk behave like our tongues. We can make our tongues do very little compared to what an elephant can do when it concentrates on coordinating that fantastic tool, which is both a nose and an upper lip.

South Sawyer Seal

Seal Reflecting
Originally uploaded by tipper.

We saw many habor seals near the Sawyer glaciers in Tracy Arm, Alaska's "Inside Passage", last week, like this one at South Sawyer glacier, captured by tipper, an uploaded August 30.

Mountain Goat & Curious Kid

Mountain goat and curious kid
Originally uploaded by Meg and Nathan.

We spotted some mountain goats in Glacier Bay National Park last week.

Meg and Nathan got this great capture of parent and kid from their kayak last July.

Sea Lions, Gulls and Cormorants

Stellar Sea Lions, Sea Gulls and Cormorants, Alaska
Originally uploaded by Andre Boffin.

We saw Stellar sea lions, pelagic cormorants and glaucous winged gulls on South Marble Island in Glacier National Park last week.

Andre Boffin captured this strong image in early June.

Their deep, complaining croaks and barks could be heard a long way off. They all seemed happier to climb over their neighbors than to go around them. Groupings were often larger than this one.

"Musta Notta Gotta Lotta Sleep Last Night"*

zonked out!
Originally uploaded by ucumari.

North Carolina Zoo Polar bear caught cutely "zonked out" by NC Zoo Society volunteer ucumari (Valerie) September 11.

*Joe Ely

Sleeping In A Tree

Tai Shan Sleeping In A Tree
Originally uploaded by Tiger Empress.

Here is the position Tai Shan got into to fall asleep after the photo below. Both photos by Tiger Empress, uploaded to flickr (TM) September 9.

I Think I'm Stuck In This Tree

I Think I'm Stuck In This Tree
Originally uploaded by Tiger Empress.

Photo and title of National Zoo's Tai Shan by Tiger Empress, Sept. 3.

"On my first trip out to the NZoo I only saw Tai Shan wake up for a few minutes from sleeping in the tree and then he went back to sleep after he got into an odd position."

Mystery Deaths

Frogs and other amphibians are dying in Panama, Costa Rica, etc. Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, Wis. is trying to help says Jonah Huang, reporting for Capital Times. (Link)

"The bodies lay motionless over the forest floor. It was unlike any murder case researchers had ever seen before.

"The victims fit no single profile. They were from different parts of the world and were even different species. Their only major link is that they are all victims of a worldwide murder case 20 years in the making. The suspected killers are habitat destruction and disease caused by chytrid fungus. The victims are frogs and amphibians around the world.

"For the past few decades, frogs and amphibians in general have been disappearing at alarming rates. At least 113 species are reported to be extinct and over one-third of the amphibian population is globally endangered, according to an April 17 article in "Current Science" magazine."

The Zoo is exhibiting 16 endangered species now and plans to add more.

""We've had some initial success with glass frogs," [Vilas Zoo Director Jim] Hubing said. These frogs have skin so translucent that their internal organs can be seen."

"Jonah Huang is a sophomore at Memorial High School. He is lead science writer for the Simpson Street Free Press."

Baby Elephant Intro

The Indianapolis Zoo's new baby elephant goes on exhibit tomorrow, the Indianapolis Star reports, with photo. (Link)

Another US Giant Panda

I see another giant panda was born in the continental USA, while I was in Alaska last week. (Link)

"ATLANTA, GA, United States (UPI) -- A newborn panda at Atlanta`s zoo was under 24-hour staff watch Thursday after putting its mother Lun Lun through 35 hours of labor."

Big Baby

Indianapolis Zoo's new baby African elephant causes Tim Evans, Indianapolis Star to write: "She weighs almost as much as a Colts defensive lineman and is nearly as strong, but she's just five days old and still nursing every two hours around the clock."

And there's a photo of the 3-foot tall, 266-pound calf.

Zoo Fires Animal Staffer

The El Paso Zoo has fired an employee for striking an elephant with a stick, KFOX-TV reports. (Link)

Rare Bear

While NCWildlife.com shows the Greensboro, North Carolina region as without black bears, there have been sightings of a bear in Greensboro's northeast sector, including on the grounds of the TV (Channel 2) station.

WUNC radio reports that Greensboro does record a bear visit every 8 years.

This one remains at large, according to WUNC.

Humpback Whale Alaska

Humpback Whale Alaska
Originally uploaded by friskySusie.

Saw this sort of activity and more, with NC Zoo Society members, last week...but did not get a photo to match friskySusie's.

Black Bear Peak-a-Boo

Another nice wildlife sighting from the Yorktown Clipper, in Alaska last week, was of a solitary black bear.

As it walked along a "beach" of the "Inside Passage" our captain slowed to the bear's pace. It was a lengthy, unperturbed amble across rocks as the 128 passengers kept quiet so as not to drive it off.

Finally the bear made its way into the spruce, hemlock and alder trees which come almost to the water's edge. We kept watching for it to quickly reappear. It did not. But we kept watching, as the captain kept the same pace for one, two, three, four and more minutes.

You had the feeling that the bear was setting the same pace through the trees that it had over the rocks. If it had not headed inland, it might yet appear.

It did. And we enjoyed much more of the bear's stroll.

Did Someone Say Dinner?

Did Someone Say Dinner?
Originally uploaded by Tiger Empress.

"Jahari was being so cute he was holding on to his bowl for about 10 minutes and then he started chasing it around his exhibit," writes Tiger Empress, who titled this San Francisco Zoo photo she took in July.

"I love my bowl. Try to take it from me." (Sub-title by russlings.)

Flamingo Eye

Flamingo Eye
Originally uploaded by Tom McFarlane.

Another Tom McFarlane/Sept. 8 upload and title. (On a roll!)

Zebrass

Zebrass
Originally uploaded by Tom McFarlane.

Titled and uploaded by Tom McFarlane, Sept. 8.

Remembering Steve

Even on the waters of Alaska's "Inside Passage", the sad news quickly reached North Carolina Zoo Society members aboard the Yorktown Clipper that Australia Zoo's Steve Irwin had been killed in a freak encounter with a usually docile stingray.

Wikipedia already has a comprehensive updated listing for the late, popular, television personality.

"He founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which was later renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, and became an independent charity. He was described after his death by the CEO of RSPCA Queensland as a “modern-day Noah”, and British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. Irwin discovered a new species of turtle that now bears his name, Elseya irwini — Irwin's Turtle — a species of turtle found on the coast of Queensland."

Skagway 'Shrooms

While most of the Yorktown Clipper passengers headed out of Skagway, Alaska last week on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, Ann and I waved. Then we started hiking up one of the popular trails used during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. (Some of the '98ers discarded equipment littered, and added interest to, the scenery.)

Very steep at first. Glaciers had carved steep cliff sides not that many decades ago.

Enough decades had passed, however, to create an ever-changing landscape of roaring streams, ponds, Sitka spruce and hemlock (they smelled so good and brought back memories of Christmas in Pennsylvania) trees, temperate(?) wetlands and many, many mushrooms.

The "Inside Passage" had been drenched in the couple of days before our arrival, September 2. The result was that our walk was filled with the sight of dozens of species of mushroom and fungus.

Tiny mushrooms, banded mushrooms, little bulbous 'shrooms, huge mushrooms, red, brown, white and yellow ones, those you were certain must be good eating and others that promised a painful death.

Ann photographed them all, of course. Perhaps I will blog some of those photos another time.

Sitka Slug

Banana slug
Originally uploaded by Ataradrac.

In Sitka, Alaska last week we spotted several banana slugs (four to five inches in length).

We walked from the Yorktown Clipper into town and into the old Russian Orthodox church. Located on Baranof Island, Sitka is the oldest non-native town in southeast Alaska, founded in 1804, the capital of Russian Alaska.

We walked out of town to some of the Tongass Rainforest near a museum offering the art of native Tlingit people, their totems and stories of their battles with the Russians. In that forest we found the banana slugs, as well as many hundreds of salmon. (At places it looked like you could walk across a stream on the backs of the spawning salmon...lined up and struggling to reach a destination they only know to fertilize eggs and perish.)

Salmon mean much to Alaskans. They have at least two names for each of their five species: king (chinook); sockeye (red); coho (silver); pink (humpy) and chum (dog - because, I'm told, real Alaskans don't eat that one but will feed it to their dogs).

Bald Eagle Float

Ann and I were among many North Carolina Zoo Society members and others aboard the Yorktown Clipper to sign on for a river raft float through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve outside of Haines, Alaska, last week.

Many mature and immature bald eagles were spotted on land near the river, in trees on the shore and in flight.

On the bus trip to the put-in spot for our rafts we spotted a large moose running through the shallow, but very cold, glacial-melt river. A real treat to all on board and not a usual sight during the bus ride, we were told.

Haines features century-old Fort Seward and sits in a quiet bay beneath the impressive Chilkat Mountains in Alaska's "Inside Passage" region.

Back in rainy Haines, after our float, hot chocolate and cookies, we did some shopping in the tiny, artists' community.

Geikie Inlet Wolf Pack

Another wildlife sighting last week by North Carolina Zoo Society members and others aboard the Yorktown Clipper in Alaska's "Inside Passage" began with the spotting of a single animal...a dark gray wolf.

Alaska is so huge and first sightings are usually made at some distance, by binoculars or spotting scope. The dark wolf showed up well against the "beach" of glacier-smoothed rocks in Glacier Bay National Park's Geikie Inlet.

As many aboard the 128-passenger vessel remarked in whispers about what the wolf was doing, another wolf was spotted and then another. They were both sandy-colored adults which had blended into the beach.

As the wolves moved about, we saw more. A smaller dark one. Another sandy one. And it appeared (through my small, 7-power binoculars...or it might have been through the 10-power binocs provided with the "stateroom") I saw one of the adults feeding young.

The Glacier Park National Park ranger aboard for the day reported that it was, indeed, a pack of about eight wolves.

Better Whale Encounter

Had one of the better humpback whale encounters of my four times hosting North Carolina Zoo Society members aboard the Yorktown Clipper in Alaska's "Inside Passage" last week.

There were several other encounters this time, but one occasion, early in our trip, featured a pod of whales which fed in the same area for well over an hour as we watched spouting, sounding (deep feeding dives, featuring the dramatic disappearance of the tail fluke below the surface of the waters of the "Inside Passage"), lobtailing (one did a "headstand" in the water and smacked its tail on the top of that water over and over again) and breaching (acrobatic jumps which take the huge creatures entirely out of the water...to fall back on their sides).

This alone would have made it one of the best three humpback whale encounters I've had the privilege to witness, but then there were the Stellar sea lions playing with the young humpback!

The pod had a playful youngster in its midst and three sea lions willing to be the young'un's playmates.

The Yorktown captain reported seeing sea lions playing with young humpbacks before. He speculated that the sea lions would nip at the "little" (much bigger than they!) whale and that the whale found this game of tag to its liking. (The feeding adult whales were not bothered by the activity and allowed the "play" to continue as they fed and we watched and watched.)

Best Bear Encounter

We were in Glacier Bay National Park Thursday when the Park Ranger who had been brought aboard the Yorktown Clipper for the day announced the spotting of a brown bear on the shore.

The captain slowed the ship to follow this big bear's walk along the rocks at the edges of the water and the vast expanse of Sitka spruce trees and alder bushes and trees that come back rather quickly after a fiord and surrounding cliffs have been scraped into existence by the huge, grinding-and-constantly-moving machine that is a large glacier.

After a time, someone whispered (to not frighten off the bear on shore) that another brown bear had come into view many hundreds of yards away from the first viewed. It became clear, as the second, even larger bear came to the shore and walked the opposite direction along the shore that we would see a territorial encounter of two, big, solitary creatures.

I could see both in my binoculars, with just a little shifting left and right, when I saw the smaller bear get wind of the other's approach. The nose was up. The presence was registered. And, in a step, this bear had turned and began walking in earnest the way he had come.

This did not satisfy the larger bear, which had become aware too of the slightly smaller brown bear. He started to run. The smaller bear ran. The larger one stopped. The smaller one stopped.

This caused the larger one to run again. The smaller headed for higher ground. With stops and starts, they rapidly covered a great deal of vertical ground, climbing the steep terrain carved out by the glaciers just several decades ago.

This continued until they were both out of sight.

My favorite viewing of an encounter of Alaskan wildlife and behavior.

South...to North Carolina

Back from being "North...to Alaska" with 28 folks from the North Carolina Zoological Society last week. Aboard a small ship (130 passengers), we had some wonderful wildlife experiences.

The captain and two, young female naturalists made our enjoyment of Alaska and the rich, "Inside Passage" ecosystems all the more enjoyable due to their own passion for the wildlife, glaciers, geology and history of the region.

The Society members were an enthusiastic and interested bunch, as were many of our co-voyagers. Even in the coldest, wettest times of a week of much good weather, almost everyone on board would turn out to get a view of a distant mountain goat or for a chance to see a glacier "calf" (drop huge chunks into the water at the front of a tidal glacier, which is one that has made its way to the water).

This was my fourth time hosting the same "Inside Passage" week aboard the Yorktown Clipper. It was the best of the four for special wildlife encounters.

Shaking generally works better once you're out of the water

Shaking generally works better once you're out of the water
Originally uploaded by maharogers.

Advice to a San Francisco Zoo grizzly bear is found in this title by photographer maharogers.

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ooOOOooog
Originally uploaded by belgianchocolate.

Another unique look at the animals kingdom by the masterful belgianchocolate!

His title.