Mandarin Duck

MANDARIN DUCK
Originally uploaded by MIKE G PHOTO'S

March 25 NC Zoo upload by Mike G Photos.

Morning swim

Morning swim
Originally uploaded by lake life1

NC Zoo river otter uploaded by lake life1 March 28.

Creep Keeps Rhinos Out

A rhino-proof "creep" has been installed on the African Plains at the North Carolina Zoo to allow the antelope to feed without competition from their larger companions - southern white rhinos. "We have been concerned that the rhinos were taking most of the supplementary feed for other animals," reports NC Zoo Director David M. Jones.

The "creep" is an area which has a containing boundary which is spaced to allow the more narrow antelope in while keeping the wider rhinos out.

"A Chickadee Slips...

Chickadee
Originally uploaded by russlings

...between the cracks of the season."

More photo/poetry from @bugdreams.

Hyena LOL

Spotted hyena "giggles" can "speak volumes about an individual."

"Overall, it appeared that each giggle at least had the potential of identifying which hyena was giving the call, their age, and their place in the dominance hierarchy."

"...the way in which hyenas might use giggles requires more research to fully understand, but if the new study is correct the little laughs are social tools essential to navigating the complex social world of hyenas."

[@BoraZ]

Darwin's Hawkmoth Orchid

NC Zoo horticulturist Delores Foland pointed out a Darwin's Hawkmoth orchid in the African Pavilion as I walked through today. Check out how the moth feeds from it.

Plastic Pollution Art

One California couple, one beach (Kehoe) and many photos of plastic "pollution" and art made with same. [@wallacejnichols]

Willy's Earth Hour

Willy's Earth Hour
Originally uploaded by ucumari

"The NC Zoo held a Moonlight Polar Bear Walk for the 2010 Earth Hour. They had glow-in-the-dark toys, 100 of Willy's favorite fans attended and watched him splash, pounce, and entertain us all.
His caregivers were there to answer questions and show off his toys and food.
It was a fantastic evening for all!
(I struggled to get photos. It's a lot harder to shoot in pitch black conditions then I imagined!)" Ucumari March 28, 2010, upload, title and quotes.

Click on Willy's Earth Hour photo to see more ucumari photos of Willy and Earth Hour.

Earth Hour Views...

...from around the world. Click on the bright photo to see what the scene changed to at Earth Hour. [@petapixel]

Remembering Earth Hour 2008.

Our Paid Consultant

Border collie keeps Canada geese out of delicate NC Zoo wetland habitat and nearby picnic area.

Citizen Scientists

Non-scientists are gathering and reporting scientific data...helping and learning.

"Thirty feet shy of the tree, the 42-year old father stoops down and removes a memory chip from a solar-powered unit that fuels a motion-activated camera inside the nest box. Back home, Bragg and his family crowd around the computer, eager to learn what the mother owl has been up to.

"We never know what we're going to see," Bragg said. "One night she brought in seven snakes. Another night it was salamander night. Once, she brought in what I think was one of my brother's chickens."

"Citizen science is often overlooked as a reliable method for gathering and reporting data...but if done right it can yield powerful results. The Cornell Lab has sunk more than $15 million into designing valid citizen science projects..."

[@tdelene]

Glad We Still Have Zebrafish!

They may help Duke University Medical Center scientists learn how humans might regenerate heart muscle cells like they can.

Another Problem w/ Petting Zoos

E-coli.

Wash your hands.

Spring Rehab Update

Another busy spring at the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at the NC Zoo.

"Make sure an animal actually needs to be rescued before intervening." [Halley Buckanoff, Lead Veterinary Technician]

No Motors North of 62

Went for a Southwest Park (Guilford County, NC) jog and discovered that the boat put-in to Randleman Lake nearby is for non-motored boats only. ($4 to put in your own canoe; one or two paddlers.) [Directions]

Boaters must carry their own "toilet". The Park boating office near the put-in, where you pay your fee and sign-in, will sell you a "toilet in a pouch" for $5.

No motorized boats are allowed north of Route 62 on Randleman Lake. I'm pleased.

Ocean Video

From Disneynature "Oceans" homepage. Dramatic!

[@dolphincode]

"Everybody Loves Whales"

Shooting of a movie fact-based on the 1988 rescue of three California gray whales trapped in Arctic Ice is due to start in the Fall.

Drew Barrymore may star, we learn from "ecorazzi" ("the latest in green gossip"). [RT @dolphincode]

Giraffe & Keeper Butt Heads

Zoo keeper goes to hospital but is O.K. Yesterday at Roger Williams Zoo, Providence, R.I.

This is why the NC Zoo's Acacia Station delivers visitors to the giraffes at the 3 1/2 acre Forest Edge habitat at eye level. No hammerhead giraffe opportunities there.

A donor couple fully funded Acacia Station through the NC Zoo Society.

Nature!

Photos of the sky before Katrina struck. [@AmazingPics RT @str8photography]

Whale War Free Diver

Free diving cameraman captures humpback "heat run" [@ScriptPhD RT @TIME re: Discovery Channel's "Life"]:

When Otters Escape...

...protect your koi.

"Ansel Adams Resurrected..."

...at Dept. of Interior. Nine fabulous large format, photo murals. [RT @AmazingPics]

Ansel is unique and very special.

getting a glass of water

Terry getting a glass of water
Originally uploaded by lake life1

Did you know the NC Zoo chimps have their very own water fountain? Its built into the artificial rock wall. Go up to the viewing glass in the BB&T Kitera Forest research station building. Look directly right and follow down the rock wall outline. You are looking for a small silver "straw". The chimps trigger it with their tongues for a straight "shot" or as you see here.

lake life1 photo and title.

[NOTE: NC Zoo keeper Beth McChesney has commented that "This is actually Ruthie chimp."

Blue hues

Blue hues
Originally uploaded by lake life1

lake life1 earlier this month.

Visitors & Primates Interact...

...at London Zoo. These are very tiny primates - tamarins (about 10 inches, w/out tail) and titi monkeys (which grow to about the same size and up to 18 inches).

You don't want to be with primates much over a foot in height.

The interaction sounds about like the interaction NC Zoo visitors might have with birds in the tropical Forest Aviary or one might have with squirrels in the city park. Don't touch.

Sad News from Spain

When we adopted our two house cat brothers from the humane folks we promised that they would be indoor cats. Occasionally one slips out. They are cats and very curious. We are humans and often distracted. They come back in rather quickly when they become bored or hungry or thirsty.

But at this Spanish zoo, three of seven tigers did the same thing our little bros do, as cats will, when a cleaning employee pushed the wrong button. But when your cats weigh 300 pounds, the authorities don't give them a chance to come back in if they get too close to slow, weak, naked homo sapiens.

When your cats weigh 300 pounds, this should not be able to happen.

Are 700,000 Salt-Water Zoos...

too many? [@BoraZ]

"There are an estimated 700,000 saltwater home aquariums in the United States, and tropical fish with a bit of rock and a plastic Diver Dan are no longer enough to satisfy the keepers of many of these miniature oceans. The fish are still there, but as technology and technique have improved, the aquariums are now often small-scale reef ecosystems, with living coral and “live” rock brimming with anemones, shrimp, sea urchins, crabs and snails."

"Jessica McCawley, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, disagrees that the fishery is threatened. She helped update the regulations last year, and said: “These collectors are a special type of fisherman. They’re very concerned about the environment and the sustainability of the fishery. And they came to us and said, ‘Can you put some regulations on us?’""

"Jump the Sun"

Bees in Art. Photo poet Rick Lieder.

4 or 5 of...

It was four or five of 11 this morning when I saw four or five of the Greensboro Country Park/Guilford Courthouse National Military [Battleground] Park white-tail deer cross the one-way roadway and bike/jog greenway which circles through the Battleground park. (Out late or early? The skies were getting dark at that time.)

Illegal in Illinois: Pet Primate

Illinois is making it illegal to keep monkeys and apes as pets. [Elizabeth Garrison McChesney facebook link to Project ChimpCare page]

"It would ban primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, monkeys and lemurs."

"Word of My Death Was Premature"

That might be the word from Taronga (Australia) Zoo's new Asian elephant Pathi Harn (or "Miracle" in Thai). He had been named Mr. Shuffles, but his survival after word that he had died in birth resulted in a name change.

CITES Fails Polar Bear, Sharks...

...and bluefin tuna according to "Telegraph" headline. (An earlier post here also used the "fail" word in regard to the CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Doho, conference.)

"There was better news for tigers and elephants, whose protection was maintained."

Modern Zoo Promos

Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) uses online tools to drive traffic with help from baby elephant. (Even this blog got involved.)

"...just like any proud future parent, the zoo decided to show everyone the very first ultrasound. The scan was projected onto prominent buildings, along with a URL directing people to a central website, www.baby-olifant.be."

"...content was spread via social media with photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube. A tool was created to allow people to create a customized Facebook profile picture that featured their face with an elephant's trunk entering the frame and the message "I'm also waiting for baby K.""

Attendance increased by over 300,000.

[@BoraZ RT @tamarakrinsky]

Chimp Pet?

Very bad idea!

"Fatal Attractions" examines chimpanzee pet ownership. Project ChimpCARE's Steve Ross makes an appearance, commenting on these dangerous practices. This Sunday on Animal Planet, [in] the third of the three-part series".

...and in my other hand..."

"The horned dung beetle can pull up to 1141 x its body wgt. That's like lifting [or would that be "pulling", if the trailer/trucks had square wheels?] two loaded 18-wheelers. Wow!..." [@socialsci: RT @Sci4Cits]

That's a lot of dung!

[UPDATE/NOTE: Thanks to @tdelene RT of @Slate, I am reminded by the attached photo that dung beetles create "balls" of dung; therefore "lift" may really be "roll", and like "pulling" the trailer/trucks on "round wheels"; still a lotta strength and lotta dung!]

Picture This

A bird singing contest in Thailand offers remarkable photos of the scene - doves, cages and owner/contestants.

@AmazingPics RT @sacbee

Ostrich & Baby Toys

NC Zoo keeper Dana Urbanski has colorful, noisy, rather light-weight, baby toys on her wish list.

“The ostrich really enjoy these things for enrichment,” she reports.

The NC Zoo has ostrich in its Forest Edge habitat, with zebra and giraffe, as well as in its Watani Grasslands African Plains, with southern white rhino, various antelope and other African plains birds.

Amphibious Insects

Caterpillars found only in Hawaii. [@BoraZ RT @worldscipod]

"...these caterpillars don’t have gills or a natural scuba mechanism of trapping air bubbles. Instead, they appear to get oxygen directly from water. To survive submerged, the caterpillars need fast-flowing waters..."

“Islands are clearly these crucibles of evolution...”

120,000 Year-Old Polar Bear

The discovery of ancient polar bear remains appears to reveal how it evolved.

"In just 1000 generations or so, U. maritimus morphed from a stocky brown bear to a long-necked bear with thick fatty layers and that signature white coat."

"...the species had split off from the so-called ABC brown bears, which inhabit three islands—Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof—in southeastern Alaska. Those bears are more closely related to polar bears than they are to other brown bears..."

San Diego Zoo & Climate Change

A renovated Polar Bear Plunge exhibit at the San Diego Zoo offers stronger messages.

"...on the leading edge of a movement by American zoos to highlight the impact of climate change on animals...they have a responsibility to share their knowledge with the 3 million people who visit each year."

"The Biggest Week...

in American Birding." [Laura Walker Vaughn facebook share]

Wilbur the Humpback Whale Answers

Many have been recorded by Ocean Voices answering questions like: "What does it feel like to be in the ocean?" Now, here's an answer from Wilbur the Humpback Whale.
[@seeturtles RT @oceanvoices]

U.N. Votes for Pachyderms

African elephants and rhinos fared well in the recent CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar. Tanzanian and Zambian elephants will get greater protection than their nations had sought.

"Tanzania had asked for a one-time sale of 200,000 pounds of ivory worth $20 million. Zambia began seeking to sell 48,000 pounds of ivory..."

"According to conservation groups, rhino poaching hit a 15-year high in 2009..."

Earlier Doha CITES decisions had disappointed conservation groups, especially champions of polar bears and bluefin tuna.

"Won't you please help us?"

"Won't you please help us?"
Originally uploaded by ucumari

"Earth hour is this Saturday, don't forget!"

Very strong photo of NC Zoo's polar bear Willy (Wilhelm), title and quote by ucumari.

Listen!

Song Sparrow Singing
Originally uploaded by Damian D.

To Song Sparrow Singing by Damian D. [RT @BirdDiva]

CITES Throws Lifeline to Rhinos

WWF commends CITES rhino decisions.

"Countries with rhinos agreed to focus on increasing law enforcement, training of guards, strengthening border controls, improving rhino population monitoring, creating awareness- raising campaigns", etc.

Live Life of Zoo Vet

At NC Zoo summer camp.

Learn how to give CPR to the family dog.

"While [WFMY News 2's] Philip [Jones] worked with only stuffed animals, campers will have the chance to work with live animals, too."

Escape! (drill)

The NC Zoo conducted another animal escape drill this morning.

The last one I recall featured my sometime carpool buddy Dr. Rich Bergl as the escapee.

This time I'm told Rich was aiming the anesthesia dart gun. Have not yet learned who was the "gorilla".

"life" - the premier

The first hour of "life" on Discovery Channel tonight offered 13 or 14 strong stories about animal species - insects, amphibians and invertebrates to hippos, grebes and orcas, as well as 40 or more commercials.

My favorite story might have been the strawberry poison arrow frog mother who carried her six tadpoles up a huge tree, one at a time, to its own private bromeliad pool, where she provided them with the occasional unfertilized egg to provide the nutrition need to grow and mature.

Wildlife Charities Getting Tough...

...on poachers.

"WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, has hired former SAS soldiers to train African wildlife wardens, and the Zoological Society of London is funding elephant-mounted patrols to protect rhinos in Nepal."

Pix from within the Water Hole

Eight months in a Kenya's Rift Valley water hole.

Finally, his goal was met. He was in place with camera and African lions were drinking in front of him: "...my hands began to shake vigorously, in such a way that even my vibration reduction technology would have been rendered utterly useless. Closing my eyes and lowering my head, I became conscious of the irony unfolding before me. Here I was, after months of patience and preparation, with my ultimate shot just meters away and no way to capture the image?"

Salute to Mussels

On World Water Day, March 22, let's recognize the freshwater mussel, which can clean up to one gallon of water an hour.

[@tdelene)

US to Decide Elephant Fate?

The Obama administration is being called upon to come to the aid of African elephants says this article ("Obama Administration Poised to Decide Fate of African Elephants") forwarded by NC Zoo mammal curator Guy Lichty.

"The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has appealed to President Obama and the US government to support Kenya, the birthplace of Obama's father, which is leading efforts by 20 African nations to maintain elephant protection and oppose ivory trade..."

Tanzania, Zambia, Japan and China have taken the opposite side in this "debate".

"life"

Tonight. Discovery Channel. Oprah narrates.

Gorillas Out Together!

Introductions of new gorilla females Jamani and Acacia to silverback male Nkosi at the NC Zoo have gone extremely well. All three were already on exhibit together today.

Keepers Kelly Froio and Willy Campbell tossed fruits and vegetables to the trio at 11:30 a.m.

All were well fed and there were no problems.

Earlier I saw one of the females and Nik approach and then quickly retreat from each other...showing that they are not yet a cohesive group, but also that they are respecting each others' space.

Keeper Campbell reports that there have also been promising interactions between the gorillas off exhibit.

Bravo! Tamarins

The tiny golden lion tamarins born at ZooAtlanta remind me of my earliest days in the zoo world. 25 years ago, this species was said to only exist in zoos. Humans were trying to train some golden lion tamarins to be "wild" and return to their habitat.

early riser

early riser
Originally uploaded by Seattle Miles

Blue heron capture by Seattle Miles, uploaded Dec. 6, '09.

CITES Failure

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) appears to be failing the rare, endangered creatures it was set up to protect.

[Hat tip: Guy Lichty, NC Zoo curator of mammals]

Aviary Field Guide Updated

The field guide for the NC Zoo's Forest Aviary has just been updated.

Plastic

Sorry, but feel the need to share: "These photographs of albatross chicks...made in September, 2009, on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

"To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent."

[@sciencegoddess RT @countemotions]
.

Zoo Fanatic Lynne...

...will have her head shaved and tiger stripes will be dyed onto her scalp.

"Blackpool Zoo regular, Lynne Gorrie, has fallen head over heals in love with Zambar the new Amur Tiger and is having her hair styled just like his..."

Sliced Bread Not New Either

"Best idea since sliced bread," said my recent post about Chico bags or "Key Chain Grocery Bags".

Well, wife Ann, who lived in Zurich for many years handed me a little coin purse she has had for 30 years. A promotional gift from a Swiss insurance company, it zips out into a...wait for it...grocery bag!

Europeans have used reusable bags to avoid the no-win "paper or plastic" choice for decades.

Save habitat and clean up streams and oceans by using washable, reusable bags.

Amethyst Starling

Amethyst Starling
Originally uploaded by ucumari

Speaking of photographing birds in the recently pruned NC Zoo Forest Aviary, ucumari took this Monday.

Avian Photography

Avian photography recently got easier in the NC Zoo Forest Aviary. A recent, winter shut-down of the popular tropical bird exhibit saw heavy pruning of the tropical horticulture make it much easier to find and photograph the Zoo's rare and colorful birds. [Tip: Zoo volunteer Diane Powell]

Awarded for Passerine Breeding

The NC Zoo received the Plume Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA’s) Avian Scientific Advisory Group for its passerine breeding program. Since half of all bird species are passerines (perching birds; sometimes referred to as songbirds), it is especially gratifying to be selected for breeding them.

General curator of animals Ken Reininger notes that among the NC Zoo passerines are the fairy bluebird, turquoise tanager, blue-grey tanager, snow-headed robin chat, hooded pitta, red-faced liocichla, golden white-eye, golden-headed manakin and the yellow-rumped cacique.

Hoopoes Return

I remember the Green Wood Hoopoe from my earliest days (late 1980s) at the NC Zoo...its metallic dark green and purple feathers and very long tail. After an absence of about 20 years, it will return to the NC Zoo Forest Aviary.

Also "new" to the Aviary will be the Yellow-rumped Cacique general curator Ken Reininger told us this morning.

Rescue Bison

Occasionally, the NC Zoo will accept an animal into its collection when the owner can no longer care for it. It gets many such offers, but can only do this when the animal fits well into the Zoo's exhibits plan.

A North American bison will come to the Zoo Sunday from Burlington, NC. It will be introduced into the herd of bison on the "Great Plains" exhibit here, with elk, general curator of animals Ken Reininger told us in the management staff meeting this morning.

Key Chain Grocery Bag

Best idea since sliced bread. [RT@BoraZ]

Saw my first one yesterday. [Dr. Jayne Owen Parker's purse]

«Hello everybody!»

«Hello everybody!»
Originally uploaded by Tambako the Jaguar

"A sweet standing baby meerkat. He was just one month old! :)"

Basel (Switzerland) Zoo photo, title and quote by Tambako the Jaguar.

Acacia Station '10

NC Zoo giraffe deck opens April 1.

Zoo Offers Vet Camps

"...helping to cultivate the next generation of veterinarians who will work with wild and exotic animals." Again in 2010.

The girls are out!

The girls are out!
Originally uploaded by ucumari

"Our two new female gorillas (Acacia and Jamani) were out in their exhibit for the first time today!"

Title, quote and photo by ucumari. (Click on the photo to see more taken of the two today by ucumari. Jamani is definitely the younger, and less gray, I believe.)

5 Tweets: Just Nature

"1- Bad urban wildlife moment: bird slammed into my deck window. I scooped it up. The stunned sparrow blinked repeatedly but didn't struggle.

"2- I held it for a few minutes, waiting for it to recover then offered it a potted tree branch as refuge. But it would not leave my hand.

"3- So I kept holding it, standing in the rain. When it stirred against me, I opened my hand. It flew off, parallel to a tree line.

"4- Then a small hawk darted out of the trees and nabbed it in flight. The sparrow shrieked a little. The hawk flew off with it.

"5- I felt bad, and stood there in the rain kind of stunned, watching the hawk fly off with its lunch. But I guess that is just nature."

5 tweets today by @tdelene.

Gorilla Girls' Pix

The NC Zoo facebook page offers photos of, and a keeper "Q.-and-A." on, the two new gorillas' first day on exhibit.

I visited near 3 p.m. Acacia was actively exploring. Jamani was ready to return to her "night quarters" and was waiting near the back of the exhibit to do so.

Gorilla Girls Go out!

The new NC Zoo gorillas went on exhibit today.

Treats

Treats
Originally uploaded by lake life1

NC Zoo chimp photo by lakelife1.

Japanese Game Show...

Scares a little girl and frustrates a wonderful mammal. Shame.

"Lost in the Intersection"

Mainly nature photos by Lyn E. Adams. Click away and enjoy them all!

Listen to the Children (& Bob)

Worth listening again, if you have already been appropriately scolded (thanks Jennifer Donaruma Foti and Bob Dylan):



"You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world"
Bob Dylan "Masters of War"

Global Warming Shrinks Birds

Study says "almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species,...are gradually becoming lighter and growing shorter wings." [@BoraZ]

"However, there is little evidence that the change is harmful to the birds."

Rare Black Penguin Video

This videographer traveled 10,000 miles by bus from Washington, D.C. to Antarctica and got this 13 seconds of video of the very rare black penguin.

Map his journey.

"Bell" Your Crafty Cat!

"We received our first infant Eastern Cottontail yesterday, it was cat caught. So try to keep an eye on your cats and dogs. :) Hint: For cat...that like[s] to catch birds and other wildlife, try to place a bell on its collar. This will help to warn the wildlife when the cat is approaching." [Good advice from the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center facebook page]

Fatal Attraction

Great National Geographic/Carl Zimmer article on carnivorous plants.

The NC Zoo has many Venus fly traps, pitcher plants and more. [RT @iescience]

Orang Caller ID

Study confirms that orangutans know who is calling even 'though the caller may be a km away. (@BoraZ RT of @NESCent)

And "those with infants [see photo at link above] moved away from “spontaneous” long calls, which the males may emit to attract mating females."

Lance Stops for Baboons

Riding in South Africa, near Cape Town, Lance Armstrong stopped today to check out the baboons. [RT @lancearmstrong]

Bowl for Rhinos

Bowl with zookeepers and help rhinos in Africa.

The American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) has raised about $3.5 million for rhinos in this way. The NC Chapter run by NC Zoo keepers is one of the nation's most successful at this great effort, having raised about $90,000 to date.

Appropriately, Blue Rhino, the Winston-Salem, NC, based propane tank exchange company, is the national sponsor of Bowling for Rhinos.

Interior Speaks

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issues report on climate change impact on bird species. [RT @BirdDiva]

"Grandfather" to Close Bear Hut

Grandfather Mountain will close its Bear Hut June 1.

For years the Bear Hut sold food to toss to the black bears. But “by allowing the public to throw food to bears we have unintentionally been giving people the impression that it is okay to give food to wild bears, and we have been training our own bears to beg for food,” said Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation executive director Penn Dameron.

The new plan is for the bears to receive “measured portions of omnivore diet and fresh produce, ensuring that each bear gets exactly the right amount of food each day.”

Expect to see more natural bear behaviors after the change. The bears are expected to play with each other, climb, wade in the pond and walk around their habitat more.

“An extensive enrichment program will also be in place to keep the bears active and intellectually stimulated. “Enrichment” is any diversion that makes an animal’s life more interesting. It might involve giving them a ball to play with, releasing live fish into their pond, or hiding food for them to forage,” according to a press release sent to me today by former NC Zoo Society Board secretary Hugh McCrae Morton III, of Grandfather Mountain.

Over four decades, “the Mountain” has been permanent home for 17 black bears. A total of 59 cubs have been born in its habitat.

Eight bears live in the habitat today. Seven are females.

Wildlife Watch

Participate.

Remembering Mt. K

Mt. K
Originally uploaded by russlings

"Fresh snow covered Mount Kilimanjaro seen at sunrise from Amboseli game reserve in Kenya, May 04, 2008. (MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images) "

Saw it from this angle in about 1987 with an NC Zoo Society safari tour group..

Made my way to the top, from the Tanzania side, with NC Zoo lead vet Dr. Mike Loomis about six years ago.

Nice photo.

Believed a First

The NC Zoo fledging of a golden white-eye chick in mid-August is "believed to be the first ever successful reproduction of this species in captivity", according to "Connect", March 2010. ("Connect" is the publication of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

"Effects of an Adventurous Day"

"Effects of an Adventurous Day"
Originally uploaded by beachbum1616

by beachbum1616.

merchants millpond

merchants millpond
Originally uploaded by Plimber

March 10 upload by Plimber of Merchants Millpond reminds me of my time on it in canoe with Ann last year. This NC State Park is worth finding.

Wolf as Managment Tool

Introduce the wolves. Aid the habitat.

"Many wolf advocates (myself included) have touted the ecological benefits of wolves as a weighty “pro” to their reintroduction."

"...a new study published in the March issue of BioScience, “Using Small Populations Of Wolves for Ecosystem Restoration and Stewardship”..."

Earth Hour @ NC Zoo

Moonlit Earth Hour at NC Zoo will feature polar bear.

Lotta Light Bulbs!

"All - I just wanted to let you know we took the stockpile of light bulbs to be recycled yesterday. There were over 2500 bulbs of various types in storage at Old Avian Prop[agation Facility] and all were recycled. It had been since November of 2008 since we were able to take bulbs for recycling due to the cost involved." [NC Zoo General Curator of Animals Ken Reininger]

Proud of our very green Zoo.

Turtle Release Off Thailand

"We are pleased to tell you that we now have three happy, little satellite tagged turtles swimming in the Andaman Sea." [@FieldTripEarth]

Spreading Her Weight

Female polar bear spreads out to avoid breaking through thin ice, despite weighing several hundred pounds. Her youngster may be learning something, but is mainly along to add great quantities of cuteness:

"The Frog Scientist"

"Seems to be a good children's science book." (@BoraZ)

Grades 5-8.

"If you've got a young one who's thinking about being a scientist when she or he grows up, you might want to grab this book as a little inspiring incentive."

Mt. LeConte Hike

Greemon sent this video today. I've made this (Alum Cave, Mt. LeConte, TN) hike to the top once, staying the night at the lodge (I have also made a different approach to again spend the night at the lodge on Greenmon's reservation; on another occasion I went up and down in one day, from a third angle):



It is not an easy hike, but what Greenmon and I can not figure is how the video made this list of "the craziest, most dangerous, most dizzying hikes in the world". Compare the Mt. LeConte video with El Caminito del Rey!

Elephant Research Lost in Flood

Important research on African elephants in Kenya has been lost to flash flooding.

"Flooding of the Ewaso Ng’iro River has destroyed the research facility and camp at the Samburu National Reserve, which has pioneered valuable elephant research including the discovery that fences made from beehives can deter elephants from raiding farms."

I've been fortunate to spend some time on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro in Samburu. Remember many hippos.

The NC Zoo's mammal curator Guy Lichty sent this news earlier today.

Dad & Lad

A lion and its cub. [RT @petapixel]

Frogs & Atrazine

Heard about this on NPR this p.m. Then see that DeLene & Wild Muse had already been addressing it.

"...research had shown atrazine exposure to “common laboratory frogs” could flip male croakers into females."

Rehab Advice

From the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at the NC Zoo: "make sure an animal needs your help before attempting to rescue it. If you are not sure call us at 336-879-7644. Our volunteers and staff are here to help you and your wildlife neighbors!"

A bird out of the nest might have better help nearby, from its parents, than anything humans can do for it.

Life

Showing soon on Discovery Channel.

On Randleman Lake

Got my canoe onto Randleman Lake today for the first time. Saw many duck-like birds in groups up to over a dozen on the water. All had dark grey or black bodies and black heads, with a patch of white above the bill. Whatsit?

Tiny World

Captured in "My Father's Garden" (powerful 6 min. video):

My Father's Garden from Mirko Faienza on Vimeo.

[@sciencegoddess RT @snarkmeat]

Also New to Sylvan Heights

Saw the new whooping crane on exhibit at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, Friday. It is growing and growing into its all white adult plumage.

Nearing completion is the waterfowl blind. The recently added tree house and large flamingo exhibit, the blind, the developing ruff (and reeve) exhibit, the new restrooms (with exhibit) and the planned "pavilion" are among the reasons to visit soon and again.

Of Ruffs & Leks

What got perhaps the most attention from those six San Diego Zoo reps on their recent visit to Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park was the work going on to create a lek for ruffs there in Scotland Neck, NC.

The US population of the ruff (a very unique sandpiper) was three, all at the San Diego Zoo. Sylvan Heights is creating a lek and exhibit for 24!

Half the year the ruffs (males) and reeves (females) look like your "basic" sandpiper. The males are simply larger.

The other half of the year (the breeding season) sees the ruffs transform (with a special exception). 84 percent of the ruffs become territorial males within the lek (a grouping of breeding males). Territorial males have black and "chestnut" neck displays (also called ruffs). 16 percent are satellite males (non-territorial breeding males tolerated by the others because, it seems, the females prefer the larger leks). These males have white displays.

Recently discovered is a rare, additional male. This male does not transform and mimics the females. There appears to be an underlying breeding strategy here too!

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl & AZA

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park executive director Mike Lubbock was on the Waterfowl Management Workshop panel during the Feb. 28 - March 5 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) regional conference in Virginia Beach, VA. "Waterfowl Husbandry and Nest Box Design" was his "paper".

Twenty-four AZA curators and keepers of birds made the two-hour trip from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center to Scotland Neck, NC to tour Sylvan Heights Waterfowl during the conference. Six reps from the San Diego Zoo toured March 4, the day before our quarterly, Sylvan Heights Board meeting.

Texas Tigers

Fretting that there appear to be more tigers in back yards and roadside zoos in Texas than there are in "the wild" worldwide.

"China banned trade in tiger products in 1993, but illegal demand there remains high and is the greatest driver of poaching. China periodically has considered lifting the ban to allow some of its tiger farms to provide parts to meet domestic demand for medicinal tiger products.

"The possibility that China could lift the ban “is without a doubt the most polarized issue in tiger conservation,” said Ronald Tilson, a director at the Minnesota Zoo. Most conservationists insist that more tiger products increase demand, and more demand always hurts wild tigers, because consumers prefer wild ones for what is believed to be their greater potency."

Tiger farms!? Aaarrrgghhh!!

"At the "Y"...M....C...A!

A hawk takes flight making the "Y" move from "YMCA" song/dance by Village People. (@AmazingPics)

Happy Willy Wednesday!

Happy Willy Wednesday!
Originally uploaded by ucumari

Recent ucumari upload of NC Zoo's polar bear Wilhelm.

So where was ucumari and why couldn't Willy just hop down and take her camera away and start his own photo career?

Public Art Aids Sea Turtles...

...in Baja California (Mexico).

"The subject of those murals is a familiar and revered one to peninsula residents -- sea turtles. A recent study indicates that this public art has had a profound impact on attitudes and behaviors toward the marine environment."

"These murals are billboards marking the start of turtle highway..."

(Tip: @wallacejnichols)

Deforestation & Malaria

"Biodiversity, Globalization and Shifting Disease Ecologies," on Wild Muse by DeLene.

"But have you thought about how “habitat alteration, fragmentation, and deforestation can increase the risk of malaria transmission through effects on mosquito survival, density, and distribution”? I hadn’t… Deforestation coupled with a warming climate can create microclimates where mosquitoes dig[e]st their blood meals more efficiently, leading them to feed and lay eggs more frequently — perhaps altering the disease dynamics and abundance of the malarial parasite in the environment."

Plant Geek

At NC Zoo Thursday, 7 p.m.

The talk is sub-titled "Growing Plants That Will Distinguish Your Nursery From the Competition." Before becoming executive director of the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, Kernersville, the speaker was assistant director of the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh."

Another Lizard Eavesdropper?

A second eavesdropping lizard may have been found.

"The Madagascan iguana is only the second iguana known to eavesdrop like this, joining a marine species on the Galápagos Islands that was the subject of a study several years ago. The two findings suggest that the behavior may be widespread in these kinds of lizards."

they come

they come D05587
Originally uploaded by ladams_272031

Tundra swans photo and title by ladams 272031 in response to NC Zoo Society facebook entry re: swans at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, Scotland Neck, NC. Click on photo to view "large on black". (I am just about to leave for a Sylvan Heights Waterfowl board meeting today.)

Bravo! NC Sea Turtle Rehabber!

Working out of NC Aquarium at Manteo, sea turtle acquarist is recognized.

See 'em All!

All eight (some argue there are only seven) worldwide species of swans can be found in North Carolina by visiting Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, says the NC Zoo Society facebook page.

Best Internship on Earth?

Can this one be beat? (RT @nczoosociety)

"...spend the summer video-blogging on different Sierra Club outings..."

Get to Know Mark MacAllister

Field Trip Earth's Mark MacAllister interviewed by ScienceOnline2010.

"Philosophically, I tend to find myself most interested in the place where technology, education (especially K-12 but also for adults) and environmental advocacy come together."

Zoo Closed Again!

NC Zoo. Today. Snow. Again!

zebras in the snow

zebra's in the snow
Originally uploaded by belgianchocolate

A little artistic license (less than you'd think; I've seen the original photograph) by belgianchocolate.

Mom Billie Jean Enjoys View

Billie Jean Enjoys the View
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian's National Zoo

"Four year-old Billie Jean, an Andean female at the National Zoo, is believed to have given birth to the twins over a 24-hour period while denned in a secluded section of her indoor exhibit; one cub was born at about 8 a.m. Jan. 14, and the other was born at roughly the same time Jan. 15."

Uploaded by Smithsonian's National Zoo on 26 Feb 10, 1.22PM PST. [Tip: Valerie Abbott (ucumari) facebook page]

Madagascar Healer

Field Trip Earth has Healing Seekers story and now video of an elder healer successfully treating skin poisoning with three separate natural medications.

Happy St David's Day

RT @Earth_News: RT@ARKive: largest leatherback turtle weighed 916kg & found on coast of Wales! Happy St. David's Day...

for another hour and a few minutes.

Tough Time To Be a Coral

Can underwater parks help coral? This "Science Friday" video seems to answer "yes"!

"Marine scientists John Bruno and Elizabeth Selig, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, analyzed over 8000 coral surveys from all over the world to see if local management through Marine Protected Areas had any positive effect on coral." Results surprised them.

[@patriclane RT by @BoraZ]

Ultrasound?!

"The Midden" also reports that "keepers [are] working with rhinos for ultrasound."

Like the "sound" of that...as we all hope for baby rhinos here one day.

New Bufflehead

“New bufflehead [duck] coming in soon,” is the report from the NC Zoo Cypress Swamp keepers by way of “The Midden”,(“All the poop fit to print”, NC Chapter, American Association of Zookeepers), sent 2/28/10.

Arctic Tern Marathon

As a one-time marathon runner, I pick the Arctic Tern in the Animal Olympics for its up to 50,000 miles annually. That's a training regimen! [@NCZooSociety RT @NWF]