Dignity of "Elderly Animals"

Photography of Isa Leshko "look[s] mortality directly in the face."

12 photos and 5-min. video [Hat tip: @bjkingape]

Top NC Award to Zoo

The Governor's Award for Excellence was presented Tuesday. The NC Zoo was specifically honored for innovation in environmental stewardship.

The linked article gives examples, including the constructed wetland, Solar Pointe and on-site biodiesel processing.

"Zebras in My Yard"

Woman snaps photos of two zebras escaped from a Virginia petting zoo.

"...workers, not affiliated with the park, accidentally left a gate open Monday afternoon, allowing the zebras to escape." (Workers unaffiliated with the NC Zoo don't get the opportunity to mistakenly open a gate containing powerful animals.)

Wired Honey Bees...

...drive off 93 African elephants out of 100.

The land giants' well-known fear of the tiny bee is used, as are wires connected to bee nests, to keep migrating elephants away from Kenyan farmers' crops.

"Farms in Tanzania and Uganda are now replicating..."

"...honey provides a secondary income for the farmers."

Betty & Friends:

:My Life at the Zoo. Betty White has written the book. (USA Today reports and offers a video) Check out the arm on that 89 year-old as she tosses food to the birds!.

A Los Angeles Zoo trustee, Betty visits Central Park Zoo and makes a strong case for good zoos everywhere.

Treetop Trail

treetop-trail-05-0811-mdn, a photo by russlings on Flickr.

New Philadelphia Zoo exhibit (their drawing really) "Treetop Trail" is 700 feet of elevated passageways and lookouts for primates to travel through and explore as visitors get to see this overhead and very nearby.

“The environment changes day-to-day for each primate group, as the different species time-share different parts of the system."

"The total cost for the project was $1.5 million, which included design, construction, modifications to accommodate the trail system and other costs." [AZA]

AZA Adds Northern Zoos

The two newest members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums are Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, and Lake Superior Zoo, the Duluth home of the late Dolly Llama.

Nori's world

Nori's world, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

Ucumari photo and title. NC Zoo one year-old chimpanzee.

Click on the photo to open ucumari's full series of five Nori photos, including powerful "tiny hand".

"Extremely Sad Day"

The Lincoln Park Zoo baby gorilla has died of head trauma.

I had posted twice on the Zoo's 49th gorilla birth. The baby was fathered by Kwanza (now called Kwan), the male gorilla born here 22 years ago.

"The zoo says workers allowed the mother, 16-year-old Bana, to keep the baby for several hours "to make peace with what happened." She was a first-time mother."

Seniority @ the Top

Back home after a five hour hike on the Daniel Boone Scout Trail to Calloway Peak on Grandfather Mountain, NC (2,044 foot elevation gain from Boone Fork parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway).

Good use of the Grandfather trails today. There were 10 other people at the highest summit in the Blue Ridge range as I was there, in three parties. The two parties which also came up the Scout Trail each included older gentlemen (as did my party of one).

The one who looked the oldest to me shared that he was "just 72"! The one who I thought might be younger than I proved to be 74! (A 10 year-old and Snickers, the dog, also submitted when I did.)

Sea Ice Loss

Without precedent [The New York Times, Environment].

49er Photo

Here is a photo of Lincoln Park Zoo's 49th baby gorilla.

Would you name a gorilla Forty Niner? Or Gold Rush? Or Levi (understand it was the 49ers who began really wearing those pants made out of denim and rivets).

silence

silence, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

belgianchocolate photo and title. Please click on the photo to see it uncropped and much improved.

I Do Remember Zero

TMJ4-TV report on Willie and his visit to the Milwaukee Zoo remembers another polar bear.

Unpredictability Rules!(?)

A recent study implies potential benefit to zoos which make simple adjustments in the timing and location of animal feedings. [“Effects of varying feed provision on the behavior patterns of farmed collared peccary (Mammalian, Tayassuidae)”; Noguera, SSC, Calzans, SG, Costa, SOT, Peregrino, H Nogueira-Filho, SLG; Applied Animal Behavior Science, 132: 193-199]

“The responses of collared peccaries (Pecaritajacu) to unpredictable feeding locations alone and unpredictable feeding location and unpredictable feeding times, was increased feeding time, decreased resting time, and an increase in exploratory behavior…” [Connect, Nov. 2011; an Association of Zoos and Aquariums publication]

The increased exploration and activity should be beneficial to the animal and appreciated by the zoo visitor. [one man’s opinion]

1st Time in 6 yrs.

The Chicago Tribune almost seems to be saying "What took ya?!" to Lincoln Park Zoo, as it celebrates a gorilla birth after a 6-year hiatus.

"...it wasn't unusual to see multiple gorilla births every year."

"She is the 49th gorilla born here since the first birth in 1970..."

Kwanza was the baby gorilla born at the NC Zoo (March 1, 1989, 50 hours before my son Evan's birth; when I was then congratulated in town for "the birth", I knew it was Kwanza's birth to which we were referring).

Chick Flick

Orangs Have an App for That

Mahal is "especially fond" of Tap Drums.

Milwaukee Zoo is using iPads for enrichment.

"The gorillas were wary of the new device, and remain so. But the inquisitive orangutans were another story."

"Mahal loves the penguins," said [Zoo volunteer Scott] Engel, who made a video of them at feeding time. "He just sat there watching them, with his arms folded across his chest. He jumped back when the penguins flapped a wing."

(hat tip: NC Zoo Society member extraordinaire Jody Gilmore)

Netherlands Safari

onderweg, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

Belgianchocolate appears to have taken this strong composition at Safari Beekse Bergen, a Netherlands zoological park.

Chicks Blog

The Real Chicks of Central Park have their own blog.

Do you have your Chick Magnet?

"If I Ran the Zoo..."

Interesting Lincoln Park Zoo educational program for fifth through eighth graders.

Spend the day with the animals and keepers.

"At the end of the workshop you'll...design your very own zoo—from coming up with a name to making the map."

R.I.P., Dolly Llama

Late Lake Superior Zoo llama, who "could be sassy and stubborn", gets memorial service.

"We could trust her in the barnyard, other than she spit on people."

"...fans...always referred to her by name..."

A Murmuration

That's the name for a collection of starlings (like "pride" is a collection of lions).
Here is a video of a sizable collection (hat tip: greenmon):

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Yum!

lekker, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

Belgianchocolate/Antwerp Zoo photo, 11/15/11.

Umoya Killed?

San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park lost a female African elephant today. Zookeepers are reported to believe “there might have been an aggressive interaction with another elephant.”

She “was one of the original seven African elephants rescued from being killed in Swaziland because of overpopulation.”

I am currently reading “Zoo Story” by Thomas French. The Swaziland elephants are featured in it, especially the ones that went instead to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.

No Place to Go

Excellent (but unhappy) report by Winnipeg Free Press on prospects for the "world's southernmost polar bear subpopulations"

"There's no place to move...Up the coast is already inhabited."

"The average polar bear eats about 43 seals a year. Missing out on two or three of those meals is enough to cause a female polar bear to lose enough mass to give birth to underweight cubs or no cubs at all..."

""All seals aren't equal, as far as polar bears are concerned," he said, noting the ideal polar bear meal is about six weeks old.

"At that stage, they're little balls of fat. They aren't very smart about predators...What's happening at breakup is the bears are losing access to the seals at the most important time."

"..not yet...introduced.."

"Willie [polar bear] is doing great at Milwaukee Zoo and is on exhibit, but has not yet been introduced to the female." [Volunteer Views, NC Zoo, Nov. 2011]

"..moved to...retirement paddock.."

"We have a new male rhino, Duma, and he is doing fine. Our resident male rhino, Stan, has been moved to the retirement paddock at the new barn." [Volunteer Views, NC Zoo, Nov. 2011]

"...in anticipation of pregnancy."

"Our two breeding female gorillas are now off birth control..." [Volunteer Views, NC Zoo, Nov. 2011]

Bye Bye

"The white alligators have returned to Florida." [Volunteer Views, NC Zoo, Nov. 2011]

Zoo to Close 12/19

The North Carolina Zoo will close December 19 to celebrate my birthday.

"OFFICIALLY", it will close "to handle a number of water supply-related repairs and replacements." [Senior Staff Meeting Notes 11-16-11]

(I am taking the day off to celebrate those water-related renovations with my wife.)

A Big Operation

A Big Operation, a photo by russ williams iii on Flickr.

Successful cataract surgery on NC Zoo African elephant C'Sar, 11/15/11. "Surgical experts from the N.C. State University College of Veterinary Medicine teamed up with N.C. Zoo veterinary staff and keepers to perform eye surgery on the zoo’s male elephant C’sar. N.C. Zoo Photo by Diane Villa." (Ignore Flickr photo credit to me.)

Omaha Zoo's Plan...

...to be even better, calls for $174 million investment over the next 10 to 15 years.

Omaha Zoo owes much to rather recently retired Director Dr. Lee Simmons: "Simmons built a reputation for finishing projects on time and within budget - and visitors voted with their feet. Attendance and memberships are among the nation's best.

"Since donors seldom give you their last dollar, when you deliver, you get to go back and say, 'How did you like that?'" said [Jim] Maddy, of the national zoo group [AZA]."

Chick Magnet

Central Park Zoo has eight penguin chicks. So celebrate by telling someone special "I'm stuck on you...and you know it" with a Real Chicks of Central Park magnet.

"Proceeds support the care of the Real Chicks and their neighbors at the New York Zoo and Aquarium."

Gift suitable for both chick magnets and "magnetic chicks".

Snowball Fights...

...to help polar bears and their habitats? There's an app for that.

Coca-Cola and WWF 9World Wildlife Fund) partner on SnowBall Effect.

"Shuttered Tripoli Zoo"

Mitch Potter, of the Toronto Star's Washington Bureau, reports, Nov. 13, on off-limits Tripoli Zoo.

"Technically, the shuttered Tripoli Zoo belongs to the people. Yet it is off-limits for now, its 900 exotic inhabitants guarded zealously by a dedicated core staff that was itself traumatized by the excesses of the ruling family that spent the last 42 years right next door..."

"The animals went through trauma of a different kind when the actual battle for Tripoli broke out."

"But the world was watching, via Facebook and other social media, and donations poured in to help cover the $2,000 daily requirements for care and feeding of the at-risk animals via the International Fund for Animal Welfare." (IFAW was founded four decades ago by citizens who worked to stop the commercial hunt for white-coat harp seals on the eastern coast of Canada.)

This is how the NC Zoo reports its involvement on its website ("More News").

wolf

wolf, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

Handsome, healthy wolf.

Title and photo by belgianchocolate, who has tagged it both "zoo" and "nederland".

Google Zoo View

Google Street View now offers a look around Detroit Zoo.

Wrecking Ball Wins

Elephant barn at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo loses:



The Zoo's elephants had already been getting used to their new barn.

A grizzly profile

A grizzly profile, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

"I finally got out to the zoo today, a much needed visit I might add." [Yesterday, ucumari. NC Zoo]

'Nother Zoo "Escape"

Another zoo animal (a Seattle Woodland Park Zoo lion) got out of one enclosure and into another (a Zoo service hall).

There seem to have been a rash of near escapes from zoos recently.

Golden Oldie

Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus ), a photo by ucumari on Flickr. First posted over two years ago.

Baby Okapi Video!

Bronx Zoo's baby "zebra horse" "giraffid".

Record-Setting Bequest

Riverbanks Zoo benefits from generous bequest of $863,000 - a record.

The NC Zoo has been fortunate to receive several larger. (The four largest total over $6 million.)

Chilean Flamingos

Pink Flamingos, a photo by Bill's 5 B's Plus on Flickr.

NC Zoo photo by Bill's 5 B's Plus.

Pensive Greensboro Beaver

Such a beautiful day. Took the last two hours off and was on Greensboro's Reedy Fork Trail (running from Lake Brandt toward Lake Jeanette) when I heard and then saw a large splash in the fork, just to the right of the trail.

Figured "beaver" and ran in place until he surfaced on the other side of the fork. Just nose and eye above the water.

On my return I came upon him at sunset. He was swimming away from me. When I drew up to him and started running in place again, he was now not bothered with diving or hiding. He just kept swimming, while keeping an eye on this gray-headed, two-legged creature.

Invasive American Bullfrog

Threatens large areas of South America.

They "eat everything that fits into their mouths"..., including "birds, rodents, frogs, snakes, turtles, lizards and bats." They are "voracious eaters who will also prey on their own young..." [The New York Times "Environment"]

"Polar Bears" Picket Pipeline

Project Pits 'Publicans Against Proponents - of Environment

Photo (and video) of Protesters (a few are in Polar bear garb.) [USA Today] Oppose plan for 1,700-mile oil pipeline.

18K KG

Edinburgh Zoo expects its new giant panda couple to require 18,000 kg of bamboo annually. The Zoo seeks to raise 15% of that need from the start.

"While bamboo forms almost all of their diet, they also have an appetite for rats, mice, pikas (rabbit-like creatures), insects and other vegetation."

"Bamboo is the fastest-growing grass on the planet and has been recorded growing at 47.6in in a 24-hour period." (Look closely, and you can literally see grass grow, but it is as exciting as tracking the movement of the minute hand on an old pocket watch.)

Hour on Owl's Roost

Pleased to run an hour on the Owl's Roost Trail.

Wasn't sure how that would go. Hadn't run an hour since September. Longer, strenuous hikes on Grandfather Mountain and more recently, other, nearby mountains instead.

But it was a pleasant outing on the wonderful "dirt" bike trail at Lake Brandt.

Famous Dog Dies

The stray dog who befriended an Asian elephant at a sanctuary in Tennessee "has died from a likely coyote attack".

The 2009 CBS Evening News episode which made Bella (dog) and Tarra (elephant) famous is also included with the current linked article.

I Vote for the Bear

A Canadian senator wants to replace the beaver with the polar bear as her nation's emblem. [Reuters]

All animals have their environmental niches and adaptations, but an animal which, I've read, ingests "processed" wood which has only passed once through its own digestive track might not be my ideal national symbol.

Sokoto, Ruby, Nori and Terry

Sokoto, Ruby, Nori and Terry, a photo by The Zoo Dude on Flickr.

The Zoo Dude's title, NC Zoo photo (taken 7/15/11.

Undivided Attention

Undivided Attention, a photo by konrad_photography on Flickr.

NC Zoo alligator, 9/19/11, konrad_photography.

Trick or Tweet

Trick or Tweet, a photo by russ williams iii on Flickr.

@ Sylvan Heights Bird Park, Scotland Neck, NC. (Visit free w/ your NC Zoo Society membership.) [Really Sylvan Heights' photo, not mine.]

Wood Stork Released!

A young, injured wood stork was brought to the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in mid-August.

"We sent out requests through e-mail and facebook for fresh and live fish as we were not able to get the bird to eat frozen fish we have available to us at the [NC] Zoo; thankfully our fishermen's services, while greatly appreciated, will no longer be needed," reports veterinary technician Halley Buckanoff, BS, CVT, CWR.

Wood storks are federally endangered species. This one was released yesterday.

"Greatest TV Presenter..."

"...of them all."

"85-year-old Sir David Attenborough is there to watch the lovestruck [polar] bears for his new television series, Frozen Planet."

"He never lectures. He watches, listens and then, in that unmistakeable breathy whisper, shares his enthusiasm with us, so that we enjoy the illusion that it is we who have burst upon that snowy scene and witnessed these extraordinary natural phenomena with our own eyes."

"His most famous TV moment was his encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda in 1978. A curious female put her huge finger in his mouth and examined his teeth. She stared at him. ‘I can truthfully say that I have never exchanged a look with an animal that seemed to have in it such understanding,’ he said afterwards."