@SF_BananaSam

Missing San Francisco Zoo, 2-pound squirrel monkey, now-predictably has his own Twitter account.

"Went to monkey bars in Golden Gate Park playground, left disappointed." [Recent tweet, not in the article at the link.]

Zoo Pkwy Cherry Blossoms

The high tomorrow is predicted to be 60 degrees. Come to the NC Zoo and look for the cherry blossoms near the Route 64 (Dixie Drive) turn onto Zoo Parkway. (Saw 'em on my lunch break today.)

Why Change for This?

A troubled LA Zoo visitor went to great lengths to get on exhibit with dangerous elephants. The Zoo plans no security changes.

"The woman...came face to face with the elephants after she scaled the public barrier, walked through tall bushes and climbed another fence."

Imagine even the bushes were a third line of security, aimed at keeping humans and elephants apart.

We also can't expect that added restraints be added to bridges or roadsides after suicide attempts by car or drowning.

Siku Means "Sea Ice"

The very popular polar bear born in Denmark recently is named Siku, "which means "sea ice" in Greenlandic, an Eskimo language..."

""Siku is going to be an ambassador for polar bears, for global warming..."

Zoo Attendance Milestone

Over 185,000 visitors have come to the Oregon Zoo in this winter month...so far. And soon the 50 millionth visitor, since its Washington Park opening in 1959, will come through the gates.

'Nother Cute Cub... and 'Nother

Augo is another cute polar bear cub at a Danish zoo (Aalborg)...and he and "mum Malik" stay and play together. (And that's another cub, Milak, with his head stuck in an "enrichment item".)

Chainsaw Salute?

"Ladies and gentlemen, start your chainsaws! Tomorrow, December 29th, watch talented ice sculptors from around the East Coast carve animals out of ice in this frosty competition. Guests will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite sculpture and help choose the winner! The chiseling begins at 11 AM - buy your tickets online for a 10% discount." [Bronx Zoo on its "Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Week"]

Still finding all of this somehow amusing. (A whole week dedicated to not just the carving of ice, but much more specifically to the carving of ice restricted to a wildlife theme...and then saluting that.)

More Siku "Action"

YouTube star Siku was born at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park last month. Unfortunately, his polar bear Mom doesn't make enough milk to feed him, reports say.

Three zookeepers, therefore, care for him a true 24/7. (Double click on the running video to see all of Siku; "play" and "hold" are at bottom; listen to his tiny snore.)

More video.

It has begun!

It has begun!, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

"As you can see work has begun on the expansion of the polar bear exhibit. I will post a photo from this spot (hopefully) after each visit. The estimated completion date is sometime in 2013." [ucumari re: her photo of NC Zoo construction; her title too]

Salute? To Which?

"Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Week". Why do I find this so amusing?!

"This week at the Bronx Zoo, enjoy frosty family fun as Bright Horizons presents Salute to Wildlife Ice Carving Week."

Yours Truly,
Sarcastic Bustard

Christmas Cherry Blossoms

In Greensboro, NC.

Politics of Climate

New York Times addresses sad fact.

"The idea had originated in the Bush administration, was strongly endorsed by an outside review panel and would have cost no extra money. But the House Republicans, many of whom reject the overwhelming scientific consensus about the causes of global warming, labeled the plan an attempt by the Obama administration to start a “propaganda” arm on climate." ("The idea" was simply to offer better climate forecasts, to aid companies and government, and save lives, based on good science.)

"...two record highs are being set in the United States for every record low, and similar trends can be detected in other parts of the world." Global warming deniers point only to the lows, but weather always wildly varies. So it is the forest, not the trees, that must be viewed. The trend, not the event.

A lot of species, including our own, live in that forest. Most can survive the event...most can not survive the trend.

More Weird Elephant Facts

Only one mammal can not jump. It is the elephant.

Christmas Peepers?!

It wasn't sleigh bells I heard on the hour walk I just took on the trails of closed Southwest Park, Greensboro, N.C. The warm weather fooled a chorus of frogs into welcoming spring!?!

Too Bad...But Cute

Wish the little Danish zoo polar bear could have been raised by Mom:

Beauty Bear in Purple

Check out polar bear photo by Michael Poliza. [Hat tip @AmazingPics]

Tulsa Zoo chimp art

Tulsa Zoo chimp art, a photo by russ williams iii on Flickr.

I like it. [Tulsa Zoo photo, really]

Elephant Attacked Elephant

Appears that San Diego Zoo Safari Park's own exam has determined that it was an unknown member of its African elephant herd that fatally attacked another, Umoya, in mid-November.

Umoya was one of seven elephants brought to the Safari Park from South African in 2003. (I recently read "Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives" by Thomas French, in which the story of the 11 African elephants flown out of South Africa to San Diego and Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo is featured.)

"It is not uncommon for elephants in the wild to attack or hurt each other, the spokeswoman said."

Tony & Willie

Video of Milwaukee "news comedian" Tony on the topic of their visitor from the NC Zoo, polar bear Willie. [Hat tip - ucumari, of course]

Nice Holiday Gift

To: National Zoo

Fm: David M. Rubenstein

$4.5 million for a 5-year, 2-giant-panda lease with China and "continuing giant panda research in the United States and abroad."

Polar Grin & Bear It

Polar bears are put in jail in Churchill, Manitoba if they threaten townspeople. And they get less than "bread and water"...just the water. (Sounds worse than it is, since they are basically fasting as they wait in Churchill for sea ice to form so they can have another season of hunting seals.)

Churchill won't be too hard on polar bears, as it is the prime destination of the "polar bear tourist".

Bad Luck Zoo?

Toronto Zoo has had a lot of attention recently, over a controversial elephant transfer, "gay penguins" and deaths within the collection. Now one tiger kills another.

"It’s especially difficult to fault anyone in the latest incident involving the Sumatran tigers. In attempting to breed these animals, zoo workers were doing the right thing: only 300 to 500 of these magnificent animals still exist."

Applause All Around

The AZA and PETA agree on Santa Ana Zoo's decision to end Asian elephant rides "to protect zookeepers and trainers from being harmed by the powerful and moody land giants."

""When the AZA concludes that elephants pose too much of a safety risk for even trained handlers to share the same space with them, certainly no child or parent should be subjected to that grave danger."" [PETA spokesperson]

konijnuiltje

konijnuiltje, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

Belgianchocolate photo and title.

Timber!

The wooded area you could see over, and behind, the polar bears in the NC Zoo Rocky Coast exhibit is now cleared to make way for construction of the larger Project: Polar Bears exhibit and holding facilities.

The other day I watched a large, just-chained-sawed tree fall onto the sturdy metal guard rail at the service road to the Rocky Coast. A large, front-end-loader-type vehicle removed the tree and then pulled up on the crumpled guard rail, which straightened out to some good degree and which came up out of the ground into which it had been driven.

NC Zoo horticulturist Corinne Benbow told me that the felled trees will be removed and stored nearby. Some will be returned to the exhibit to be part of what our visitors see there and to be something natural with which the polar bears interact.

Across the visitor walkway from the polar bear pool is kidZone, which is also a cleared construction site at this time.

Three Pair...

...easily beats five of a kind, when it comes to breeding at the NC Zoo.

"North Woods - The new breeding pair of red wolves are out of quarantine. We now have three breeding pairs." [Volunteer Views - December 2011]

Happy Trails to You

Girl waves to grizzly bear and vice versa! [Hat tip: Marty Toler Limber on Facebook]

Its All About Willie!

The Milwaukee Zoo website home page that is. At least that is the case as I post this.

Goofy Grinning Terror?

The Greenland shark lives farther north than any other shark species, has "poisonous flesh" and dines on the occasional reindeer or polar bear (according to my Google search summary of the article at this link). Although the article itself does not mention "polar bear", it does reference this shark's preference for dining on "marine mammals", and some scientists consider the polar bear a marine mammal (ursus maritimus).

There's video.

Yo-Yo Ma & Wombat

Man and marsupial.

Brookfield Zoo wombat and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma on dressing room floor in photo at link.

"Ma asked for a “meet and greet” with Wilbur [Wombat], who was there to showcase the zoo as one of the many grant recipients of the Chicago Community Trust..."

The stare down

The stare down, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

"This guy was the lookout at the time and must have perceived me as a threat. Every time I moved he kept his eyes on me. Perhaps he was just tired of the clicking black box." [Quote, title & 2/16/11 Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC photo all by talented ucumari]

"Schedule of Unwrappings"

Sacramento Zoo had a day of holiday gift-openings Saturday.

The ground hornbill opened a crickets-filled pinata at 1:30 p.m.

Sir David "Defends Zoo Footage"

Sir David Attenborough's (and the BBC's) "Frozen Planet" series, it is reported, has a brief scene of a mother polar bear and cub in an "ice den" which was in fact shot in a European zoo rather than in the Arctic.

Because, in one of the "Frozen Planet's" segments, Sir David reports on global warming's negative impact on polar bears and because there are those who choose not to believe this, there has been much made about the "questionable" practice of "implying" the shot was made in the wild.

""If you had tried to put a camera in the wild in a polar bear den, she would either have killed the cub or she would have killed the cameraman, one or the other." [Sir David Attenborough]

Even Now

At 8:10 p.m., The Sylvan Heights Bird Park duck cam offers video of active waterfowl.

Happy feathery friday!!!

Happy feathery friday!!!, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.

Photo and title by belgianchocolate. Ouwehands Dierenpark, Nederland.

Gingrich Wild About Zoos

The Washington Post reports.

"Gingrich, who wrote the foreword to the guidebook “America’s Best Zoos,” says he has been to nearly 100 zoos in the United States."

Broken Glass Menagerie

Wednesday night's winds were no gentleman caller.

Most of the hand-blown German glass ornaments in the Zootique tent were destroyed when the tent was blown onto the zoo train's tracks...a crippling, up-to-$15,000 loss.

Which zoo? Virginia...not Tennessee......Williams (Russ/Russlings) reporting.

Winning Wildlife Photo

"Few people in the world are brave enough, or stupid enough, to get into the water with a polar bear.

"But for photographer Joe Bunni, that risk has won him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year".

Yes, his name IS Bunni! Joe Bunni!

Is There Any Nature Left?

Perhaps not, if you require that nature be untouched by man. [Hat tip: @tdelene]

"This is the Earth we have created, and we have a duty, as a species, to protect it and manage it with love and intelligence. It is not ruined. It is beautiful still, and can be even more beautiful, if we work together and care for it."

I blog, therefore the Earth still works (for me).

NPR Discovers ucumari

National Public Radio has discovered our Valerie Abbott (ucumari) and our Willy and NC Zoo. (See all nine photos NPR features today.)

Indy Zoo Orang Exhibit

The Indianapolis Zoo plans a $30 million orangutan exhibit. ($17 million is already raised; a 2014 opening is promised.)

War Zoos Make List

Time's "Top 10 Everything in 2011" lists include "Afghanistan and Libya Zoos Survive Wars" as #4 on the "Top 10 Animal Stories"list.

The NC Zoo and Society have taken leadership roles in assistance to both Kabul Zoo and Tripoli Zoo.

Q.: What was #1?

A.: "The Dog that Faced bin Laden".

Polar Bear Cold?

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo offers half-price admission on Polar Bear Days.

When are those? They are any, and all, January days when the "predicted high temperature is 32 degrees or below..."

Where one goes to dry one's tail

Where one goes to dry one's tail, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

Photo and title by ucumari, who adds "Sometimes two!"

Sir David's Fears

Sir David Attenborough, 85, makes first journey to North Pole, "...seeing for himself the impact global warming is already having..." and predicting his grandchildren "may not see polar bears."

Perfect Time to Visit Bobcats

Valerie Abbott put a photo of one of the NC Zoo bobcats on the NC Zoo Society Facebook page and wrote: "Now is a perfect time to visit the Zoo" today.

I am just back from visiting both of the Zoo bobcats at the Streamside exhibit, after a planned checking-out of the construction progress near the "North American" entrance. (Perfect time...perfect weather.)

The new polar bear exhibit area was being cleared of most trees. As I approached, a very large tree came down on the "Rocky Coast" service road and its guardrail. A huge, front-end-loader-type machine quickly removed the massive tree and pulled the crumpled rail into much better shape.

Across the visitor walkway, the kidZone had also been made barren in preparation for construction there (also toward a 2013 reopening).

Three zookeepers were running the two seals through their training paces, at the other end of the "Rocky Coast". The seals were quite energetic and active, and seemed aware of the extra (construction) activity nearby.

A Steal?

Denver Toyota Dealers Association will pay $5.4 million to name Denver Zoo's new exhibit "Toyota Elephant Passage".

The Denver Post reports that that is the name of the $50 million exhibit "for Asian elephants, rhinos and tapirs", with over two miles of trails.

An NC Zoo Society agreement with this State would require a minimum of $20 million to name a $50 million exhibit.

A $5.4 million bargain?

Jungle Bells

San Diego Zoo's third annual, wild, holiday celebration is called "Jungle Bells".

Acrobatic elves and an English handbell choir will be among the featured performers.

Dr. Zoolittle will read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and you can sing carols aboard the "Tinseltown Trolley".

I want to see the "holiday-colored cotton candy".

"Surviving Ourselves"

Forbes on poachers and the "sixth extinction event" (us).

Rhino Running

Rhino Running, a photo by Larry Moran on Flickr.

Also found in the flickr "Zoo Butts!" group, butt this could also be posted in the Flickr "Flying Animals" group! Click on this photo by Larry Moran to better see that the back legs are also in the air.

Synchronized Tail Swish

Synchronized Tail Swish, a photo by iPlaid34 on Flickr.

There is a flickr group named "Zoo Butts!". This is by member iPlaid34. Wild Wilderness Drive Thru Safari, Gentry, Arkansas.

Making the connection

Making the connection, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

"Hell-Bent on Saving Hellbenders"

National Geographic headline says it all.

“Capillaries near the surface of the hellbender’s skin absorb oxygen directly from the water–as well as hormones, heavy metals and pesticides,” said Jeff Ettling, Saint Louis Zoo curator of herpetology and aquatics. “If there is something in the water that is causing the hellbender population to decline, it can also be affecting the citizens who call the area home.” To ecologists they are barometers of ecosystem health–likened to “canaries in a coal mine”.

SCUBA Bear

Pictures We Love: Best of November from National Geographic.

"Gorilla Baby Death Mystery"

Lincoln Park (Chicago) Zoo's gorilla infant death "highlights the mysterious dynamics of child rearing in gorilla tribes, where only two out of three infants survive." [The Christian Science Monitor]

The baby was fathered by NC Zoo gorilla Kwan (now residing at Lincoln Park, he was named Kwanza at birth here in 1989.)

Prior Post

The orangutan was behind the tree.

Bet you can't find the orang!

Bet you can't find the orang!, a photo by ucumari on Flickr.

Zoo Protects Pine Forest

The NC Zoo is protecting long-leaf pines ("old-growth longleaf pines, some of which sprouted two centuries ago").

"Tree experts say the longleaf pine requires fire, but these trees haven't experienced a burn since around the 1930s..."

"Once the state takes over the land, trained zoo horticulturalists will conduct controlled burns to clear out the hardwoods and other growth. When they do...dormant seeds of yellow fringed orchids, Piedmont indigo bush and other plants that require more sunlight than they have seen in decades might sprout."

"...the land is home to several interesting species, such as timber rattlesnakes, Kentucky warblers and spotted salamanders."

Speaking of Elderly Animals

Long-time NC Zoo pachyderm C'Sar (African elephant) is doing well after cataract surgery.

Long-time NC Zoo pachyderm Stan (southern white rhino) is not well.