Category: Zoos
From amphibianark.org:
Amphibian Ark is a group dedicated to saving amphibians like frogs – encouraging the maintaining of frog populations and even breeding programs. Let’s face it… frogs are a vital link in providing food and also eating vast numbers of insects. - Dr. Disney
In 2008, AArk will lead zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in a globally coordinated public awareness campaign “The Year of the Frog.” The main goal of this campaign is to generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity. The money raised from this global campaign will help fund initiatives such as training courses, technical guidance, taxon survival efforts, fostering partnerships, capacity building, and communication activities. All these activities will ensure sustainability of the survival assurance populations of amphibians by creating a cash fund for this conservation work that will extend for beyond 2008.
Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums play a very important role in this campaign since they can provide the ex-situ breeding grounds for the immediate conservation action so much needed in order to save amphibians.
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Posted by Dr. Disney on November 9, 2007 at 1:36 pm · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
starbulletin.com (*photo isc.ed)
Honolulu Zoo officials have set up traps, searched underground tunnels and even filed a police report. But nearly three weeks have passed, and there still are no signs of Hulu the missing meerkat.
Hulu mysteriously disappeared Sept. 19 when zoo keepers could not find him in a 500-square-foot enclosure he shares with his friend, Kapa.
“We do a count, and we didn’t count up to two; we only saw the one,” said zoo Director Ken Redman. “We looked at all possibilities, and so far it’s come to no conclusion on anything.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dr. Disney on October 9, 2007 at 9:26 am · Permalink
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Category: Disney, Zoos
From mercurynews.com:
A former marketing employee for the Oakland Zoo was charged Thursday with embezzling $52,000 in facility funds within a 10-month period, most of which was spent on trips to Disneyland, police said. Gregory Jueneman, 27, admitted the theft to zoo officials last month, but has refused to talk to investigators, police said.
He is scheduled to enter a plea today to the embezzlement count in Alameda County Superior Court. He has been free on $10,000 bail since his arrest Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dr. Disney on October 8, 2007 at 5:42 pm · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From upi.com:
Jack Hanna got trapped in an airport turnstile during the weekend — with a flamingo.
Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, had just flown home from a zoo fundraiser in Iowa and landed at Don Scott Field at about 12:30 a.m. when the caper began, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The airport terminal closed at 11 p.m., so the only way off the tarmac was through a 10-foot-tall, exit-only security turnstile. Hanna got stuck trying to push a square crate, carrying 11-month-old Marty the flamingo, through the round turnstile.
“I was stuck like a worm,” Hanna told the newspaper. “My eyes were as big as grapefruits.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dr. Disney on September 18, 2007 at 9:45 am · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From azcentral.com:
In the students four-week study of animal adaptations, nothing was as memorable as the hour in which they saw live animals located 700 miles away - all from their Kyle, Texas, school. Via videoconferencing, Petersons students saw such zoo denizens as an owl, a snake and a bearded dragon lizard at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kan.
“It was something different to get the kids out of a textbook,” Peterson says. “It was like a big show-and-tell, and I think it was really effective.”
Ryan Schaffer, distance-learning coordinator at the Lee Richardson Zoo, says, “In this time and day when school districts are strapped for cash, this is certainly a nice resource for the teachers.” His program is one of the few available for free; others typically range from $50 to $200 for an hour session.
More than 15 of the 216 members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums AZA have videoconferencing programs to reach schools that dont have the time or money for field trips. Together, they connected with more than 85,000 students last year.
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Posted by Dr. Disney on August 8, 2007 at 4:05 pm · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From app.com:
Artists who love animals are invited to submit their design ideas for the Associated Humane Societies and Popcorn Park Zoo’s new coloring book.
The winning artist will have his or her design featured on the front cover of the coloring book, “Associated Humane Societies/Popcorn Park Zoo Presents: Our Animal Friends.” The winner also will receive $500, said Roseann Trezza, executive director of Associated Humane Societies Inc.
The 128-page coloring book, which will be published later this year, will include artwork by many supporters, as well as photographs of many of the animals at the zoo. The book will be sold as a fundraiser for the Newark-based nonprofit organization that runs the zoo. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dr. Disney on July 31, 2007 at 11:48 am · Permalink
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Category: Technology, Zoos
From sciencedaily.com:
This is an important summer for kori bustards at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Four chicks of this threatened African bird have hatched in June and July. Along with the bumper crop of baby birds is a bumper crop of new information for scientists working to preserve the species, thanks to an electronic egg that transmits real-time incubation data from the nest. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Dr. Disney on July 27, 2007 at 10:22 pm · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From mnzoo.com:
Following a year-long renovation, the “new” Minnesota Trail will re-open on July 7. The Trail now includes exciting exhibits for raccoons, coyotes and gray wolves, together with long-time residents like beaver, otter, puma and lynx. Smaller Minnesota favorites, like turtles, frogs and salamanders, will be featured in the exhibit’s “trailhead,” a warm and welcoming lodge. Along the Trail, guests will experience a variety of Minnesota landscapes, ranging from views into a beaver pond, a walk alongside a northern forest glade and a bird-watching perch in the treetops. We live in a great state, and the new Trail will celebrate Minnesota’s wildlife heritage. Get out there Keep your eyes open And share the wonder.
Took the family for the members preview and was quite impressed. From the northwoods lodge style entrance area to the careful blending of inside-outside exhibits, it is state-of-the-art. Highlights include a beaver pond and a very cute exhibit of twilight in the fall behind a cabin. Fall colors fan out over a small stream and the cabin has a lady in the window reading a book. Gas lantern glows on the cabin porch and four very active racoons are playing in the area. Really a neat exhibit. Another innovation is the floor throughout the indoor trail made of recycled tires — feels like you are walking on spongy earth. — Dr. Disney
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Posted by Dr. Disney on July 6, 2007 at 3:25 pm · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From mlive.com:
ROYAL OAK, Mich. AP — The longtime director of the Detroit Zoo could lose his $175,000-a-year job after acknowledging that he never received a doctorate in zoology, officials say.
“I feel terrible. Its difficult to face now,” Ron Kagan said. “Im sorry and I know its damaged the zoo.”
The issue came up last Thursday when the Detroit Zoo Societys board of directors received an anonymous fax stating that Kagan had misrepresented his academic qualifications on his resume, zoo spokeswoman Patricia Mills said.
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Posted by Dr. Disney on June 29, 2007 at 9:49 am · Permalink
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Category: Zoos
From ireland.com:
Elephants today made their first public appearance at Dublin Zoo for almost two years in their new specially designed rainforest enclosure.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern unveiled the Kaziranga Forest Trail habitat, which includes water pools and dense vegetation.
It will be home to the zoo’s two new adult Asian elephants, Bernhardine and Yasmin, who have been in quarantine since arriving from Germany earlier this year.
A two-month-old baby born at the Zoo in May has yet to be named.
Elephants are among the most popular animals at the Phoenix Park attraction and are certain to boost visitor numbers in coming weeks.
Mr Ahern said: “zoos like Dublin Zoo are taking a leading role in animal conservation and ensuring, insofar as possible, that our generation and the generations to come can continue to share our planet with a vast array of creatures.
“And in the fight to preserve bio-diversity, there will be a need for commitment, ongoing research, persistence and co-operation between the worldwide network of zoos,” he said.
The Taoiseach said the arrival of the new elephant calf and her integration into the herd provides a great opportunity for the zoo staff to gain new insights into the lives and behaviours of these beautiful yet endangered animals.
“With the opening of the Kaziranga Forest Trail, we take another vital step forward in supporting elephants in the wild,” he said.
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Posted by Dr. Disney on June 28, 2007 at 10:21 am · Permalink
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