Category: Zoos
Hanna stuck in turnstile with flamingo
From upi.com:
TweetJack 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 MORE »
Its all happening at the virtual zoo
From azcentral.com:
TweetIn 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.
Zoo contest seeks ideas for coloring book cover
From app.com:
TweetArtists 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 MORE »
Electronic Eggs Used To Help Save Threatened African Bird
From sciencedaily.com:
TweetThis 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 MORE »
Minnesota Zoo/Minnesota Trail Update
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
Tweet




