Buenos Aires Zoo Not Doing Well

Unexpected article on the aging zoo in Buenos Aires.  Sounds like it needs some dire help.

Attempted Delay in Toronto Elephants Transfer to Sanctuary

The zoo keepers at the Toronto are desperately trying to get the City Council to reconsider its decision to move three aging elephants to a sanctuary. They presented the Council with a petition with 1,100 signatures.

Woodland Park Zoo and its Controversial Elephant Breeding Efforts

An article in today's Seattle Times about Woodland Park Zoo's attempts over the last 20 years to breed elephants. Very controversial with organizations such as In Defense of Animals, PETA and the Northwest Animal Rights Network. They say it's cruel. The zoo claims it's to preserve the species....

Manila Zoo Sounds Like a Nasty Place

PETA is trying to prevent more animals going to the Manila Zoo. They are working with local animal welfare groups on this issue.

Joining PETA as the petition’s signatories are the Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. (Philippines), Animal Welfare Coalition, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA Welfare Phils), International Monitoring Program (Philippines), International Wildlife Coalition Trust, LovePets, Network For Animals, Palawan Animal Welfare Association and Philippine Animal Welfare Society.

Good for them. Opponents like to think that animal welfare is only an issue in developed countries amongst the white middle class. That's not true. There are activists in every country of the world. Only the number may vary, but not the commitment.

Knut's Keeper Dies

Remember Knut the polar bear at the Berlin Zoo? Well, his keeper died and it sounds like a very sad story.

He played with Knut, swam with him, and strummed Elvis Presley songs on his guitar to lull him to sleep. Man and bear even celebrated Christmas and New Year together, joined in the straw-lined pen by Doerflein's girlfriend, Daniela Kaiser, and her six year-old son, Louis....

But then, last December, everything suddenly changed. Doerflein was summoned to the office of Berlin Zoo director Bernhard Blaskiewitz and told that he would no longer be caring for Knut. The extraordinary bond which had been built between bear and man was to be severed.

Doerflein was distraught, demanding to be allowed to continue looking after Knut. He was overruled and now, just nine months later, he's dead, apparently from a heart attack. But many of his supporters believe that Thomas Doerflein - who was only 44 - died from a broken heart.

Ontario to Improve Provincial Cruelty Laws

According to this article, Ontario has lagged behind other Canadian provinces in terms of animal cruelty legislation. Considering how bad Canada's animal welfare laws are in general, this is pretty awful.

But the province is finally taking steps to correct this sad state of affairs.

Ontario will introduce legislation to increase penalties for animal abusers and impose strict new rules on the province's 50 roadside zoos - assailed by activists as among the worst in the world.

The legislation, aimed at overhauling a 90-year-old law, is expected to set standards of care for small zoos and give the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the right to inspect the operations, The Canadian Press has learned.

The bill, if passed, will also likely ensure there are tougher consequences for people who abuse animals by making it a provincial offence to hurt an animal, sources said.

Ontario's regulation of roadside zoos, when compared to other provinces, has been routinely criticized by animal rights activists.

Newfoundland and Labrador spells out how specific species should be housed and treated, and Alberta recently brought in tougher zoo regulations. In other provinces, the SPCA can go into zoos and inspect the animals.

I'm hopeful this legislation will pass, but my preference would be a complete ban on roadside zoos. I think they are all bad and there is no purpose to them other than for entertainment. There is no conservation or education purpose...it's just a business with the animals as assets. I have yet to hear of a "good" roadside zoo....but if any are out there, let me know.

Photo by Insomniac101.

Underage Elephant Sex in Australia

Wow, there's quite a few articles out there about the underage elephant pregnancy in Sidney Australia. There's a story in Environmental Grafitti, the Washington Post, BBC News, and the Times Online.

Little elephant does seem awfully young, but then I'm not an expert....

Sydney's Taronga Zoo has been reprimanded by animal rights activists for letting an Asian elephant fall pregnant even though she is only nine years old.

The zoo, famed for its views over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, proudly announced today that Thong Dee was five months into a 22-month pregnancy and should become the first captive elephant in Australia to give birth. It even released ultrasound images to confirm what it called an "historic event".

But Erica Martin, who heads the Asia Pacific office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said that allowing such a young elephant to get pregnant was the equivalent of allowing your 12-year-old daughter to become pregnant”.

Photo by Paul84.

Leopards Rescued from Monaco Zoo

This is a great story about one woman's perseverance in obtaining the release of two lifelong captive leopard siblings. They will spend the rest of their days in the Shamwari game reserve where Born Free has two fenced-off sanctuaries.

The British actress and wildlife conservationist {Virginia McKenna} had spent 10 years trying to rescue Pitou and Sirius from Monaco Zoo, campaigning for them to be re-homed by Born Free, the animal welfare organisation she founded 25 years ago with her late husband, the actor Bill Travers. (Before the leopards were moved to the zoo, they were with a French travelling circus.)

McKenna went to Monaco nine times and begged courtiers to be allowed to ask the late Prince Rainier to grant these predators freedom. They wouldn't even let her see him.

But Rainier's heir Prince Albert, upon assuming the throne, was moved and gave his permission for their removal.

Shamwari, which means friend in Shona dialect, is a managed, enclosed 30,000-acre reserve teeming with wild lions, leopards, giraffes, rhinos, hippos and cheetahs as well as kudus, antelopes, zebras and eagles.

...Born Free has been given two fenced-off sanctuaries where it has re-homed big cats, most of whom had been cruelly treated. Even here, they must be restricted. They have not learnt to hunt for themselves and would perish if allowed to roam.

The Born Free sanctuary where Pitou (the name means little donkey) and Sirius (little star) now have their home...is a conservation centre for students.

Photo by Mara 1.

Woman Saves Baby Tiger with Mouth to Mouth

How cool is that?

A German medical student visiting a zoo in the eastern German city of Halle used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save a tiger cub choking on a piece of meat, according to media reports Saturday.

The 24-year-old young mother, Janine Bauer, was passing the enclosure with her son in Berg Zoo when she noticed the 4-monht-old tiger choking in December 2007.

10 Worst American Zoos for Elephants

Sorry to be behind on these zoo-related topics, but here's another one worth noting.

In Defense of Animals has released its list of the 10 worst zoos in the US for elephants. The accompanying pictures say a lot.

Here's the list...

1. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA
2. Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA (hey, that's our zoo!)
3. El Paso Zoo, El Paso, TX
4. Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR
5. Buffalo Zoo, Buffalo, NY
6. Dickerson Park Zoo, Dickerson, MO
7. (Tie) Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, CA and San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, TX
8. St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO
9. Disney's Animal Kingdom, FL/Riverbanks Zoo, SC
10. Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, MD

Photo by The Spinosaurus

Association of Zoos and Aquariums Should be Evaluated

This article is from about a week ago and it talks about how inspectors from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) will be visiting the now infamous San Francisco Zoo. But what drew my attention was the discussion about the AZA itself and how effective, or ineffective, it really is as a monitoring group.

Advocates call the organization a sophisticated support network helping to save species that might otherwise become extinct. Critics describe it as an old boys' club that wields tremendous power over zoos yet is often ineffectual....

"I was very deeply involved with the AZA," Schobert said. "But I became disenchantedas the organization changed. It was an opportunity for many of us in the dark ages to compare notes and get to know people face to face. There are a lot more women now, but it's still the old boys' club. If you have a reputation for being a maverick, you'll never see your name surface as being a director."

Although zoos have made great advances in nutrition and veterinary medicine, Schobert said, concern for animal welfare has decreased as preoccupation with species survival has grown.

"The AZA tries to position itself as the No. 1 conservation organization in the United States, but they're entertainment-oriented - getting people through the gate has been the main focus of zoos," he said. "Their priorities are wrong. Zoo directors will probably say they're not so concerned with individual animals as with the species. That sounds really lofty until you break it down: The species is made up of individual animals..."

Nine zoos have lost accreditation in the past five years including the New York State Zoo, the Tracy Aviary in Utah, the Lake Superior Zoo in Minnesota and Boston's New England Aquarium, which regained its status in 2006.

However, while the AZA accredits zoos and aquariums, it does not REGULATE them. That duty belongs to the US Department of Agriculture.

"The AZA is dictating to zoos what's in the best interest of zoos, but if these are important recommendations for standards, how come they're not mandatory?" Schobert asked. "Accrediting is not a bad idea, but the people doing the accrediting are peers from other zoos."

Photo by chuqui.

Tiger Mauling Victims Accused of Taunting

It's inexcusable that the tiger was able to get out, so I don't think they should be blamed. Were they acting stupid? Sure. But, that's part of being a teenager.

Police believe that a fatal tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo was in part prompted by the victims provoking the animal into escaping its enclosure and mauling them, investigators said in court documents.

One of the three victims was intoxicated and told another victim's father that they were standing atop a railing and yelling and waving at the tiger shortly before the Christmas Day attack, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle late Thursday.

Photo by Chadh

Only VOLUNTARY Regulation for American Zoos

We in the US hate anything that has to do with government regulation. Anything. That is why we have so many voluntary, self-regulating industries. The problem with self-regulating, though, is the "self" part.

Even though I think that the panic over possible zoo attacks on the street is excessive, I think that this article (in a Chinese media source of all places!) has some important information.

1. U.S. federal and state officials say there is no way to know how many animals escape from zoos every year because no single agency tracks the incidents.

2. While some local governments may require zoos to report such incidents, it is a peace meal system that prevents any nationwide review of whether there are widespread patterns or problems in the industry.

3. U.S. lawmakers so far have left much of any establishment of zoo industry standards and accreditation to the non-profit Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), whose recommendations are strictly voluntary.

4. The main zoo oversight association AZA does not release records of zoo escapes, and zoos are only required to report to the association incidents that result in injuries.

Photo by CFSprojecting.

Nuremberg Bears Missing and Presumed Dead

What a terrible story this has become. All this because the zoo's director wanted to avoid "Knutomania," the frenzy over a little guy at the Berlin Zoo (who, regardless of what one believes, is bringing in TONS of visitors to that institution.)

No, I think the Nuremberg Zoo is going to get an entirely different kind of PR.

Polar-bear cubs born at Nuremberg's zoo have VANISHED AND ARE PRESUMED DEAD, POSSIBLY OF DISEASE, the German press agency DPA reported, citing zoo director Dag Encke.

The missing cubs -- probably two of them -- MAY HAVE BEEN EATEN BY THEIR MOTHER, Vilma, DPA said. A second polar bear at the zoo, Vera, also had cubs recently and they may still be healthy, the agency said. To avoid disturbing them, no one has entered the bears' caves and it is not known how many baby bears were born, though sounds suggest each mother gave birth to two, DPA said.

ABC News adds the following information....

Vilma, one of the young female polar bear mothers in Nuremberg, has today been visited by her favorite keeper in her cave for the first time since she gave birth to an unknown number of cubs. The keeper could not locate any of the cubs. Vilma was a little nervous, but well-fed and she appeared not to be hungry.

Photo by MaryLane.

More Animal Cruelty from China

Everyone ready for those Beijing Olympics? They're to show what a great new modern country they've become! While visiting Beautiful Beijing, you can take a detour to the Badaling Safari Park. Here you will be able to buy live goats that you can throw into the lion pit and watch them tear the goat apart alive. Or you can dangle live chickens over the side and tease them until they grab them and kill them. Family fun!

You can read more about it here in the Daily Mail, complete with pictures.

Animal cruelty happens in all countries. But this kind of sadistic, barbaric and vulgar behavior seems to be more common in China. So common in fact that there seems to be no social cost whatsoever to it. It's right there in the open for all to see.

Disgraceful.

Captive-bred Giraffe Struggles in Canadian Zoo

Another controversial breeding of a wild animal. This time it's a baby giraffe bred at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Apparently, he had to be separated from his mother and is being fed by zoo staff, spurring criticism from animal welfare groups.

Doesn't sound like a great zoo though. The Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums stripped its accreditation in 2004. Yikes!

The giraffe, born at the Aldergrove facility Dec. 20 to 18-year-old Eleah, has maintained a fairly steady weight and is standing on its own, {Zoo representative Jody} Henderson said. After failing to feed from its mother, the two were separated. The baby is now being cared for by a veterinarian and zoo staff.

Critics say the calf's plight furthers their argument that there is no good reason to breed giraffes in captivity.

Debra Probert, executive director of the Vancouver Humane Society, said the only reason she can think of is that baby animals are "a money-maker."

There is no conservationist justification, as there is no release program in place, said Rob Laidlaw, executive director of Zoocheck Canada, a national wildlife protection organization.

Animals that breed in captivity often don't have the mothering skills necessary to care for a baby, he added.

This calf is the second in two years born to Eleah. Her previous baby died of pneumonia after eight days.

{Zoo representative Jody} Henderson said the zoo did not intentionally breed this calf, which was fathered by six-year-old Jafari.

"We just let nature take its course," Henderson said.

The Greater Vancouver Zoo has a history of controversy with regard to animal welfare.

Probert said the zoo does not have appropriate resources to properly breed animals, calling it "one of the worst facilities in Canada for wildlife."

Last year, two counts of cruelty to animals were laid against the zoo when the SPCA alleged it kept Hazina, a baby hippopotamus, alone in a dark shed for 19 months. The charges were later stayed after a new enclosure was built for the animal.

In 2004, the zoo was stripped of its accreditation by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which sets standards for wildlife facilities in the country.

Photo by mailmandan.

San Francisco Tiger Talk

I had a conversation at work yesterday regarding the San Francisco tiger tragedy. I call it a tragedy because it is a tragedy on both sides of the human/animal divide.

The circumstances of the attack are still being investigated and, of course, the finger-pointing has already started. We may eventually know what happened from the two surviving victims....or we may never know. However, I think there are a few indisputable conclusions that come out of this whole story. (I know, using the word "indisputable" is probably begging for some disputing!)

1. Animals must be protected from stupid zoo visitors...and stupid zoo visitors must be protected from themselves. I'm not saying these three young men did anything wrong. There's not enough evidence for me to say. However, even if they themselves are completely innocent, there are many, many stupid zoo visitors out there who are not. For some unknowable reason, there are both male and female visitors around the world that sometimes want to taunt an animal. Or they want to test their courage by climbing into that enclosure for that picture or by sticking their hand through those cage bars. Zoos must plan for this. In whatever manner, zoos have to evaluate their set-up to make sure the animals are protected from this occurrence and that the stupid zoo visitors can't get themselves injured even if they try. Because they will try.

2. Wild animals are always wild at heart. If a zoo or any place thinks that it can domesticate an animal's wild instincts, part of their very genetic wiring, then they are deluding themselves. No matter how well a keeper may know an individual animal, that animal will always be fundamentally driven by instinct. Zoos need to understand this and respect that. When they take that animal into custody within their walls, they are ultimately responsible for that behavior.

3. An animal that kills a human being will be put down.They just will. I think it's terrible that a magnificent creature like Tatiana was put down for simply behaving like a tiger. The zoo is responsible for her actions, not her. I think she should have lived. However, let's be realistic. Public relations-wise, the zoo would be pilloried for allowing Tatiana to live after she killed a human. Letting her live would dredge up the people vs animals debate. She would have to be under uber-security and who knows what the quality of life consequences would be for her. This is not even mentioning the increased liability and insurance costs for the zoo. Remember, a dog that attacks a human is put down too and that's a "domesticated" animal.

4. People will obsess over, discuss and fear the rare man-killing tiger incident rather than the more likely incident of being killed by their own fellow species. It amazed me that two people in my office were so interested in the tiger attack. They were also fearful of it as though it could happen here. It shows that we humans still have that fear of the predatory animal ingrained in us (why is probably why we are so eager to cull and control it). This was also the same day that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. And 6 humans were killed by a member of their family on Christmas Eve in Carnation, WA.

Sorry, it's human on human violence that we should fear. That's where our attention and fear should be focussed.

Photo by soachs.

Did Mauling Victim Provoke Attack?

Authorities in San Francisco are investigating a shoe print on an outer fence where a tiger escaped and killed a 17 year old.

Police are investigating a shoeprint found on the railing of a San Francisco Zoo exhibit from which a Siberian tiger escaped and killed a teenager in a Christmas attack, the city's police chief said on Thursday.

Chief Heather Fong told reporters police want to know if the print matched the shoes of any of the victims, including two brothers who survived maulings, but said there was no indication yet they had incited the 350-pound female cat named Tatiana.

Some reports say they may have provoked the tiger, although at this point, there seems to be no proof of that.

Seattle Zoo's Elephant Breeding Under Fire

Woodland Park Zoo was in the news a short while ago over the death of its sweet 6-year old elephant baby Hansa from a herpes virus. We live in Seattle and followed her life story, including the competition for her naming. Unfortunately, not being a fan of zoos, I never saw her in person.

Apparently, the zoo is preparing to impregnate her mother again through artificial insemination. And some animal activists are mad.

Animal rights activists called Woodland Park Zoo's elephant breeding program "reckless" and "irresponsible," and demanded Tuesday that zoo leaders abandon plans to artificially inseminate an elephant next month.

The group wants to stop the insemination of Chai until a treatment or cure is found for herpes, the virus that killed the elephant's 6-year-old offspring, Hansa, in June.

"It is just common sense. You have a contaminated facility. There is a very, very good chance you will have another death," Catherine Doyle from In Defense of Animals told zoo board members.

Woodland Park zookeepers are hoping to inseminate Chai, 29, an Asian elephant, next month with sperm from an Asian bull elephant named Rex that lives at African Lion Safari in Ontario, Canada. Two elephants have died from elephant herpesvirus there.

It would be the fifth insemination attempt since Hansa was born in November 2000.

Zoo leaders responded swiftly Tuesday, noting that they are committed to the elephant breeding program, and have seen no scientific evidence that has persuaded them to change their plans.

"There is always a risk in everything," Deputy Director Bruce Bohmke said. "If you have one death, that doesn't make it more likely that you will have another."

While the activists accused the zoo of wanting another baby elephant to attract more visitors and increase revenue, Bohmke said breeding programs are important to give zoo visitors an appreciation for the animals, teach them about their endangered environments and motivate them to donate to conservation efforts.

"The idea of not breeding elephants doesn't make sense. Let's work on the problem. The only way we can answer these questions is through breeding and research," Bohmke said.

I'm really torn up about this. I have visited the Woodland Park Zoo and, unless things have changed, it's a good place with basically good people. Woodland Park has been undergoing a real transformation in the 13 years I've lived in Seattle. They are working very hard to improve living conditions and really create habitat for their wild charges. It's really a beautiful place and, while there were still animals in too small enclosures when I was last there, there is renovation every year.

But the question about the elephant breeding program is more than just about Woodland Park, by far a superior zoo to many "zoos" we hear about. It's about the role of elephant breeding, or any breeding of a wild animal. I don't like it myself. I wish that we didn't have to breed elephants in captivity in order to bolster hopes for the species in the wild. But I don't know what to do. A captive elephant is not a wild elephant, I understand that. Its behavior and expectations are different. It is dependent on humans. But, if it's done responsibly, then zoos may be the last stand against a total annihilation of the species and the gene pool.

I do take issue with Boemke's statement that zoos educate people about wildlife and the need to protect habitat. I have never been to zoos with respectful people who truly appreciate the animals. It's more the case of a parent or teacher taking some snotty, noisy kids to the zoo to occupy them. They gawk and laugh at the animals. The adults suck too. One time we were in the nocturnal section which had a sign saying to be quiet because these were NOCTURNAL animals. And who was flapping his jaws loudly? Not the kid, but his dumb dad.

I haven't been back.

Photo by Gertie_DU.

It's a Hard Luck Life for Chinese Wildlife

Here's an interesting commentary by Keith Winsten, Executive Director of Brevard Zoo/East Coast Zoological Society of Florida. He recently led a workshop at the Beijing Zoo and writes about his perception of the Chinese view of animals.

...the Chinese seemed to have a much greater respect for landscape elements such as trees and rocks than Americans, but by our standards, showed little regard or empathy for wildlife.

...Animals are simply perceived as existing to meet our needs, either for satisfying hunger or for amusement. And unfortunately, this attitude is subconsciously reinforced by the staff at the (Beijing) zoo, which meticulously cares for the human landscape but seems to ignore the aesthetics of the animal exhibits.

Luckily, this denigrating attitude toward animals is neither a universally Eastern way of thinking (consider the Jains in India who shuffle their feet so they won't hurt an insect) nor part of most societies (many traditional hunting groups worship their prey animals). But it is clearly a problem in China. And these days, whatever happens in China can have a ripple effect around the world.


Photo by Alex and Jerry.