zoo

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Queen of Spain Pleads for Grief-Stricken Zoo Elephant

Barcelona Zoo urged to move bereaved elephant to more suitable habitat

(Newser) - Spain's Queen Sofia has intervened to help save an elephant campaigners say is dying of grief, the Independent reports. Susi, Barcelona Zoo's only elephant, lives alone in a concrete compound and has exhibited behavior experts say shows anxiety and deep depression since her companion died last year. The queen has...

Afghanistan Quarantines Its Lone Pig

(Newser) - Kabul Zoo officials have locked up the only known pig in Afghanistan to allay visitors' fears that it might spread swine flu, Reuters reports. Pork is illegal in Afghanistan for religious reasons; the country’s lone porcine resident is a zoo animal. “For now, the pig is under quarantine,...

Stimulus Bill Shines on National Zoo

Despite ban, bailout will fortify homes for animals in DC

(Newser) - Luke the Lion is expecting home renovations while animals around the country are stuck with what they've got, Pro Publica reports. Luke's trick: living in the National Zoo in Washington, DC. The economic stimulus law forbids local and state outlays to zoos, but neglected to mention the National Zoo,...

'Gay' Elephant Gets Polish Pol Riled Up

(Newser) - A Polish lawmaker is incensed over a local zoo's acquisition of an elephant that might be gay, Reuters reports. “We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?” the flustered lawmaker said. Zoo officials said the 10-year-old elephant...

Audio Stimulus Gets Cheetahs to Mate

Man-altered bioacoustics work as an aphrodisiac for cheetahs

(Newser) - Man’s ingenuity has altered nature’s rhythms for the better at the San Diego Zoo, where an African cheetah cub was born after zookeepers helped her dad turn on her mom, the North Country Times reports. Park scientists used bioacoustics—human-altered animal sounds—to stimulate mating after they discovered...

Gorillas: Maybe Not as Gentle as We Thought

Ape vegetarian in the wild, but can turn carnivore in captivity

(Newser) - King Kong aside, gorillas have somehow been able to hold onto their reputations as gentle giants, while myths about the belligerent chimpanzee and the promiscuous bonobo have long since been dispelled. But with new research into ape behavior, the last fable may fall, the Economist reports after primatologists studied apes...

Popular Porcupine Ads Prod NY Governor

Activists say state aid cuts will hurt wildlife industry

(Newser) - New York’s wildlife advocates are hoping an unemployed porcupine can help in a prickly battle with Gov.David Paterson, Audubon Magazine reports. Paterson has proposed cutting $9 million from the state’s 76 zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums. To convince lawmakers to reject the cuts, opponents are releasing humorous...

No Room at the Zoo: Baby Hippo May Meet His Maker

Zookeepers deny little Farasi will be put down

(Newser) - Farasi, the hippopotamus calf that has dazzled Switzerland since his birth last November, needs a new home, fast. Otherwise, he could become animal chow for the Basel Zoo's carnivores, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 220-pound hippo, who beat out Roger Federer to be named 2008’s “Swiss of...

Eat, Prey, Love: Let's Give Vultures Their Due

They're not exactly man's best friend, but we need them

(Newser) - Vultures are like lawyers: nobody likes them until they need them, and boy do we need them, writes Constance Casey in a soaring defense of the misunderstood bird in Slate. Their business may be unpleasant, but vultures are essential in disposing of rotting carrion and warding off disease. “They...

Panda Bites Beijing Zoo Visitor, Again

Man jumped barrier to Gu Gu's enclosure to retrieve son's toy

(Newser) - Gu Gu the panda has struck again, biting a third visitor at the Beijing zoo. A Chinese tourist went over a 4-foot barrier surrounding the panda's outdoor exercise area yesterday to get a toy dropped by his son; the 240-pound Gu Gu bit his legs and refused to let go...

Zoo Elephants Die Much Younger Than Those in Wild

(Newser) - Elephants in the wild live up to three times longer as those in zoos, a new study says. The six-year report by British and Canadian scientists is sure to fire up the debate between animal rights activists and zoos over the well-being of the animals. African and Asian elephants tend...

Panda Bites Hand, Er, Leg, That Feeds It

Visitor to Hong Kong zoo captures attack on tape

(Newser) - A giant panda bit the left leg of a Hong Kong zookeeper while he was laying bamboo leaves in the animal's pen, reports the AP. The keeper was recovering well after the panda attack, which was partially captured and posted on YouTube by a zoo visitor. The panda—a male...

Zoo Makes Gifts from Reindeer Poo

(Newser) - Reindeer have found yet another way to give of themselves for our holiday benefit. An Illinois zoo is selling Christmas tree ornaments fashioned from the creatures' droppings, the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph reports. The small droppings are dried, painted, and incorporated into whimsical designs. The $5 gifts have been dubbed “magical...

Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female

Japan park figures out why polar bears don't have much chemistry

(Newser) - A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she,...

Panda Bites Student Who Tries to Cuddle

Frightened bear bites man who scales wall at China zoo

(Newser) - A student who tried to hug a panda in China yesterday got some tough love instead, BBC reports. Officials say the man, 20, climbed into the pen of Yang Yang at the Qixing Park zoo to cuddle. But the frightened bear bit him on the arms and legs. "Yang...

Liger Mauls Handler to Death
 Liger Mauls Handler to Death 

Liger Mauls Handler to Death

Volunteer entered lion-tiger hybrid's cage during feeding

(Newser) - An animal handler at an Oklahoma refuge died yesterday after being attacked by a liger—a hybrid of a lion and a tiger—during the animal’s feeding Wednesday, the Tulsa World reports. Safari’s Animal Sanctuary in suburban Broken Arrow will launch an investigation into whether volunteer Peter Getz,...

Zoo Tries to Lure Stranded Polar Bear Out of Moat

Zero has been stuck in Milwaukee park's moat for 2 weeks

(Newser) - Staff members at the Milwaukee County Zoo are taking new action to rescue a polar bear named Zero who has been stuck in the moat that surrounds his habitat for 2 weeks, the Journal Sentinel reports. Using a crane, handlers lowered a big plastic crate filled with Zero’s favorite...

Australian Boy Fed Zoo Animals to Crocodile

Rare turtle, lizards among 13 reptiles killed by 7-year-old

(Newser) - A 7-year-old boy snuck into an Australian zoo on Wednesday and killed 13 animals, the BBC reports. The child jumped a fence and evaded security cameras to gain access to the Alice Springs Reptile Center, where he bashed three lizards with rocks and fed 10 other animals, some of them...

Atlanta Panda Now a 2-Time Mama

Lun Lun gives birth to new cub, twin might be on way

(Newser) - A giant panda in Zoo Atlanta became a mommy for the second time last night, and a twin might even be on the way, WSB Atlanta reports. Lun Lun gave birth at 10:10pm, the first panda in the US to do so this year. She previously gave birth in...

DC Zoo Evicting Hippo
 DC Zoo Evicting Hippo

DC Zoo Evicting Hippo

'Happy' must move to make place for elephants

(Newser) - The National Zoo is adding a new elephant sanctuary, reports the Washington Post, and the move is putting its sole Nile hippopotamus, Happy, out on the street in a year or so. The zoo will hold onto its pygmy hippos, but is more committed to Asian elephant programs. "You...

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