Clipmarks | Zoo Clips

...8, 9, 10. Ready or not, here I come!

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:14:49 GMT

clipped by: chuckiesf
clipper's remarks: Would someone please turn down the lights?! It's so bright at the zoo in Augsburg, Germany, it's practically ... wait for it ... unbearable.

Clip Source: www.sfgate.com

Tags: bear, augsburg, germany

Ads : What Animals can Teach us

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:20:43 GMT

clipped by: Bluephoenix4

Clip Source: bestpicsaround.com

Tags: ads, advertising, campaign, zoo, aquarium, human

Do animals understand death? Do humans?

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:05:20 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "One example is famadihana - the turning of the bones - a traditional ritual carried out by the Malagasy people of Madagascar. Every seven years, the dead relatives are exhumed from the family tomb, re-wrapped, and danced around the tomb."

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Do animals understand death? Do humans?

While reading the papers this morning my eye was caught by the striking images of Gana, an 11-year old gorilla living at Munster zoo, Germany, holding her dead baby aloft.

According to all the news stories I've read, this photo demonstrates that she is grieving - feeling the same emotions as we would in these circumstances. Really? Or is this just rampant anthropomorphism?

But others have argued that foisting human emotions onto animals is unscientific. Just because animals sometimes behave like us does not mean that the same complex cognitive reasoning underlies these behaviours.

It seems to me that the question here is not do animals experience grief, so much as do they understand death? And, while I'm on that subject, do humans even understand death?

Science tells us that death is pretty much the end of the story in terms of human experience. But there are plenty of examples of human behaviour that seem to fly in the face of this.

Penguin is Knighted

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:46:35 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Certainly saved on the readymade tux, for the occasion!

Clip Source: www.wackyarchives.com

Royal Penguins Becomes Knights

With a medal for good conduct and long service, Nils Olaf III (Nils Olav III), a resident of Edinburgh Zoo, probably is the most honored penguin. And it’s not over yet, because Nils was knighted on Friday.

He became a member of the King’s Guard in 1972, when he was selected as a mascot. The penguin was named after after Egelien and Norway’s then-King Olav V. Presently, Nils Olaf is the third penguin that replaced the original mascot, getting Nil’s name and rank. On Friday, the penguin was knighted by the British Maj. Gen. Euan Loudon on behalf of Norway’s King Harald V. Here are some shots from the ceremony!

Tags: penguin, mascot, norway, edinburgh zoo, london

Job 1

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:13:09 GMT

clipped by: hechtandrew

Clip Source: www.myinterfase.com

*Job Title:

Zoo Administration Internship

Organization Name

Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation

This internship is an excellent opportunity to gain in depth knowledge about the operation of a non-profit organization related to education, recreation and conservation of wild animals. This internship will touch on five main skills needed to run this, and other, organizations: Research, Event Planning, Outreach, Fundraising, and Administration. Tasks vary depending on the time of year and our Events calendar but can include help with our quarterly newsletter, publicity for events and campaigns, data entry, research projects, event organization and execution, bulk mailing and other tasks as assigned.

Please send resume and cover letter to Melinda Booth via email, melinda@sequoiaparkzoo.net. Call 442-5649 with questions or visit www.SequoiaParkZoo.net for more information about the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation.

Organization reiterates plan for homeless during DNC

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:37:57 GMT

clipped by: deadcowkid
clipper's remarks: Poverty must be seen. This is disgusting! If Obama truly wants change, he will address this issue along with the concentration looking prison cages being set up for protesters. Remember the Boston Massacre? That was a protest and we would not be here as Americans without that act of protest. We taunted the British into violence and even into killing to garner support for the cause. Now you get arrested for holding a sign. If the DNC had any balls they would invite the homeless in and ask them what there "American Dream" is.

Clip Source: www.9news.com

Organization reiterates plan for homeless during DNC

DENVER – The coalition tasked with ending homelessness in Denver says it is not offering movie tickets and zoo passes to the homeless during the Democratic National Convention.

It will, however, continue its regular practice of offering bus tokens to homeless people who need them.

Officials with Denver's Road Home program say this week they have been receiving a lot of requests from homeless people who heard reports of those tickets being given away. The reports stem from a story on a hair salon that offered free haircuts to the homeless on Monday. The owners of that salon originally came up with the idea after seeing reports in July about a possible plan to give away tickets and open an emergency shelter for the homeless during the convention.

Soon after those stories surfaced, officials with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless issued a statement, saying they have no intentions to "hide the homeless."

Tags: obama, homeless, dnc, dnc convention

The new babies at Zoo Atlanta

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:14:24 GMT

clipped by: LHMaton
clipper's remarks: OMG, soooo cute!

Clip Source: www.zooatlanta.org

Gorilla grieves over death of her baby

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:26:37 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: The death of Claudio is a double tragedy for Gana; for reasons unknown to scientists, she rejected her six week old daughter Mary Zwo last year.

She was moved to a zoo in Stuttgart where she is healthy and one of the star attractions.

By Monday morning the zoo keepers were still unable to get to the body of Claudio, so fiercely is Gana guarding him.

"In the wild a gorilla mother can keep hold of a dead baby for weeks," added Herr Adler.

"We will carry out an autopsy on the body when we can.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Gorilla grieves over death of her baby

A female gorilla has been photographed grieving over the loss of her baby, showing a strength of emotion rarely witnessed in the animal world.

Gorilla Gana, 11, was left shattered in her compound at the zoo in Muenster in northern Germany at the weekend when her three-month-old baby Claudio suddenly died.

Visitors wept as Gana held her lifeless child up in the air, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head, his limp arms.

She put the baby on her back and walked around, stopping to look at him after a few paces to see if he had recovered.

"Claudio died in his mother's arms, with think from some heart defect," said Joerg Adler, the zoo's director.

"On Wednesday he gave the impression to keepers that he wasn't feeling too well.

"On Friday he wasn't eating or drinking properly and seemed to be growing weaker.

"We were keeping a close eye on him but suddenly, on Saturday morning, he died."

do animals feel greif?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:12:25 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: according to my dog, they do! you should see the way she reacts if I leave her for more then my working day!

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Do animals feel grief?

Photographs of Gana, an 11-year-old gorilla in Munster Zoo, holding the lifeless body of her three-month-old infant, are doing the rounds of the world's media. The pictures have prompted headlines such as "Heartbreaking" and "A Mother's Grief". Gana certainly looks inconsolable at the loss of her child. But is she? Are we too quick to project human feelings onto animals, particularly our closest ape relatives?

But, as anyone who has been watching Richard Dawkins' Channel 4 series The Genius of Darwin will recall, evolution favours any species with strong enough parental instincts to see their young through infancy. Animals invest time, energy and genetic material into their young, just as we do, and they naturally want them to survive. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that they would also feel loss when their young die?

Mourning gorilla holds on to body of her baby

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:07:51 GMT

clipped by: kaytee_did

Clip Source: www.thetowntalk.com

BERLIN (AP) — A gorilla at a zoo in the German city of Muenster is refusing to let go of her dead baby’s body several days after it died of unknown causes.

Allwetter Zoo spokeswoman Ilona Zuehlke says the 3-month-old male baby died on Saturday but its 11-year-old mother continues to carry its body around. Zuehlke says such behavior is not uncommon to gorillas.

Zuehlke says the mother “is mourning and must say goodbye.” The mother gorilla is named Gana.

HOPES FADE FOR BABY WHALE.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:39:17 GMT

clipped by: vk2yoc
clipper's remarks: It's Nature, but we don't have to like it, so prey for a miracle.
Check out the source for more links, plus video.

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

The fate of the three-week-old baby humpback whale stranded in Pittwater will most likely be decided by vets from Taronga Zoo after attempts to lure it out to sea this morning failed.

The vets hope to be able to assess the health of the calf and whether it can survive. If not, the calf may have to be put down.

The North Sydney manager of the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service, Chris McIntosh, will give an update on efforts to save the whale's life soon but there are fears that, if it is too weak to survive, it may have be destroyed.

The whale - weak, hungry and desperate to find its mother - has probably been ignored by whales swimming along the coast who can hear its distress calls, the National Parks and Wildlife Service says.

National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman John Dengate refuted reports that there were plans to euthanase the whale, but said there was very little else that could be done.

"It's absolutely the case that we haven't given up on this little whale," he said

Tags: nature, whales, orphan

Proven: Gorillas have human emotions

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:48:31 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Heartbreaking!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Gorilla grieves over death of her baby

A female gorilla has been photographed grieving over the loss of her baby, showing a strength of emotion rarely witnessed in the animal world.

Gorilla Gana, 11, was left shattered in her compound at the zoo in Muenster in northern Germany at the weekend when her three-month-old baby Claudio suddenly died.

Visitors wept as Gana held her lifeless child up in the air, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head, his limp arms.

She put the baby on her back and walked around, stopping to look at him after a few paces to see if he had recovered.

"On Wednesday he gave the impression to keepers that he wasn't feeling too well.

"On Friday he wasn't eating or drinking properly and seemed to be growing weaker.

"We were keeping a close eye on him but suddenly, on Saturday morning, he died."

By Monday morning the zoo keepers were still unable to get to the body of Claudio, so fiercely is Gana guarding him.

Tags: animal kingdom, apes, gorillas, munich, germany, zoos, captivity, wild

New Bird Species Found in Gabon

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:49:15 GMT

clipped by: ChiVampir

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

August 18, 2008—A fiery throated bird spotted in the jungles of Gabon several years ago (and pictured above) is a new African forest robin species, DNA studies prove.

The bird's distinguishing feature is its olive-colored backside, said John Gibbons

who noted that four other forest robin species have similar throat coloring.

Geneticists at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., compared the newly identified bird's DNA to that of four known forest robins to establish the olive-backed forest robin as a separate species.

Smithsonian scientists noticed the bird—dubbed Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus or olive-backed forest thrush—while conducting the first ever biodiversity assessment of an oil-rich area in southeastern Gabon.

The discovery of new animal species is rarer these days than it used to be.

Brian Schmidt, the researcher who found the bird in Gabon, said in a press release that the discovery "is definitely a reminder that the world still holds surprises for us."

Skateboarding tortoise!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:31:45 GMT

clipped by: queerty
clipper's remarks: Video at source - it wouldn't clip! Genius.

Clip Source: www.metro.co.uk

Here's a truly radical solution for getting Arava the disabled tortoise's love life moving again.

She was fitted with a customised skateboard after her back legs packed up and now the ten-year-old female is mating again.

Staff at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo fitted the disabled 25kg (4st) spurred tortoise with the strap-on board after she arrived from another Israeli zoo.

Her renewed mobility has meant that a romance has blossomed with an amorous ten-year-old male.

Tags: go, lady

First time ever recorded

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:06:45 GMT

clipped by: grammydjb1
clipper's remarks: A Leopard kills a croc--unbelievable!

Clip Source: www.africapoint.net

All pictures by Hal Brindley/SOLO Syndication
A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

Ellie Rose, a reptile keeper at London Zoo, said: “Normally, crocodiles are well able to defend themselves against attack. I can’t think of any examples of this happening before.”