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Archive for the 'Zoo' Category

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Congratulations, it’s a boy … 50 years late

November 19th, 2009, 2:29 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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Anyone out there know how to sex a tortoise?

Nope? Me neither … but I’m really good with kittens, so holler.

A tortoise’s zookeepers in Cleveland are the ones feeling slow because after more than 50 years, they’ve discovered “Mary” is actually a male. Officials at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo say it can be tough to establish the sex of a giant Aldabra tortoise because the reproductive organs normally aren’t visible. But Mary’s maleness was unexpectedly revealed earlier this month during a routine exam.

Spokesman Tom O’Konowitz said the zoo has decided to rename the tortoise Terry.

When the 400-pound reptile arrived at the zoo in 1955, it was assumed he was a she because of a flatter shell, shorter tail and all-around smaller size than most males.

The tortoise is estimated to be between 75 and 100 years old.

Photo: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, with reporting from The Associated Press

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Posted in: Animals • Pets • Wildlife • Zoo • tortoise • • | 2 Comments »

Son of White Cloud officially gets a name

November 17th, 2009, 2:36 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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The baby panda at the San Diego Zoo was finally bestowed a name.panda-cam

Zoo officials announced today the 3-month-old black-and-white ball of fur will be called Yun Zi, which is Chinese for “Son of Cloud.”

The cub was born on Aug. 5 but, following Chinese tradition, it wasn’t named for 100 days. The name was selected from among 6,300 recommendations by the public.

Yun Zi is the fifth cub born to the zoo’s 300-pound mother panda, Bai Yun, whose name means “White Cloud.”

He’s only the 14th panda in the United States, including five in San Diego.

Yun Zi weighed about 4 ounces when he was born but now weighs more than 10 pounds.

Yun Zi’s birth was posted on the zoo blog and a “panda cam” that allowed people to see the cub in a zoo den was so popular that it briefly crashed.

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Posted in: Animals • Exotic • Photo of the Day • Photos • Wildlife • Zoo • panda • • • • | Post a Comment »

Come here, now! Floating pumpkin defies lion cub

October 23rd, 2009, 4:44 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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Well, the expressions just say it all, don’t they?

Three-month-old Asian lion cubs Rubi and Gabriel enjoyed a little Halloween treat early at the London Zoo.

While Gabriel stuck to the dry, land-dwelling fruit, his brother Rubi was determined to retrieve a pumpkin that dared to roll into the enclosure’s pond.

Click on the photos to see a bigger frame.

– Photos by Sang Tan, The Associated Press

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Zoo confirms panda paternity: Tiny toes tell the tale

September 16th, 2009, 3:14 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

3-pandaNext time you see a panda swimming at the community pool, call me.

According to vets at the San Diego Zoo, the 5-week-old panda cub has webbed toes, and it’s all Daddy’s fault.

The trait is not common in pandas, but Gao Gao, the apparent sire of Bai Yun’s baby, has webbing between his back toes and has passed it along to all four of his offspring.

Cool!

Here’s what the zoo vets had to say about it:

What could be the purpose of such a physical trait? It is unlikely to be a swimming adaptation. Pandas are not known to be regular, avid swimmers, although they do cross water when necessary in the wild.

There might be some benefit to adult males with webbing when engaging in foot scraping behavior. This interesting behavior is often seen when males are in high states of arousal around breeding encounters or when aggressively engaged with other adult males.

You can check out the pandas via live Web cams at the zoo.

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And don’t forget our local zoos:

Orange County Zoo

1 Irvine Park Road
Orange, CA 92869
(714)973-6847


Santa Ana Zoo

1801 E Chestnut Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92701-5001
(714) 835-7484
santaanazoo.org

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Photos: Snow leopard cubs make debut at L.A. Zoo

September 11th, 2009, 3:17 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor



Two rare, endangered snow leopard cubs have a new lair, no names and an uncertain future.

The speckled cubs, a boy and a girl, and their mom, Asia, moved into their public habitat Thursday at the Los Angeles Zoo. The rocks, trees and streams seemed to appeal to the frisky cubs, who were born May 26.

Click on the photos to see them larger.

These cats are well adapted to life in high, rugged terrain, partly because of their thick fur, which allows them to keep warm, and long tail they can wrap around themselves for added warmth. They can tolerate extreme temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit down to 40 below zero. Snow leopards also have well developed chest muscles for climbing and their long tail helps them balance.

The cubs, which were born May 26, will be named through the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s “Name an Animal” program.

Gina Dartt, the zoo’s promotions coordinator, says it’s unclear where the cubs will end up. Previous cats born here have gone to other zoos.

There are fewer than 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild. They can leap up to 45 feet, have superb night vision and use their long tails for balance and warmth.

Photos by David McNew, Getty Images

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Dog takes charge of abandoned panda cubs

July 16th, 2009, 1:22 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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Ah, she looks happy, doesn’t she?

The power of mothers in nature, right? What is it about dogs that prompt them to take care of strange creatures in need? We’ve read about dogs acting as surrogate for squirrels, kittens, you name it.

Read more from the Associated Press:

Two red panda cubs abandoned by their mother at birth are thriving at a northern China zoo thanks to milk and loving care from an unlikely surrogate mother — a dog, state media reported on Thursday.

The cubs, born June 25, were abandoned immediately by their mother after giving birth in front of a crowd of visitors at the Taiyuan Zoo in northern China’s Shanxi province, according to Ha Guojiang, a zoo employee quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency.

“No one knew she was pregnant. Her plump body and bushy hair disguised her protruding belly until the babies were born,” said Ha. “We hurriedly went about to find a wet nurse for them.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Animals • Dogs • Pets • Wacky news • Wildlife • Zoo • • • | Post a Comment »

Everyone out of the pool!! There’s a tiger in the deep end

July 9th, 2009, 4:37 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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This photo gives a whole new meaning to “Jaws.”

Odin, a white Bengal tiger, got to show off his swimming skills Thursday at the opening of Odin’s Temple of the Tiger exhibit at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.

We have to wonder, where was the photographer in all this? Russel A. Daniels took these pictures, and we’re hoping he had a view from a dry, underwater window.

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Can you imagine diving into your friendly, neighborhood pool and seeing this? Gulp.

3temple_of_the_tiger_card10Nalin, at right, paws the ribbon at the opening of the new Odin’s Temple of the Tiger exhibit.

According to the Contra Costa Times, the outdoor exhibit features a 26,000-gallon, glass-enclosed pool, music and special characters interacting with the tigers.

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Wherever you go, ma, we will follow

June 24th, 2009, 4:00 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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(OK, so I was scrambling to find a cute photo to schedule during my mandatory furlough. The photo trough was running thin, so bear with me!)

Three trumpeter swan cygnets that hatched last week follow closely behind their mother at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

Apparently these young cygnets have a significant future ahead: They will be released into the wild this fall as part of the trumpeter swan reintroduction and recovery program.

To date, Lincoln Park Zoo has released 34 swans into the wild — all of them the offspring of the same adult pair of swans. Trumpeter swans were hunted to near extinction by the turn of the twentieth century.

Lincoln Park Zoo has been actively involved in their recovery efforts for the past decade.

More than you ever wanted to know:

  • Trumpeter swans are the largest American waterfowl.
  • Trumpeter swans mate for life.
  • They begin breeding after only three or four years of age.
  • Their offspring, known as cygnets, will stay with their parents for up to four months before venturing off on their own.

By the way, the sexes of the zoo’s cygnets have not yet been identified, and they have not been named.

Photo: Greg Neise, Lincoln Park Zoo

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New elephant exhibits draw protest from activists

June 23rd, 2009, 4:00 am by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

While I’m out on furlough, I’ve arranged for the blog to magically post interesting (we hope) stories from the animal kingdom. Here’s a viewpoint from the opposite end of zoo exhibits: When do we go too far with promoting the captivity of animals?

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By Evelyn Nieves of The Associated Press

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Seven lumbering elephants — four of them newcomers — are the star attractions in the San Diego Zoo’s biggest, most costly expansion in its 90-plus years.

But such multimillion dollar displays like the city’s $45 million Elephant Odyssey are prompting an outcry from animal rights activists who view similar expansions in Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, Wichita, Kan., and Oklahoma City as part of a troubling trend.

“They increase the size of the exhibit and then cram more elephants in,” said Suzanne Roy, program director of In Defense of Animals, or IDA. “Zoos are spending millions of dollars in exactly the wrong direction.”

Within five years, the number of elephants in 77 accredited zoos across the country is expected to rise from 290 to 532, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or AZA. But animal rights groups say too many elephants are already in captivity and that the expansions are not spacious enough for animals that wander by nature.

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We feel your pain, panda mama!

June 22nd, 2009, 4:00 pm by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

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Oh, how those moms can can surely relate!

(If this photo doesn’t speak to you, go back to bed.)

Lin Hui, the 7-year old giant Panda that spit out a surprise baby nearly a month ago, yawns as its 25-day old panda cub sleeps on its chest. The pair are celebrities at the Chiang Mai zoo in Chiang Mai province of northern Thailand.

Photo by Wichai Taprieu, The Associated Press

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