zoo

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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 
Oct 31, 2008 12:54 PM CDT

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
Aug 3, 2008 2:18 PM CDT

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...

Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs
 Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs
Jul 31, 2008 12:21 PM CDT

Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs

Golden retriever cleans and feeds rare white cubs abandoned by mom

(Newser) - A golden retriever has adopted three white tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at a southeast Kansas zoo, the AP reports. The Safari Zoological Park's owner says the dog, who recently weaned her own puppies, licks, cleans, and feeds the days-old cubs as if they were her own.

Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions
 Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions 
Jul 16, 2008 6:02 AM CDT

Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions

Record-breaking number of rare cubs born on the same day

(Newser) - The world's population of just 200 white lions leaped by seven in a single day when twin lionesses gave birth in June, Der Spiegel reports, and the German safari park where they were born has now unveiled the extremely rare cubs. But while one new mom took to motherhood with...

Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub
 Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub 
Jul 10, 2008 9:39 AM CDT

Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub

Dutch zookeeper's cat lets abandoned panda join her litter

(Newser) - A newborn red panda rejected by its mother has been adopted by a zookeeper's cat, the BBC reports. The panda and its sibling were first put on an incubator at the Dutch zoo but the tabby cat, who had recently given birth, proved willing to take the kitten-sized panda cubs...

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?
 National Zoo's Panda Preggers? 
Jun 20, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?

Hormone levels suggest Mei Xiang may be expecting

(Newser) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either...

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