2024-03-15 - , United States.
After weeks of voting and thousands of submissions, the Toledo Zoo has officially chosen the name of their precious baby elephant and we're personally thrilled about the news! Ladies and gentleman, Kirk has officially entered the conversation! I can still remember when Kirk's mom, Renee, was pregnant with him, so even though I live nowhere near the zoo. Back in January, the Toledo Zoo gave a 20-month update of Renee's pregnancy as she was in the final stages of the process.
2024-03-09 - Tucson, United States.
A baby elephant was born at Reid Park Zoo. The zoo said Semba, the facility’s African elephant matriarch, gave birth to a 265-pound calf around 3:31 a.m. Friday, March 8. Reid Park Zoo said the calf, whose sex has not yet been determined, is standing, sticking close to mom, and nursing enthusiastically. The calf is the third born at Reid Park Zoo. The calf joins Semba, big sisters Nandi and Penzi, and allomother Lungile.
2024-02-15 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The zoo said Tsuni died Thursday after a sudden, brief battle with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Her EEHV was detected through routine blood testing on Feb. 8, even though she presented no visible clinical signs. The other adult elephants in the ICC herd have sufficiently built up EEHV antibodies as they have aged, so they are at low risk to this disease, the zoo said.
2024-01-11 - New York, United States.
In a narrow but sprawling curatorial space at the uptown museum, The Secret World of Elephants, now opened, tells the story of elephant species and their relatives through life-size models, videos, graphics, and more, a comprehensive look at these intriguing and important animals and the latest scientific thinking about their abilities, environmental roles, social structure, history and future
2024-01-04 - Los Angeles, United States.
The Los Angeles Zoo is grieving the death of 53-year-old Asian elephant Shaunzi. Zoo staff observed that Shaunzi was unable to stand up in her exhibit at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, according to a statement from the LA Zoo. Zoo veterinarians worked throughout the night to get her back on her feet, but found no success. Shaunzi was sedated and euthanized early Wednesday morning.
2023-12-16 - , United States.
For the first time in seven years, an African elephant calf was born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! This is Nadirah’s first calf, making this birth extra special because Nadirah herself was born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2005, making her the first second-generation calf. Since this is Nadirah’s first birth, her sister Luna was there to guide and comfort her throughout the process. The calf will soon get to meet her grandma, Donna, and her other aunt, Stella, too.
2023-11-21 - Baltimore, United States.
Thanks to early detection and intensive therapy, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Md., announced that its 15-year-old African bull elephant, Samson, has survived an episode of a strain of the Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV6). Samson survived a different strain of the same virus (EEHV3b) when he was five-years-old. He was the first elephant to be clinically diagnosed with the strain at the time.
2023-11-10 - , United States.
Donna, an Asian elephant at the Saint Louis Zoo, was euthanized Thursday morning after her health saw a rapid decline, the zoo announced. She was 52. Donna was born in the wild and arrived at the zoo in 1971. She was diagnosed in October with primary hyperparathyroidism, caused by a tumor that secretes a hormone that controls the level of calcium in her body. Her tumor grew and medication used to treat it became less effective.
2023-11-08 - Cincinnati, United States.
Four Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), two adult females and their young male calves, arrived at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden on Sunday, November 5. The new elephants, SheRa, Kabir, Anak, and Sanjay, came from the Dublin Zoo on a joint recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan® (SSP) and its equivalent in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)
2023-10-25 - Hohenwald, United States.
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee announces the passing of African elephant Jana at the age of 43. Jana was The Sanctuary’s 31st resident. In recent weeks, Jana's declining health and reduced mobility led to multiple falls, severely impacting her quality of life. Due to the irreversible progression of these health issues, her inability to stand on her own, and the escalating pain she experienced, the difficult decision was made, and Jana was humanely euthanized on October 20, 2023.
2023-10-02 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) is proud to announce the dates for our 44th annual conference, hosted by both the Fort Worth Zoo and Dallas Zoo on October 2 to 5, 2023. The conference will include a trip to both zoos, behind-the-scenes demonstrations at both facilities, two days packed with presentations, a banquet and silent auction, and a post-conference trip to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
2023-08-26 - Omaha, United States.
The baby elephant at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo officially has a name; Amandra. Pronounced “ah-MON-dra,” the name means “strong woman.” The zoo said it was chosen by a donor and their family. Amandra, born to Jayei, joins Eugenia, Sonny, and Mopani as the fourth elephant calf at the Henry Doorly Zoo. A fifth elephant calf is due to be born at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Spring 2024.
2023-08-14 - Fresno, United States.
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated World Elephant Day with a big announcement. Zoo officials say their female African Elephants are pregnant. They are expected to give birth between September and October 2024. The facilities care team will monitor the expectant mothers and prepare for the calves' arrival.
2023-05-18 - , United States.
Callee, a 22-year-old male who has been at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since 2019, will be moved to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, the Omaha zoo announced on Thursday. Callee's move was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' African Elephant Species Survival Plan, according to a press release from the zoo. He is expected to be moved this spring and the zoo is currently working to prepare him for transport and coordinate travel arrangements.
2023-05-09 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo made the heartbreaking announcement Tuesday that one of its elephants has died. The 7-year-old African elephant, Ajabu, passed away Monday after a 12-day battle with a viral infection, according to the zoo. The infection is known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Ajabu survived a previous infection with EEHV in March 2021. The zoo says that the often-lethal disease is most often found in Asian elephants, but it has begun to show up more in African elephants.
2023-05-03 - , United States. Michael D. Cherney, Daniel C. Fisher, Richard J. Auchus, Adam N. Rountrey, Perrin Selcer, Ethan A. Shirley, Scott G. Beld, Bernard Buigues, Dick Mol, Gennady G. Boeskorov, Sergey L. Vartanyan & Alexei N. Tikhonov
2023-03-27 - Oakland, United States.
The Oakland Zoo euthanized its 46-year-old African elephant Lisa on March 26, 2023, due to years of health problems. The elephant was afflicted by eye ulcers, arthritis, foot and nail lesions, and more recently, ventral edema, which involved fluid retention leading to vaginal ulcers. She had begun receiving stem cell therapy in November to help with her arthritis. Lisa was one of only 16 female African Elephants 46 years and older in Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoos.
2023-03-18 - Dallas, United States.
This little boy is almost three weeks old, and he has a NAME! Meet... Okubili! His name means "two" or "duplicate" in Zulu, and we think it's perfect for this little one because he is a carbon copy of second-time mom, Mlilo.
2023-03-08 - Dallas, United States.
In a historic birth, the Dallas Zoo welcomed a baby elephant to the family late last month, the zoo announced Wednesday. At 290 pounds, the male calf was born Feb. 26 at 2:27 a.m. to one of the zoo’s African elephants, Mlilo — a second-time mom. Both Mlilo and the calf will “stay behind the scenes still for several weeks,” the zoo said, so the best place to see him, for now, will be on social media, where the zoo plans to announce his name next week.
2023-02-27 - Sequim, United States.
Using 21st century technology to peer into mankind’s history dating back nearly 14,000 years, a team led by a Texas A&M professor has confirmed what researchers believe is the oldest weapon made of bone ever found in the Americas. And, as many Sequim natives recall, evidence for this research was found by accident 4½ decades ago in Happy Valley.
2023-02-24 - Fort Worth, United States.
It’s official, baby Brazos has a brother from another mother as of 2 a.m. on February 23. This healthy 37-inch-tall, 270-pound male Asian elephant calf is the fifth calf born at the Fort Worth Zoo, following the arrival of half-brother Brazos born in 2021, Belle, his mother, in 2013, Bowie in 2013 (Bowie now resides at the Oklahoma City Zoo), and aunt, Bluebonnet, in 1998.
2023-02-16 - , United States.
The upcoming animated feature film, set to premiere globally March 17, is directed by Wendy Rogers. To uncover the answer, the young boy must find both a mysterious elephant — currently in the hands of nobility though seeking to be reunited with her own family — as well as the magician (Wong) able to conjure it. “This elephant will lead me to my sister,” Peter can be heard saying in the trailer. “I must ask you to give her to me.”
2023-02-15 - Miami, United States.
Zoo Miami currently has a full time Zoo Keeper 2 position available with the Elephant team. We are searching for a team-oriented candidate that will be engaging and deliver exceptional customer service by creating friendly and positive interactions with all guests and co-workers. This position reports directly to the Animal Care Coordinator of Elephants. This team works with both Asian Elephants and African Elephants.
2023-02-14 - Myakka City, United States.
Proposed development in East Manatee County could lead to changes at the Myakka Elephant Ranch in Myakka City. Julia Braren said every piece of land is precious in Myakka City. The Myakka Elephant Ranch is home to endangered species of elephants. It also educates guests on conservation efforts. A developer wants to build nearly 5,000 homes and rezone agricultural land. The proposed development would also add new roads.
2023-02-09 - Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is looking to fill an Animal Keeper Associate position on the Elephant team. You will work closely with a team of keepers to perform daily care of the collection following established guidelines. This is a full-time, hourly position, reporting to the Zoological Managers. This position is with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., which is part of a business we call Walt Disney World Resort.
2022-11-29 - Syracuse, United States. CNYCentral
The Onondaga County Executive Office has announced details of a naming competition for the rare twin elephants born earlier this year. Members of the community are encouraged to vote on names for the elephants from now until 6:30 P.M. on Thursday, December 1st for their favorite names and the winners will be announced at a subsequent event.
2022-10-17 - Albuquerque, United States.
Zoo veterinary staff have known for years that Irene suffers from lens luxation, a condition in which the lens in the eye is dislocated from its normal position, causing discomfort and blurry vision, Dr. Carol Bradford, the zoo’s senior veterinarian said Monday. However, more recent complications may cause Irene to lose her eye completely.
2022-08-12 - Grand Rapids, United States.
Several people are working to unearth mastodon bones in a West Michigan field after they were discovered during a road construction project. The bones are expected to be donated to the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
2022-04-25 - San Diego, United States.
On 24th April, 17 years ago, a 25-year-old man named Jawed Karim posted the first-ever video on YouTube, launching a service that has since grown to become the go-to hub for video streaming. The low-res, 19-second short video, titled Me at the Zoo, shows YouTube co-founder Karim touring the San Diego Zoo, pointing out elephants’ unusually long trunks. The elephant video has been viewed over 228 million times and has garnered over 11 million comments as of April 2022.
2022-04-16 - Austin, United States.
Austin, Texas-based activist filmmaker Kate Kirby’s documentary explores the relationship between a mahout and the 60-year-old elephant he tends at a Laotian elephant conservation center.
2022-03-22 - Washington, United States.
As genetics reveals how various ivory shipments are connected, the world is learning how organized and extensive the ivory smuggling network really is. A study suggests that poachers credited to three international crime groups likely returned to the same elephant family again and again, then repeatedly used the same shipping company to smuggle the elephant tusks. Testing more than 4,000 elephant tusks from 49 large ivory seizures that were shipped out of Africa between 2002 to 2019 revealed tha...
2022-03-16 - Monroe, United States. Ian Robinson
The longtime caretaker and friend of Shirley the Elephant at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, Solomon James, has died. He died on March 9. He was 69. Perhaps best known as the primary keeper and caregiver for Shirley the Elephant, zoo officials remember James as being an affable zookeeper who had just as big impact on the community as the elephant he loved and cared for.
2022-03-12 - San Antonio, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo announced the death of one of their Asian elephants, Karen, Wednesday afternoon. Karen passed away this afternoon while under the loving care and comfort of her veterinarians and animal care staff. Karen came to San Antonio Zoo in 2016 to join Nicole and Lucky, forming what was lovingly known as “The Golden Girls.” She was 52 years old, outliving the average lifespan of an Asian elephant which is 47.5 according to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
2022-03-11 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The longstanding partnership between the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden and the Oklahoma Blood Institute was newly solidified this week with the donation from OBI of a centrifuge to the zoo’s Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital. The most immediate life-saving opportunities that this centrifuge can provide for the zoo are advancements in the research and treatment of EEHV, a persistent and deadly herpes virus affecting elephants worldwide, both wild and in captivity.
2022-03-02 - Powell, United States.
Frankie the baby elephant could be a lifesaver someday thanks to a project he jump-started the day he was born at the Columbus Zoo last summer. Tissues from Frankie's umbilical cord have been used to create Asian elephant stem cell lines at Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine and on a national scale at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's Frozen Zoo.
2022-02-28 - New York, United States.
Habeas petitions are not often heard in court, which was only one reason that the case before New York Supreme Court Justice Alison Y. Tuitt—Nonhuman Rights Project v. James Breheny, et al.—was extraordinary. The subject of the petition was Happy, an Asian elephant in the Bronx Zoo. American law treats all animals as “things”—the same category as rocks or roller skates. However, if the Justice granted the habeas petition to move Happy from the zoo to a sanctuary, in the eyes of the law...
2022-01-31 - Omaha, United States.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is thrilled to announce Claire, a 13-year-old African elephant, gave birth to a male calf at 9:08 p.m. yesterday, January 30, 2022. Mom and calf are doing well. The weight of the calf is unknown at this time. The is the second African elephant calf born at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium this month, January 2022. These two calves are the first and only African elephants born at Omaha’s Zoo and Aquarium.
2021-12-25 - Albuquerque, United States.
Thorn, a three-year-old male elephant at the ABQ BioPark Zoo, died in the early morning hours on Christmas Day from elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). BioPark staff began treating Thorn immediately after traces of the virus were detected in a routine blood test on December 15. This virus causes hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal for young elephants. EEHV is the leading cause of death for Asian elephant calves and can strike elephants in the wild and in human care.
2021-12-23 - Hamilton, United States.
A new study examining ancient DNA from the Yukon is changing the timeline for when woolly mammoths and ancient horses roamed the continent. Tyler Murchie, a researcher at the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre in Hamilton, was the lead author on a new paper in the journal Nature on Dec. 8, with new evidence that suggests ancient horses and mammoths may have roamed the Yukon landscape up until 6,000 years ago.
2021-12-21 - Albuquerque, United States.
The ABQ BioPark continues to provide around the clock care and treatments for Thorn, our 3 year old elephant who recently tested positive for the Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV). While the most recent daily test results indicate an escalation in the viral load his treatments continue and we remain hopeful and are confident that together we will have the best chance of helping Thorn through this illness.
2021-12-15 - Albuquerque, United States.
On Wednesday, December 15, a weekly routine blood tests for Thorn, the BioPark's 3.5-year-old Asian elephant, came back positive for a very low level of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV). Out of an abundance of caution, the ABQ BioPark has begun round-the-clock care, including antiviral treatment and observation for symptoms. At this time, the BioPark's animal care team is monitoring his blood values daily.
2021-11-24 - Monterey, United States.
Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Institute (MBARI) have found and extracted mammoth tusks from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), deep in the ocean. According to MBARI, their team discovered 185 miles offshore and 10,000 feet deep in the seamount in 2019. They returned in July 2021 and brought the tusks to the surface. The deep-sea conservation environment for this specimen is different from most we’ve seen elsewhere,” said Daniel Fisher, a paleontologist at the University of M...
2021-11-22 - , United States.
Tim Frisco, an employee with Miller Equipment Company, leads a group of elephants down the ramp into Roberts Stadium while preparing for the 72nd annual Hadi Shrine Circus on Nov. 22, 2005
2021-11-22 - Alfred, York County, United States.
It's an interesting tale that starts with Hachaliah Bailey. Yup, that Bailey, as in the Barnum and Bailey circus. Bailey was a farmer in upstate New York when he bought an elephant for about $1,000. As the legend goes, Old Bet came to York County in July of 1816, where people ponied up the admission price to catch a glimpse. But, according to Historic Hudson Valley, a farmer named Daniel Davis reportedly was offended by the idea of taking money from poor people and decided to fatally shoot Old B...
2021-11-15 - Azle, United States.
It is with great disappointment that due to the continuing ongoing pandemic we will not be able to meet in person for this year’s International Elephant Conservation and Research Symposium. BUT we are planning a multi-day virtual symposium with presentations and opportunities for information sharing and discussion.
2021-09-23 - Attapulgus, United States.
It’s a big day for South Georgia. Bo, a 10,000-pound elephant moved into his new home thanks to Elephant Aid International and George Carden, the person giving Bo a new life. He's the owner of George Carden Circus and spent many years with Bo traveling the world. Bo is the first elephant to step foot on these 850-acres filled with trees and tall grass. It's also the only elephant refuge in South Georgia.
2021-09-09 - Attapulgus, United States.
Elephant Refuge North America, an 850-acre natural habitat located in Attapulgus, Georgia, plans to accept its first resident later this month. Bo, a 34-year-old male elephant, is being released by the George Carden Circus after 30 years of performing, Elephant Aid International says. He was born and raised captive in Florida his entire life, but will now enjoy wide open spaces for roaming and play for the rest of his days.
2021-08-13 - Topeka, United States.
Cora the elephant is improving after concerns over her health had the Topeka Zoo considering end-of-life options. Shanna Simpson, an animal curator at the zoo, said Cora wasn’t eating, had a lot of gas and wasn't moving as much as she used to. The zoo began giving her pain medication, two gallons of mineral oil a day and Gas-X.
2021-08-05 - Anchorage, United States.
Maggie, an African elephant that lived at the Alaska Zoo for 24 years, has died at a wildlife sanctuary in California. She was 41 years old. Maggie died at the Performing Animal Welfare Society wildlife sanctuary in San Andreas, where she lived for 13 years after being relocated there from Alaska. Alaska Zoo director Pat Lampi said in a statement that Maggie touched the lives of many Alaskans and people “all over the world.”
2021-07-31 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden’s dedicated animal and veterinary care teams have begun to treat its youngest Asian elephant, female Kairavi (Kai), 2, for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), with antiviral medications. A low level of the EEHV1A virus was detected on Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Kai’s blood through routine testing. Despite this, Kai’s behavior and activity level are normal and she continues to show no clinical signs of illness, which are all positive sig...
2021-07-30 - Miami, United States.
In Battle for the Big Top, New York Times–bestselling author Les Standiford brings to life a remarkable era when three circus kings—James Bailey, P. T. Barnum, and John Ringling—all vied for control of the vastly profitable and influential American Circus. Ultimately, the rivalry of these three men resulted in the creation of an institution that would surpass all intentions and, for 147 years, hold a nation spellbound.
2021-07-28 - Pittsburgh, United States.
It’s a girl! An African elephant calf was born in the early morning hours of July 18th at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s International Conservation Center (ICC) in Somerset, PA. Both mother and baby are bonding and doing well. The healthy calf was born at just under three feet tall and weighed in at 218 pounds. This is the first calf for new mom, Sukuri, who had no issues during her pregnancy and is very attentive to her newborn. The pregnancy was a result of natural breeding with resid...
2021-06-23 - Atlanta, United States.
A 34-year-old African elephant at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia has just taught engineers a thing or two about how to move water. For one thing, she showed that her trunk doesn’t operate as a simple straw. To suck up water, she dilates that trunk — expands it. This cuts how many snorts she’ll need to pull in drinking water or the moisture she uses to hose herself down.
2021-06-18 - Tennessee, United States.
After a long legal battle, Tarra the elephant now belongs to Carol Buckley, the founder of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.
2021-05-17 - Houston, United States.
Just two months after baby elephant Winnie was born, there’s a new pachyderm in the herd! Sunday at 8:04 p.m., 37-year-old Asian elephant Tess gave birth to a 391-pound male, and the calf began to nurse within hours. The calf has been named Teddy by the team who have dedicated their lives to the care, well-being, and conservation of these incredible animals.
2021-04-14 - Toledo, United States.
The Toledo Zoo on Wednesday said 9-year-old Lucas the elephant has died from a rare viral infection. "After days of heroic care, we have lost our beloved elephant Lucas to a devastating viral disease known as Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus," zoo President and CEO Jeff Salier said in a video.
2021-04-01 - New York City, United States.
A Ringling Brothers Circus elephant walks out of a train car as young children watch in the Bronx railroad yard in New York City, April 1, 1963. The circus opens in Madison Square Garden April 3 for a 40-day engagement.
2021-03-21 - San Diego, United States.
Jose Manuel Navarrete brought his 2-year-old INSIDE a caged elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo and fumbled the kid trying to make a run for it. he had to pay a price for his stupid stunt. He was arrested by San Diego PD and booked on child endangerment charges.
2021-03-19 - Omaha, United States.
Claire will give birth to a roughly 200-pound bundle of joy in late January or February next year. Callee, the baby’s father, came to Omaha about two years ago from the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama. The news is good for the zoo’s seven-elephant herd, said Dennis Pate, CEO and executive director of the zoo. It will allow the animals to maintain their herd.
2021-03-19 - El Paso, United States.
Juno the elephant of the El Paso Zoo has died at 53 after fighting breast cancer, the city reported Friday morning. On April 16, 2002, the City Council voted 4-2 to bring another elephant to the El Paso Zoo. Juno, a then 8,000-pound 35-year-old female, arrived later that month, donated by the Center for Elephant Conservation of Polk City, Florida, which is affiliated with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
2021-03-17 - Ruskin, United States.
Barbara Woodcock’s career began in the 1930s as a child working with her parents at their small operation, Marlowe’s Mighty Hippodrome. Educated as a leopard trainer and aerialist, her career took a major U-turn after meeting William “Buckles” Woodcock, her future husband. From 1982 to 2000, they performed with the Big Apple Circus, adding their children to the shows.
2021-03-11 - Houston, United States.
The mother and her newborn, who has not yet been named, will undergo continued post-natal exams and spend several days bonding before they join the rest of the elephants. This is the first calf for Tupelo, whose pregnancy was the result of artificial insemination since she is related to all the male elephants at the zoo.
2021-03-05 - Fort Worth, United States.
A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Zoo said this week that the permit to import Emily and Nellie from Canada was withdrawn last year "following an internal decision" from management, and "those two elephants" would not be imported. According to the Fort Worth Zoo permit for application, the planned sale price was $2 million, plus a $200,000 bonus if Emily produced a calf, as long as it lived for more than 60 days.
2021-02-08 - Buffalo, United States.
Though many elephant relatives harbor extra copies of tumor-suppressor genes, the scientists found that elephant genomes possess some unique duplications that may contribute to tumor suppression through genes involved in DNA repair, resistance to oxidative stress and cellular growth, aging and death.
2021-01-15 - Natural Bridge, United States.
The fifth violation involved Asha, the zoo’s prized elephant, and regulations that require dangerous animals such as lions, tigers, bears and elephants to be under the control of an experienced handler during public exhibits. Visitors sometimes rode, photographed or fed Asha without her handler always being nearby, according to the USDA.
2021-01-03 - , United States.
The department of Zoology, the Machine Learning Research Group in collaboration with Dr. Olga Isupova, from the University of Bath and Dr. Tiejun Wang, professor at the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, gave themselves to the task of developing a software of iartificial intelligence, which is capable of detect and monitor the herds of African elephants, through satellite images with automated learning.
2020-12-26 - St Louis, United States.
One of the St. Louis Zoo's most beloved residents will be turning another year older Sunday. Raja the elephant will turn 28 and you're invited to celebrate him - virtually. The zoo will stream a video of Raja starting at 11 a.m. on their Facebook and YouTube pages and you can celebrate him from the comfort of your couch.
2020-12-26 - Cincinnati, United States.
The Cincinnati Zoo is one giant step closer to building a new home for the elephants. The Cincinnati Business Courier reports the state of Ohio is kicking in $1.5 million to help fund the new Elephant Trek. It's part of a $150-million expansion. Once complete, the elephants will have overhead feeding stations, ponds, a stream, mud wallows and five times the space to explore.
2020-12-11 - Syracuse, United States.
Batu, a five-year-old elephant at Syracuse’s Rosamond Gifford Zoo, died today, Batu, pronounced BAA-two, was 5 years old. His younger brother, baby Ajay, died on Tuesday — about a month before his second birthday. Both young elephants died of elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus, the biggest killer of young Asian elephants.
2020-12-10 - Syracuse, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is mourning the sudden death of its baby elephant, Ajay. The Syracuse zoo announced that its youngest elephant calf died Tuesday from Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), a lethal strain of herpes that largely affects young Asian elephants. Ajay would have turned 2 next month.
2020-12-07 - Anchorage, United States. David Reamer
Annabelle (1964-1997) was a prize, literally. Earlier that year, paper products manufacturer Crown Zellerbach ran a promotion for their Chiffon Tissue. Whichever grocery store sold the most toilet paper won their choice of $3,000 (about $24,500 in 2020 dollars) or a baby Indian elephant. Jack Snyder, owner of the two Anchorage S & F Foodland grocery stores, won and chose the elephant. From this sitcom-quality beginning, Anchorage soon gained not only a zoo but one of its most famous artists.
2020-11-30 - Bozeman, United States.
A newly published paper from the museums reveals that the Pacific mastodon, Mammut pacificus, described in 2019 from the Pleistocene of California and Idaho, was also found in eastern Montana between 639,000 and 160,000 years ago. Determining the new find were the Pacific mastodon fossils sent to the Western Science Museum located at 2345 Searl Parkway in Hemet for study by scientists there.
2020-11-29 - Oklahoma City, United States.
Asha, a 25-year-old Asian elephant residing at the Oklahoma City Zoo, is expecting a baby in February 2022. The zoo released a video of the calf's ultrasound, even pointing out the growing baby's head, trunk, and legs. If you're wondering why we have to wait over a year to meet Asha's calf, it's because Asian elephants have a gestation period of 645 days...or around 22 months.
2020-11-19 - Bronx, United States.
Happy the elephant was the center of attention in court Thursday when five state appellate judges debated whether the beloved Bronx Zoo mammal should be recognized as a person. However, the judges were skeptical in granting “personhood” to the 49-year-old female Asian elephant.
2020-11-13 - El Paso, United States.
One of the El Paso Zoo’s Asian elephants, Juno, will undergo her seventh cancer treatment this week. In October 2016, Juno was diagnosed with a malignant mass in her right mammary gland, commonly known as breast cancer. This is the only currently known case of breast cancer in an elephant; elephants are generally not diagnosed with cancer.
2020-11-03 - Tulsa, United States. Cory Smith, KTUL staff
48-year-old female Asian elephant Booper was relocated to Tulsa zoo from Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, a private animal facility that is discontinuing its elephant program.
2020-10-25 - Penobscot Bay, United States.
The passenger steamship Royal Tar, heading from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Portland, burns and sinks in Penobscot Bay while carrying a variety of circus animals, as well as 72 passengers and 21 crew members. Eventually, Mogul the elephant, standing on deck throughout the fire, crashes through the ship’s rail and falls to the water, taking some unfortunate passengers with him. Of all the fatalities, 31 people drown and one is burned to death.
2020-10-21 - Myakka, United States. Liz Ramos
When going to the Myakka Elephant Ranch, be sure not to have anything sweet in your pocket because Lou, an African savanna elephant, will be able to sniff it out. Public can visit Myakka City nonprofit and its three elephants starting in November.
2020-10-20 - Cedar Rapids, United States. Joe Coffey, The History Center
The Van Amburgh circus that came to Cedar Rapids was run by his longtime manager, Hyatt Frost. It boasted its three tents held “300 men and horses,” the “largest elephant in captivity” and a “double company of star performers.”
2020-10-19 - Colorado Springs, United States.
Two new elephants have joined the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo after more than a month of anticipation. Missy and Kimba Lou, both elderly female elephants from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kan., arrived Sunday night and are settling into their new home. Missy, 46, is the fifth-oldest living elephant in facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. She has well exceeded the average life expectancy of just under 38.5 years for female African elephants in captivity.
2020-10-16 - Miami, United States.
The 10-year-old pachyderm “volunteered” to have his injury checked out and was very cooperative during the procedure, doctors said. Ongard will undergo treatment as soon as his results are back. Zoo Miami gave the elephant a home back in 2018 from a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. He is the first Asian elephant born in Australia and the first to ever leave the country.
2020-10-12 - Houston, United States. Elephant Managers Association
For the first time, EMA will host our annual conference virtually, free to all members! EMA will host the EMA virtual conference the same week as previously scheduled via Zoom
2020-10-10 - New York, United States.
The Putnam County Historian’s Office, in partnership with Southeast Museum, recently created a virtual exhibit called Historic Putnam County & the Birth of the American Circus from the early days of Old Bet, an elephant rented out by Nathan Howes of Southeast, to the development of menageries, and Seth B. Howes’ addition of acrobats and clowns that eventually all performed in a ring under a big top.
2020-10-08 - Indianapolis, United States. Lawrence Andrea, Indianapolis Star
Zoo officials said they made "the difficult decision" to euthanize Sophi after her condition declined over the last few days. At 52 years old, Sophi "was among the oldest African elephants in human care in North America."
2020-10-06 - , United States.
Tanya, an African elephant who lived in Cameron Park Zoo, died at the age of 40 after “exhaustive efforts by the Zoo’s veterinarian and animal care staff,” the zoo announced Monday. A preliminary necropsy revealed signs of a yet-unidentified disease that affected the circulatory system, heart, lungs and brain.
2020-10-02 - San Antonio, United States. SBG
The streets of San Antonio would be lined with people as elephants, performers and clowns would parade down the street to let everybody know that the circus was in town. Ringling Brothers made its first visit to San Antonio back in 1894 when they still used the seven-pole big top tent.
2020-09-29 - Greenbrier, United States.
Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary announced on their Facebook the death of † Peggy, one of the oldest elephants in North America. Peggy peacefully passed away from natural causes.
2020-09-23 - Yulee, United States. Melissa Harris
White Oak Conservation has started construction on a new 2,500-acre home for Asian elephants. Most of these elephants previously traveled throughout the United States with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® until they were retired in 2016. Thirty elephants will be released in the northeastern Florida refuge, owned by philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, as soon as it is ready. The first arrivals are expected in 2021.
2020-09-22 - Houston, United States. Elephant Managers Association (EMA)
Join the herd! Walk, bike, swim, or hike in honor of elephants around the world on Elephant Appreciation Day, September 22, 2020. By signing up for this virtual 5K event, proceeds will go to the EMA to aid in our mission: enhancing the welfare and survival of the world's elephants through improving communication, husbandry, research, education, and conservation.
2020-09-21 - Rochester, United States.
Content and projects will be available on the zoo’s social media accounts, and donations will be collected to support African elephant conservation with the International Elephant Foundation. Zookeepers will compete against Genny C., Lilac and Moki in a watermelon eating contest and guests at the zoo are encouraged to wear grey over the weekend of Sept. 25.
2020-09-20 - Silver Spring, United States. Isabel Corvington
The film is based on the best selling novel by Katherine Applegate. The film portrays the captivity of circus animals as not black and white, but more nuanced, something that is not often seen in movies surrounding animal captivity. The animals aren’t always upset about performing in the circus, and have a mostly positive outlook on their lives. Additionally, there is no clear villain in the film. Even the somewhat greedy circus’ ringleader Mack (Brian Cranston), who holds the animals captiv...
2020-09-13 - Erin, United States. Dan Koehl
Mary was a 5 ton heavy female asian elephant hanged in Erwin, Tennessee, after killing the elephant groom Walter "Red" Eldridge, in Kingsport, in 12th of September 1916. Charlie and Addie Sparks decided that the elephant must be killed. One option was to take her to nearby Erwin, where there was large cranes at the railway station, where she could be killed by hanging. Still, today, Erwin is known as the town that hanged the elephant.
2020-09-10 - Westtown, N.Y., United States. The-Sanctuary-For-Animals Facebook
Fritha died 49 years old, September 5th, 2020 at Dawn Animal Agency. Fritha was born in Viet Nam in 1971. She was rescued, after being hit with napalm during the war when she was a month or two, and sent to The Sanctuary for animals in the USA.
2020-09-09 - Milwaukee, United States. CBS 58 Newsroom
The Milwaukee County Zoo showed its recently-expanded African elephant herd Wednesday, Sept. 9. A new elephant, "Belle," arrived last November. She's been getting used to her new neighbors, Brittany and Ruth.
2020-09-09 - Tucson, United States. Gloria Knott
For the first time since Tucson’s 5-month-old elephant Mapenzi was born, Reid Park Zoo has reopened to the public. Mapenzi — Penzi for short — was born to African elephant Semba on April 6. She joined sister Nandi, dad Mabu, aunt Lungile, and brother Sundzu.
2020-09-08 - Memphis, United States. NBC News
Zoo officials say Tyranza, or Ty as she was affectionately called, died Friday after a dramatic decline in her health. At 56, Tyranza was the oldest African elephant in North America. She set the record for longest-lived African elephant in north America as well.
2020-09-04 - Portland, United States. RACHEL FOBAR
Today, an estimated 5 to 6 percent of the nearly 400 elephants in U.S. zoos, sanctuaries, and circuses are infected with TB. In the mid-1990s, after the deaths of several high-profile captive elephants in the United States, veterinarians became aware that the animals had the human strain of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, more than 60 captive elephants—some of which have since died—have been confirmed with the disease
2020-09-03 - Washington, United States. Christina Larson, The Associated Press Staff
A new study shows that teenage males aren't anti-social after all. Younger male elephants were seen tagging along behind older males as they travel from place to place. It's more evidence in an emerging body of research that shows older males -- like their female counterparts -- play an important role in elephants' complex society.
2020-09-01 - New York, United States.
An international team of researchers has conducted a phylogeographic study of the extinct American mastodon (Mammut americanum) based on 35 complete mitochondrial genomes, finding that there were multiple lineages that existed within the species, including two distinct clades from eastern Beringia. In a study published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, the researchers further noted that their data showed these clades arose at different times, suggesting a pattern of repeated northern expansio...
2020-08-22 - St. Louis, United States. The St. Louis American
2020-08-17 - Washington, United States. Bobby Tanzilo
These images, shared with us by the Milwaukee County Zoo, include some really interesting shots, including one of Robert Raasch, first superintendent of West Park, and his family feeding the deer at the park, and of the elephant Countess Heine. She arrived in Milwaukee in 1907 and was named for Henry "Heine" Bulder, a Milwaukee alderman who raised the funds to purchase her and who can be seen seated atop her in one of the images. Another shot shows the Countess with zoo director Ed Bean.
2019-11-17 - Augusta, United States. Bill Kirby
In February, officials investigating the elephant deaths determined the animals had probably eaten vegetation sprayed with herbicides during the Atlanta stop, gotten sick and died.The circus train left Augusta for Charleston, S.C., and en route lost its 11th elephant, “Peggy,” who succumbed in a railcar. No one found evidence that large amounts of arsenic had been purchased along the circus route.
2018-11-13 - Westtown, N.Y., United States. WHAM/Associated Press
An elephant was spotted wandering in Westtown, which is located about four miles northeast of the New York-New Jersey border. The 46-year-old Asian elephant named Fritha had wandered away from the Sanctuary For Animals on William Lain Road. It had been burned by napalm during the Vietnam War and was living at the sanctuary.
2017-10-02 - Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, United States.
The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) announced the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium as their 38th Annual Conference Host during the 2016 EMA Conference closing ceremonies last October. Since then staff at the Columbus Zoo and the EMA Board of Directors have begun preliminary planning to produce a premier gathering of leaders among the elephant management community to be held October 2-6th.
2017-03-15 - San Diego, United States.
Jumbo the beloved African elephant who toured New Zealand with the travelling circus has died at San Diego Zoo. Former keeper and retired owner of the Whirling Bros circus Tony Ratcliffe said he received a call this morning from the zoo to tell him the news. "They contacted me this morning and told me she passed away in the early hours of the morning," he said. Its not yet clear why Jumbo, also known as Mila, died, and there will be an autopsy.
2017-03-05 - San Francisco, United States.
William Walter Power’s elephants originally appeared in the Walter L. Main Circus and transitioned into a vaudeville act in the early 1900s. The pachyderms, all female Asian elephants, worked the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City, and some sources claim the show was the first American elephant act on an indoor stage. “Lena,†“Jennie,†“Ada,†and “Lou†played baseball, bowled, and danced to whatever was in fashion, from the waltz to the Cha...
2017-03-05 - , United States.
Scientists on Wednesday said a first-of-its-kind study tracking the sleep behavior of wild elephants found the world´s largest land mammal sleeps two hours per day on average, and some days not at all, and does so mostly standing up. This represented the shortest-known sleep time of any mammal. Previous research showed captive elephants got four to six hours daily.
2017-03-04 - El Paso, United States.
The El Paso Zoo has chosen a treatment protocol for Juno, the 49-year-old Asian elephant diagnosed with a malignant mass in her right mammary gland in January. The zoo team discussed her case with elephant experts and veterinary specialists around the United States to determine the best course of action. Cancer is rare in elephants, and this type of tumor has never been previously reported.
2017-02-27 - , United States.
A new study of de-extinction — the potential to use genetic techniques to recreate lost animals and plants — finds that given limited conservation dollars, the benefits of bringing back one lost species would probably cost the extinction of more species that are currently on the brink. For example
2017-02-10 - Portland, United States.
Beloved Oregon Zoo elephant Packy was euthanized after a long battle with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, zoo officials announced Thursday. At nearly 55 years old, Packy was the oldest male Asian elephant in North America. We’d run out of options for treating him,†said the zoo´s lead veterinarian Dr. Tim Storms.
2017-02-01 - Winston, United States.
Alice, the oldest elephant at southern Oregon’s Wildlife Safari in Winston, died at age 44 this week. According to a post on the wildlife sanctuary’s Facebook page, Alice died from natural causes on Tuesday afternoon. Alice, the oldest African Elephant at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore., dies at 44-years-old. Alice, the oldest African Elephant at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore., dies at 44-years-old. Photo courtesy of Wildlife Safari At 44, s...
2017-01-31 - Michigan, United States.
Paleontologist Daniel Fisher hopes a mastodon skeleton kept at IPFW since the university´s early days may offer clues to solving a question that has baffled researchers for more than 200 years — what caused mastodons to die off at the end of the Ice Age? Fisher and a research assistant arrived Monday at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne to borrow the skeleton for study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where Fisher is a professor of paleontology and director ...
2017-01-28 - , United States. Magnuson RJ1, Linke LM2, Isaza R3, Salman MD2.
Ninety-nine clinical trunk wash samples obtained from 33 elephants were utilized to validate three molecular extraction techniques followed by a polymerase chain reaction for detection of M. tuberculosis. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were estimated compared to culture. Kappa coefficients were determined between molecular results and various culture categories and serological test results.
2017-01-28 - El Paso, United States.
The animal care staff at the El Paso Zoo have received a biopsy report indicating a mass in 49-year-old Asian elephant Juno’s right mammary gland appears malignant, meaning the cells in the mass are exhibiting cancerous characteristics. These results come after several months of close observation and multiple diagnostic procedures. Since receiving the biopsy results, the Zoo veterinarians have been actively researching safe treatment options and consulting with national elephant health ex...
2017-01-24 - Pennsylvania, United States. Lynch M1, McGrath K2, Raj K3, McLaren P4, Payne K5, McCoy R4, Giger U3.
A wild-caught, 41-yr-old male Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) without an apparent increased bleeding tendency was consistently found to have prolonged prothrombin times (PTs, mean = 55±35 s) compared to 17 other elephants (PT=10±2 s). This elephant´s partial thromboplastin times (PTT) fell within the normal range of the other elephants (12-30 s). A prolonged PT in the presence of a normal PTT suggests disruption of the extrinsic pathway via deficiency of coagulation factor VII (FV...
2017-01-24 - Atlanta, United States.
Scientists hope to one day develop a robotic gripper modelled on the dexterous trunks of elephants. The boneless appendage can easily pick up objects as small as a peanut or as heavy as a log. But how do elephants regulate the force they apply with their trunk? Researchers who worked with an elephant at Zoo Atlanta in the United States say the secret is the ability to form a joint in the trunk at a location of the animal’s choice.
2017-01-23 - Hugo, United States.
Opal, one of two elephants who lived at the Hope Elephants sanctuary founded by Jim Laurita in 2012, died in Hugo, Okla. on Jan. 10, following a serious injury to her front left leg. Opal and her elephant companion at the Hope facility, Rosie, had been living at the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo since Sept. 2014. Opal was 48 years old.
2017-01-17 - Salt Lake City, United States.
Josh Schiffman likes to think of the tumor-suppressing protein p53 as a superhero in a bright red cape. It swoops in whenever there is DNA damage and fixes or eliminates the problem in an attempt to keep the body healthy. Most mammals, from humans to elephants, have some p53. But elephants — which rarely get cancer — have many more copies, Schiffman said, and they´re stronger.
2017-01-03 - Cincinnati, United States.
Cecil Jackson Senior retired from the zoo in 1998, two months shy of being there for 50 years. People could find him and any animal at local parades and he also worked with Marge Schott and the Reds. He appeared on National Geographic twice for the zoo and was on hand to see the first gorilla born in captivity.His son, Cecil Junior, is now the head elephant trainer.
2017-01-03 - Macomb Township, United States.
In June 2011, the Ignasiak siblings, along with their cousin Megan Bonus made the find, although they weren’t sure at the exactly what they had come across.“We had no idea what we were doing, we didn’t plan on finding mastodon bones,†said Nicole Ignasiak, 19, who was 14 at the time of the pair’s discovery.
2016-12-15 - Portland, United States.
Packy’s human family at the Oregon Zoo is concerned for the health of the legendary Asian elephant, the oldest living of his kind in North America. The 54-year-old Packy has shown a recurrence of tuberculosis, and treatment has stopped working and it’s been suspended. Zoo officials are consulting with experts about what to do. Not to alarm anybody, but it’s an unknown situation.
2016-12-05 - Guwahati, United States.
Three wild elephants, including two pregnant females, were killed by a speeding train in Assam early on Monday, officials said. A herd of elephants were crossing the railway track at Hojai in Nagaon district when they were hit by the Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Vivek Express around 12:30am, nearly 137 kilometres from Guwahati. “One of the elephants was a 4-year-old female, while 2 others were pregnant. One of them aborted a 2-month-old fetus after the accident and we found a 4-month-old fetus in...
2016-12-01 - Los Angeles, United States.
Los Angeles was built in a place pockmarked with tar pits, and one of the sites on the extension of the Purple Line is at Wilshire and La Brea, not far from the famous La Brea Tar Pits, which daily yields new finds. Late in November, construction crews found another one, the Los Angeles Times reports. The first piece of an ancient animal that they discovered was a shattered tusk, three feet long, followed by a mastodon tooth. This week, a specialist who monitors the site for fossil finds located...
2016-11-29 - Columbus, United States.
Asian elephant sisters Rudy, 14, and Sunny, 8, are moving to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium from the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. Any offspring born of Rudy or Sunny would belong the zoo, and would be used as a part of the American Zoological Association´s Species Survival Plan.
2016-11-23 - SANTA BARBARA, United States.
A piece of the Channel Islands history is being uncovered at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The museum recently received a giant box brought in by Mammoth Movers. “We are not sure if it is a small full size Columbian mammoth, the species that got out to the island originally, or whether it is a large variety of the Pygmy mammoth,†said National Park Service archaeologist Don Morris.
2016-11-08 - Ann Arbor, United States.
Seth Colling, who teaches children with developmental disabilities at an outdoor learning center in Michigan, was walking along a creek looking for fish with his students in 2014 when they saw something odd sticking out from the water. “It looked really strange,†Mr. Colling said. “I said to my student, ‘Hey what is that?’â€
2016-11-03 - Gibsonton, United States.
Mystery still surrounds the death of a Florida man whose 3-year-old son answered his phone Monday afternoon after they failed to return from a ride on a nearby river. The body of 38-year-old William “Billy†Morris was found Tuesday morning along the south shoreline of the Alafia River in Gibsonton, Florida, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
2016-11-01 - Amherst, United States. University of Massachusetts at Amherst
In a paper this month in PLOS ONE, authors suggest that the two main census methods now in use may be undercounting elephants and that population estimates from both are biased low.
2016-10-31 - New Haven, United States. Gaughran SJ, Pless E, Stearns SC. Yale University
Elephants have significantly reduced their risk of cancer by duplicating an important gene called TP53.
2016-10-22 - BENGALURU, United States.
Veterinary doctors and experts on Friday treated and operated on Sidda - the injured and partially blind elephant who has been living in the backwaters of Manchanbele Dam, 30 km from Bengaluru, for 45 days. It was found that Sidda had sustained a fracture in his right forelimb.
2016-10-18 - Mayville, United States.
The most complete ice age mastodon skeleton found in Michigan since the 1940s was recovered this month from the state´s Thumb region by a University of Michigan-led team that included Tuscola County teachers who volunteered for the dig.More than 75 complete or nearly complete bones, accounting for 60-70 percent of the extinct mammal´s skeletal mass, were recovered during the four-day dig at the Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning near Mayville, in Michigan´s Thumb region. The di...
2016-10-03 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The Oklahoma City Zoo´s baby elephant Achara is recovering from a case of herpes. She took her final dose of medicine Saturday after about 10 days of elevated virus levels, which are now on the decline. Achara has the same strain of elephant herpes that killed her sister Malee last year, EEHV 1A. This is the second strain she has been exposed to, as she previously contracted EEHV 1B.
2016-10-02 - Johannesburg, United States.
Delegates at a UN wildlife conference have endorsed calls for the closure of all domestic ivory markets. The non-binding proposal was approved at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in South Africa. Conservationists hailed it as a significant step towards ending the current elephant poaching crisis.
2016-09-16 - Boston, United States. Ewen Callaway
Love Dalén, a palaeogeneticist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, says that the study will force a reshuffle of the elephant family tree. “Basically Loxodonta is not valid as a genus name,” he says. He thinks that taxonomists may need to come up with new names for the different species, to better represent the relationship between savannah, forest and straight-tusked elephants.
2016-08-23 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoo lost one of its elder statesmen Tuesday. Ranchipur, the zoo’s 50-year-old Asian elephant, was euthanized after his health suddenly took a turn for the worse. The elderly mammal, who was the fourth-oldest male elephant in the Western Hemisphere, had been under veterinary care for several years due to various geriatric ailments.
2016-06-09 - Buon Don, United States.
Over 20 diplomatic and business delegates enjoyed touring Dak Lak Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands on Wednesday afternoon, getting a close-up look at local culture.The delegates observed domesticated elephants, visited traditional stilt houses, crossed a wooden suspension bridge, and enjoyed traditional performances by local Rade ethnics.
2016-05-07 - Polk city, United States.
The circus held a final performance in Rhode Island, folded the elephant tent for good and shipped the performers to their permanent retirement in Central Florida, where they arrived Thursday. The era of the elephant in "the greatest show on earth" is over.
2016-04-30 - Atlanta, United States.
Shark-tooth diver Bill Eberlein experienced a first in his lifetime when he found a mastodon jaw embedded in the mud of a river bed. "I have been diving in coastal Georgia rivers for over 15 years for prehistoric shark teeth, but this is the first time I have discovered a mastodon jaw," Eberlein said.
2016-04-29 - New York, United States. Powell DM, Vitale C.
A study was conducted at the Bronx Zoo to determine whether providing elephants with access to an outdoor corral at night had any significant effects on behavior, use of space, and use of a sand corral. Activity budgets for three female Asian elephants were compared when the subjects were housed indoors overnight and when they were given access to an outdoor yard overnight. Observations were recorded via infrared video cameras between the hours of 1900 and 0700 during the months of July-Septembe...
2016-04-29 - Sequim, United States.
The partial remains of a Columbian mammoth skull discovered in the bluffs near Sequim Bay in early January are undergoing a stabilization process at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. Once stabilized, the fossil likely will be loaned to the Sequim Museum for display.
2016-04-23 - Providence, United States.
The Greatest Show on Earth is headed to Providence next week and it will be the last time elephants are ever a part of the show. For the first time in its 146-year history, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is saying goodbye to its legendary elephants.
2016-04-21 - Birmingham, United States.
The Birmingham Zoo’s beloved African elephant, Bulwagi, is set to receive potentially life-saving surgery in May to remove his infected tusk. The surgery is a very involved process requiring intense preparation, so the Birmingham Zoo is bringing in experts from the Colyer Institute and extra veterinary assistance from across the country to help with the multiple hour operation.
2016-04-20 - Miami, United States.
Zoo Miami welcomed two new African elephants to its exhibit Tuesday, who were brought to Miami from the Virginia Zoo. The elephants, Cita and Lisa, are moving to Zoo Miami as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums recommendation. Cita and Lisa will be presented to the public at Zoo Miami on May 20 following the quarantine period.
2016-01-29 - Polk City, United States.
On Monday morning, January 25th, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® lost its youngest elephant to the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Two-year old “Mikeâ€, who was born at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, passed away despite the heroic efforts of our veterinary and animal care staff to save him. While final necropsy results are still pending, preliminary results, as well as blood tests sent to Smithsonian Insti...
2016-01-25 - Kansas City, United States.
The Kansas City Zoo will acquire a bull African elephant sometime in October, making possible a future breeding program, zoo officials announced Wednesday. Tamani, who will soon be 10 years old, now resides at the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama with three other males, including his father. In Kansas City, Tamani will join six female African elephants who are past their reproductive years. But Kansas City Zoo officials hope to acquire younger females in the future.
2016-01-22 - Washington, United States.
Three U.S. zoos announced a new agreement Jan. 21, 2016, with Borneo-based wildlife organizations to protect the endangered Borneo pygmy elephant. The first partnership of its kind, the effort will provide support for solutions to the frequent and sometimes deadly conflicts between people and elephants on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.
2016-01-22 - Falls Church, United States.
Eighteen elephants from southern Africa soon will be on a 747 headed to the United States. A federal agency has officially approved the permits to import the elephants from Swaziland to zoos in Wichita, Dallas and Omaha. The Sedgwick County Zoo, the Dallas Zoo and Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium will each get six elephants under an agreement announced last fall.
2016-01-19 - Venice, United States.
A contributing columnist to the Times Leader felt it was appropriate to attack Ringling Bros. animal care. Not only did he spread animal rights propaganda about the circus, he also insulted the dedicated men and women with Ringling Bros. who spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, caring for our animals.
2016-01-13 - Venice, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus announced Monday that early in May, 11 female elephants that together have spent decades on the road for circuses will step off train cars and super-semi trucks for the last time into retirement in central Florida. Most will be returning to family and friends.
2016-01-10 - Huntsville, United States.
Elephants have a low incidence of cancer, and scientists are examining why elephants are cancer resistant but humans lack this capability. Ringling Bros. dedicated a performance at the Von Braun Center to Huntsville’s oncology unit. That evening raised awareness to national cancer research by Dr. Joshua Schiffman, who has connected DNA from Ringling Bros. elephants to DNA from patients with cancer.
2016-01-10 - Portland, United States.
Seven staff at the Oregon Zoo were infected with tuberculosis following an outbreak starting in 2013 among three bull elephants – Packy, his son Rama and Tusko. The seven people who developed a latent form of the disease without symptoms had close contact with the elephants, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An eighth person, a volunteer, also developed a mysterious case of tuberculosis.
2015-11-24 - Tupelo, United States. Jim Clark
On Nov. 2, 1922, Nellie Lockhart arrived in Tupelo via the railroad. She had just given a performance in Booneville and after the Tupelo show was to be sold. Nellie was an elephant, part of the Gollmar Brothers Circus.
2015-11-20 - New York, United States.
Prince William recently stated that he was initially drawn to Tusk by its innovative and holistic approach and its unwavering certainty that conservation is as much about people and community programmes as it is about wildlife protection. The imperative of balancing the conservation of wildlife and natural resources with the ever growing needs of the human race is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today."
2015-11-20 - Venice, United States.
Feld Entertainment was started by his father, Irvin; today, Kenneth, 66, runs it with his three daughters, Nicole, Alana and Juliette, all in their 30s. Earlier this year, they decided together that by 2018, Ringling Brothers would take its elephants off the road and retire them to the family’s vast preserve in Florida, where the Felds say the animals will breed and take part in research for everything from fertility to cancer.
2015-11-17 - Birmingham, United States.
When Birmingham Zoo veterinarians approached researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Engineering to help them stop a crack from growing in their oldest elephant’s tusk, the engineers saw an opportunity to use their expertise in materials science to improve the industry standard for the repair process.
2015-11-17 - Bay Lake, United States.
Tsavo has come back home. The 7-year-old elephant has arrived at Disney´s Animal Kingdom, where he was born, after spending two years at the National Elephant Center in Fellsmere. Tsavo and Thandi were two remaining elephants at the troubled center, which Disney helped found.
2015-11-16 - Tulsa, United States.
Zoo veterinarians and other wildlife experts agreed that the use of humane euthanasia was the best course of action to end the animal’s suffering. The zoo released necropsy results that showed Tova had a 10 pound bladder stone blocking the flow of urine from the bladder.
2015-11-16 - Seattle, United States.
Seattle´s Woodland Park Zoo has transferred ownership of its Asian elephants to zoos in Oklahoma City and St. Louis, where the animals are now living. Female elephants Bamboo and Chai were moved to Oklahoma City Zoo this past May when the zoo closed its elephant exhibit. Another female Asian elephant, Sri (SEE) has been living at the Saint Louis Zoo since 2002.
2015-11-16 - Birmingham, United States.
Bulwagi, the Birmingham Zoo’s 35-year-old African bull elephant, underwent what could be a breakthrough procedure this month to help correct a long-term crack in his tusk.Because of the tusk’s slow growth rate, according to the Zoo, the team will not be able to assess the procedure’s success for several months.
2015-11-15 - Tulsa, United States.
The Tulsa Zoo reports that one of the zoo´s newest Asian elephants, Tova, has died. Zoo staff says they observed initial signs that Tova was sick on November 9th. The zoo says colleagues from the Center for Elephant Conservation aided experts to ensure all treatments were explored.
2015-11-13 - Las Vegas, United States.
A fossil mammoth tusk and molar recently excavated by UNLV paleontologists soon will give us a better idea of what Southern Nevada was like thousands of years ago when animals such as mammoths and camels roamed the valley. The fossils were excavated from a site adjacent to U.S. Highway 95 west of Indian Springs, about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
2015-11-13 - Hohenwald, United States.
The Nashville Zoo has sent all three of the its female African elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary in Lewis County.After successful transports last week, Sukari, 31 years old, and Rosie, 44, have joined their zoo mate, Hadari, in the Sanctuary. Hadari, a 33-year-old African elephant, arrived at The Sanctuary from the Zoo in late September.
2015-11-13 - Oregon, United States.
A new book, written and photographed by two Wisconsin residents, aims to capture the unique relationship between humans and elephants at the Oregon Zoo. They discuss some of the most powerful photos in the book, and talk about some of the big questions surrounding elephants in captivity.
2015-11-12 - Omaha, United States.
The Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium filed a permit, along with its partner zoos in Wichita and Dallas, to bring a total of 18 elephants to the U.S. from Swaziland, six of which would head to Omaha. They filed the report in November 2014 and it opened for public comment earlier this month. Members of the public have until Nov. 23 to provide feedback to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before a decision is made on whether to allow the import.
2015-11-11 - Fellsmere, United States.
Three of five elephants that went to the center since it opened in 2013 have died. Two had come from Disney and one came from the Nashville Zoo. The Nashville Zoo was going to send three more elephants to the center but instead has placed them in a sanctuary.
2015-11-11 - Topeka, United States.
He made reference to a petition posted at change.org asking that Sunda and Tembo be removed to an elephant sanctuary. More than 150,500 people have signed the petition, which says the elephants — “after a lifetime of neglect†— should be able to spend the rest of their days happy and healthy.
Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker said he and Mayor Susan Adams were assured by center officials that it will remain open despite the pending relocation of male and female elephants who were part of a herd of four that arrived in 2013 from Disney´s Animal Kingdom. Two of those elephants died at the center in 2014.
2015-11-11 - Vienna, United States.
Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC) has partnered with pediatric oncologist Dr. Joshua Schiffman to tackle a new frontier of research and treatment. While humans have up to a 25 percent chance of getting cancer in their lifetime, elephants have a less than five percent chance.
2015-11-11 - Charlottesville, United States.
As a National Geographic filmmaker, Geoff Luck has experienced a wide swath of the microcosms that make up our world, covering diverse continents and cultures—but he also knows a hell of a lot about elephants. As part of TEDxCharlottesville’s November 13 event, Luck will give a talk on lessons he learned during his recent experience documenting a baby elephant in Botswana.
2015-11-10 - Nebraska , United States.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday for five performances in June of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey´s "Circus XTREME.""Circus XTREME" also features Bengal tigers, two-humped camels ridden by Mongolian women and the most popular members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey family: the magnificent Asian elephants.
2015-11-09 - Polk City, United States.
Established in 1995, the 200-acre center is home to the largest herd of Asian elephants in the Western Hemisphere, some 28 pachyderms aged 2 to 70. Twenty-six elephant calves have been born here, including Barack, the now 6-year-old male who was the first CEC elephant conceived using artificial insemination.
2015-11-09 - Hohenwald, United States.
All three of the Nashville Zoos African Elephants have been relocated to a Tennessee sanctuary. It was decided in September that Rosie, 44, and 33-year-old Hadari would be moved to The Elephant Sanctuary (TES) in Hohenwald. It was recently decided that 31-year-old Sukari would also join the other two elephants.
2015-11-07 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Jackson, an African elephant bull, is doing his best to replenish the world´s shrinking pachyderm population, according to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Jackson has mated with three females that could be pregnant
2015-11-06 - Pittsburg, United States.
Construction of an elephant maternal care center for the Pittsburgh zoo is in full swing — and just in time as three elephants could be pregnant. The new International Conservation Center facility, for the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, is located about 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, near Fairhope. The new center will be able to hold up to 15 elephants.
2015-11-03 - Richmond, United States.
Following the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the oversight and governing body of accredited zoos in the U.S., Lisa and Cita will relocate to Zoo Miami in 2016. Zoo Miami is home to two older female African elephants, Mable and Peggy.
2015-10-05 - Chelsea, United States.
A team of University of Michigan paleontologists and an excavator who donated his time worked all day at the site in Lima Township, roughly 10 miles southwest of Ann Arbor and several miles from the town of Chelsea. They were able to recover about 20 percent of the animal´s bones, including the skull and two tusks, numerous vertebrae and ribs, the pelvis and both shoulder blades.
2015-10-02 - Kansas City, United States. Chris Oberholtz
The Kansas City Zoo is preparing for a bull African elephant arrival sometime this month. Tamani, meaning "hope" in Swahilli, will turn 10 on Oct. 17 and will join six female African elephants that are past their reproductive years. But zoo officials hope to acquire younger females in the future. "While our females are not in their reproductive years, it is our intent to exhibit some in the future," said Randy Wisthoff, the zoo´s executive director. "Tamani provides us the o...
2015-10-02 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The Oklahoma City Zoo announced Thursday that 4-year-old female Asian elephant Malee died. Malee died about 4 a.m. Thursday. Zookeepers noticed that Malee was moving slower than usual Wednesday afternoon, although she was eating and doing other activities normally, according to a news release
2015-05-10 - SALT LAKE CITY, United States.
The oldest African Elephant in North America and long-time Zoo favorite, 55-year-old Dari, had a difficult time getting up Friday morning. Zoo staff found Dari lying on the ground unable to stand. With a stiff and arthritic hind leg, Dari could not get the leverage she needed to get up on her own.
2015-04-21 - CRAIG LEMOULT, United States.
Maybe you remember your school mascot as just a classmate in a bear outfit or some kind of pirate get-up at half time. But at Tufts University, the mascot is much more specific — and historic. Friday, the Tufts community gathered to unveil a huge new statue of their unique mascot Jumbo the elephant.
2015-04-17 - San Francisco, United States. Bill Shireman
Now that Ringling Brothers has committed to end its elephant shows, for example, it would be tempting for many advocates to go for the kill, and seek to shut down every circus, zoo, or aquarium where animals are put on display for entertainment. But here is the elephant in the room: continuing to demonize animal venues would be a sell-out of the movement´s higher mission. Circuses and zoos can be among the strongest and most effective allies for animal protection, if we mix pressure with p...
2015-04-15 - Portland, United States.
The Oregon Zoo’s beloved patriarch elephant, Packy, is celebrating another birthday: the six-ton senior just turned 53. Zoo officials say Packy is the oldest male of his species on the North American continent. The zoo’s elephant curator Bob Lee said Packy has slowed down in old age and the zoo is trying to give him the most comfortable life possible.
2015-04-12 - Santa Monica, United States.
The much-vaunted film of Richard Leakey that is set to be made by Angelina Jolie may not get off the ground. Jolie wants the movie to focus on the battle with the poachers that Leakey undertook during the 1980’s while the movie funders wanted the movie to be a romantic love story.
2015-04-11 - Seattle, United States.
The country’s two elephant sanctuaries have, indeed, taken in several animals with confirmed or suspected cases of the disease. When officials at Woodland Park Zoo decided to send Seattle’s aging females, Chai and Bamboo, to the Oklahoma City Zoo instead of a sanctuary, TB was one of the reasons cited. But TB is by no means exclusive to sanctuaries. Three males at Oregon Zoo in Portland were recently diagnosed in quick succession, and six staff members tested positive for exposure.
2015-04-11 - Hartford, United States.
Antique dealers, collectors, auctioneers and museum representatives gathered in Connecticut last month to oppose a bill seeking a total and uncompromising ban on the sale of ivory.The Raised Bill No. 6955 goes significantly further than last year´s federal ban on the commercial sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn or the state legislation recently adopted in New York and New Jersey.
2015-04-11 - Jacksonville, United States.
I have a question concerning an elephant that was born in the Jacksonville Zoo I believe in 1956, maybe 1957, and there was a contest to name the elephant. My class named it Debbie, and we got to go to the zoo for the day.
2015-04-11 - Jaldapara, United States.
A baby elephant, kept in Jhargram Mini Zoo for the past one-and-a-half-months, was today taken to the Jaldapara National Park by forest department, and named Durga. The little jumbo, of 4-5 feet height, was separated from its herd and rescued by wildlife personnel from Sankrail forest in West Midnapore district, Sahu said.
2015-04-11 - Perris, United States.
Animal rights extremists are trying to keep the elephants from coming to the Kern County Fair, where they´ve been loved for over a decade! Please voice your support for keeping elephant rides at the fair, before the decision 20th meeting. Write to the Kern County Fair Board of Directors: MOlcott@kerncountyfair.com, JBurton@kerncountyfair.com
2015-04-11 - Los Angeles, United States.
In a move closely related to the epochal March 5th announcement from Ringling Bros. that it plans to phase out the use of elephants in its traveling shows, California state Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) has introduced SB 716, a bill to prohibit the use of bullhooks on elephants in California.
2015-04-09 - Venice, United States.
Ringling Brothers circus is phasing out elephants in its shows, and all of its elephants are expected to retire by 2018. Tucked away in rural central Florida, the elephant sanctuary is where some Ringling Brothers elephants are already enjoying their retirement. "It´s so quiet," said Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. "You can walk around, and you don´t hear anything." It´s located on 200 acres of land, and it´s a place where some of the elephants from ...
2015-04-09 - TONAWANDA, United States.
SR Instruments, a leading manufacturer of customized, purpose-built scales for healthcare, veterinary, zoological, aquarium, theme and water park applications, today announced that it has successfully installed a new, large platform scale for the Buffalo Zoo’s elephant and rhino habitats.
2015-04-09 - Seattle, United States.
A federal judge on Tuesday criticized conditions for elephants at both the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and the Oklahoma City Zoo but refused to block the transfer of two aging Seattle elephants to Oklahoma. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said Tuesday he was "deeply troubled" that the Oklahoma zoo won´t be able to offer Chai and Bamboo "the climate nor nearly the amount of space that independent experts have said is necessary for their well-being," The Seattle Times reported (http://i...
2015-04-09 - Washington, United States.
Portions of the book are adapted from postings to the New York Times’s Scientist at Work blog that the author wrote while also publishing more technical presentations of her findings in Ethology Ecology & Evolution, American Zoologist and other peer-reviewed journals. When not doing fieldwork in Namibia, O’Connell is an instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
2015-04-09 - Polk City, United States.
The Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation sits on 200 acres of land in rural central Florida, halfway between Orlando and Sarasota, off a nondescript country road. An armed security guard greets you at the entrance. Twenty-nine elephants currently live here, and 13 more will join the group by 2018, after Ringling Bros. decided this year to stop using elephants in its traveling circus.
2015-04-09 - Seattle, United States. JENNIFER WING
Woodland Park Zoo is actively preparing its two Asian Elephants, Chai and Bamboo, to make the journey to Oklahoma City Zoo. Nancy Hawkes, the zoo’s Curator, says it involves months of planning. “Anything to do with elephants takes time.†Two custom made crates were built for Chai and Bamboo. In February, one was put in their yard so they could get use to it. Keepers stood nearby with watermelons and honeydews to lure them in.
2015-04-09 - Indianapolis, United States.
Video of a reunion between a mother elephant and her baby is making its way around the Internet and prompting thousands of viewers to say, “awwwwwww.†MeBai and her mother Mae Yui had been separated for three years. A videographer was there when the mother-daughter pair were reunited on a sunny day. It’s plain to see the moment is a happy one. MeBai and Mae Yui appear to be dancing around, ears flapping in and out, and each donning smiles so big they’re infectious.
2015-03-31 - Portland, United States. Felix Balthasar
On Monday, the Oregon Zoo euthanized a 31-year-old elephant named Rama. The zoo officials took this hard decision as Rama was in extreme pain due to an old leg injury. Rama was treated with physical therapy techniques and anti-inflammatory medications. But the zoo officials said that none of them were proving effective to lessen the pain. In fact, no new modifications were able to improve Rama´s quality of life.
2014-11-06 - San Lorenzo, United States.
An Argentine man digging a well in his yard struck fossils believed to be the bones of a 10,000-year-old mastodon, an extinct mammal. San Lorenzo is located in the Pampas lowlands where other mastodons—part of the elephant family—have been discovered, several of which are on display at the history museum.
2014-09-13 - Azle, United States.
Research proposals to conduct policy or management related projects (e.g. those directly mitigating human-elephant conflict or combating poaching) will not be considered. Additionally, research on ex situ elephants will not be considered unless it is a minor portion of a longer-term, in situ study. Studies involving a laboratory component (e.g., genetic or endocrine) are welcomed, but the emphasis should be on the field work.
2014-09-11 - Hope, United States.
The Hope Elephants board of directors announced late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 10, that Rosie and Opal will return to Oklahoma to the Endangered Ark Foundation, where they had lived before coming to Maine two years ago. The board has also established a Jim Laurita Fund. “The move back there is not necessarily a permanent move,” said Hope Elephants spokesman Andrew Stewart, this evening. “In the interim, we will make plans for the future and how best to move forward.”
2014-09-10 - , United States. Wilkie, Davison, Kerr, Stidworthy, Redrobe, Steinbach, Dastjerdi, Denk
Here, we report the pathological characteristics of the first fatality linked to EEHV5 infection, and describe the complete viral DNA sequence. Gross post-mortem and histological findings were indistinguishable from lethal cases previously attributed to other EEHV genotypes, and the presence of characteristic herpesviral inclusions in capillary endothelial cells at several sites was consistent with the diagnosis of acute EEHV infection.
2014-09-10 - Hope, United States.
Veterinarian Dr. Jim Laurita, 56, was found dead in the barn of Hope Elephants on Tuesday morning, the Portland Press Herald reports. Police first believed he had fallen and hit his head on a cement floor, but an afternoon autopsy determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation and fractures from chest compressions.
2014-06-16 - Greenville, United States.
Joni (Joy), a beloved 44-year-old African elephant at the Greenville Zoo, died while en route to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo which was to have been her new home, zoo officials said Sunday. She was being transported because both zoos believed she would receive better geriatric care and have more opportunities for socialization at her new home in Colorado Springs.
2014-05-06 - Ann Arbor, United States.
More than two decades ago, University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher and some of his students began the laborious task of digitally scanning the bones of mastodons, mammoths and other prehistoric creatures so the images could be displayed on computers.
2014-05-04 - Punta Gorda, United States. Barbara J. Bonsignore
Jacob reminisces about his earlier life as chief medical person for all of the animals at the Benzini Bros. Circus – “The Greatest Show on Earth.” He dropped out of vet school before his final exam so was technically a vet student. The author gives us a varied tapestry of life behind the scenes at “The Big Top” – the greed, poverty, violence, tawdriness, friendship and caring between the circus employees.
2014-05-04 - Washington, United States.
In June, the United States begins strict enforcement of a ban on ivory from the tusks of African and Asian elephants. But the ban is forcing musicians to make a choice, perform without their favorite instruments, or give up work that takes them across the U.S. border.
2014-05-04 - Edmonton, United States.
A man who fought vigorously against animal rights activists who wanted to see Lucy the Elephant moved to an animal sanctuary, has died. Doctor Milton Ness, a chief veterinarian at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, passed away last week. In 2012, Ness was honoured by the Alberta Veterinarian Medical Association for his exceptional communication with Edmonton residents.
2014-05-03 - Oakland, United States.
On Saturday, May 3, 2014, at 11:00am, Dr. Joel Parrott, President & CEO of Oakland Zoo, will accept the dedication of a bronze elephant statue from the Snow family, in memory of Sidney A. Snow, who personally procured the land for Oakland Zoo and founded the Alameda County Zoological Society, now the East Bay Zoological Society. Snow served as Director of Oakland Zoo from 1936 until his death in 1959.
2014-05-01 - Los Angeles, United States.
The bullhook ban will go into effect at the beginning of 2017 a delay meant to give circuses time to change how they handle elephants or remove them from their shows completely. "We´re not going to come to L.A. without our elephants," said Stephen Payne, vice president of corporate communications for Feld Entertainment, the parent company for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
2014-02-27 - Seattle, United States.
The fossilized mammoth tusk discovered at a Seattle construction site will reveal its age, gender and life story, but probably not for another year, because that´s how long it will take scientists to dry out the water-logged and fragile tusk, officials at the Burke Museum said Wednesday.
2014-02-22 - Washington, United States.
A decade-long legal battle is finally coming to a close after the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) agreed to pay the owners of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million for alleging the circus abused their elephants. “Animal activists have been attacking our family, our company, and our employees for decades because they oppose animals in circuses,” Kenneth Feld, chairman and chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment, said in a stateme...
2014-02-21 - New York, United States.
Our animals are inspected by animal welfare officials and routinely inspected and are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Despite this heavy regulatory scrutiny, many animal-rights groups criticize our animal care and the use of approved and widely accepted elephant tools, like the guide (often referred to by animal extremists as a “bullhook”). Groups like the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Elephant Managers Association and other professional organizations recognize ...
2014-02-11 - San Diego, United States.
Animal care staff has been introducing Mila to one the female elephants of the herd -- the most dominant of the group -- an Asian elephant named Mary. They say the interactions have been largely positive, with Mila and Mary reaching through the barriers with their trunks to get to know each other. The 41-year-old elephant arrived in San Diego from a zoo in New Zealand back in November.
2014-02-07 - Tupelo, United States.
A circus elephant is coming back to Mississippi, nearly a year after being injured in a drive-by shooting. Carol, a 39-year-old Asian elephant, spent several weeks recovering at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus farm in Springfield, Mo., after the April 9, 2013, shooting outside BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Miss. The animal was shot in the shoulder. No arrests have been made but the case remains open.
2014-02-05 - Panama City, United States.
Elephant Walk, a USDA-licensed elephant exhibitor, used the STAT-PAK kit to test one of its elephants, Topsy. After the test showed a "reactive" result, Elephant Walk asked for clarification and a retest, claiming that the test was often unreliable. When Elephant Walk later retested Topsy, it allegedly got a negative result. It claimed that the inaccurate "reactive" result stopped it from exhibiting Topsy in circuses and other events because animal rights groups and certain states had interprete...
2014-02-04 - New York, United States.
After receiving information that African elephants are headed for extinction and elephant ivory poaching is funding terrorism, Assemblyman Bob Sweeney wrote a letter imploring the Department of Conservation to prohibit the sale of ivory in New York.
2014-02-04 - Houston, United States.
Zookeepers and volunteers are now watching around the clock for any signs of labor in Shanti. “She might swap her tail, lift her legs, maybe she can’t get as comfortable at night. Oftentimes too, you’ll see her lift her tail like she’s straining a little bit.” Like elephants in the wild, Shanti will give birth standing up, and gravity will help the calf drop out of her. The calf might weigh 350 pounds or more.
2014-02-02 - Greenville, United States.
Ladybird, one of the Greenville Zoo´s African elephants, is undergoing treatment and close observation for a medical condition, zoo officials said. Officials said Ladybird experienced an episode of abdominal pain, which can be fairly common with a weather change. As a result, she has been receiving supportive care, including oral fluids and high fiber foods. She may also be taken off exhibit, officials said, while she recovers.
2014-02-02 - , United States.
A German conservation official has shot dead an elephant in Botswana. Udo Wedekind, whose job includes environmental protection and care of endangered species, fired at the animal during a hunting trip in the African country last year. Today, Thueringen´s regional government environment minister, Juergen Reinholz, said: ´It is not of interest what civil servants do in their free time as long as they follow the law and don´t break the rules.´
2014-01-31 - Bethesda, United States. Stanton JJ, Nofs SA, Zachariah A, Kalaivannan N, Ling PD.
We used previously validated EEHV-specific quantitative real-time PCR assays to detect subclinical EEHV infection in three regionally distinct Asian elephant cohorts, totaling 46 in situ elephants in South India, during October and November 2011. Using DNA prepared from trunk washes, we detected EEHV1, EEHV3/4, and EEHV5 at frequencies of 7, 9, and 20% respectively. None of the trunk washes was positive for EEHV2 or 6. At least one EEHV species was detectable in 35% (16/46) of the samples that w...
2014-01-30 - Washington, United States.
The United Nations Security Council took a critical step today in tackling elephant poaching and illicit ivory trade by addressing the link between instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and wildlife trafficking. In renewing the DRC sanctions regime, the resolution targets individuals and entities illegally supporting armed groups through the illicit trade of natural resources, including wildlife and wildlife products, such as elephant ivory.
2014-01-26 - Tehama, United States.
In the rural, rolling hills of Northern California, plans are under way for a 4,900-acre preserve that would keep African elephants healthy, in shape and breeding. Part fat farm and part laboratory, the elephant preserve would start with three to five elephants and let them grow into a herd of 12 to 15 over two decades. Scientists also would conduct research into the "near-wild" herd, and school groups would come to learn about African elephants, considered to be a threatened species because of ...
2014-01-17 - , United States.
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden celebrated the birth of its first elephant calf of 2014 with the arrival of a playful male Jan. 6. Park Director Kampol Tansajja announced that 14-year-old cow Sarai had given birth to her first calf, which appeared healthy and was feeding normally. It was sired by 16-year-old bull Ning Nong.
2014-01-17 - Topeka, United States.
So far, the zoo only has a price estimate for building out the elephant exhibit. In 2012, Wiley said, that cost was estimated at $9.8 million, which would increase the exhibit from three-quarters of an acre and two elephants to 3 acres and six to eight elephants. Expanding the elephant exhibit would be the zoo’s first priority, should the plan be set into motion, he said.
2014-01-16 - Audubon, United States.
How do you slice a birthday cake for elephants? You don´t - the elephant honoree gets an entire cake. At least, that´s what the Audubon Zoo did Thursday for Panya´s 50th birthday. The Asian elephant got one complete chocolate cake. The zoo´s other Asian elephant, 41-year-old Jean, got another.
2014-01-16 - Oquawka, United States.
This is a bittersweet tale about a 6,500-pound circus elephant, her final resting place, and her legacy. It is a story in which some see a grain of humor, perhaps something we all need to find when tragedy strikes under unusual circumstances and is recalled years later.
2013-12-29 - Indianapolis, United States.
Indiana´s own prehistoric beasts are the focus of the museum´s new exhibition. "Ice Age Giants" re-creates the process of uncovering the fossilized bones of mammoths and mastodons, identifying them, studying them and finally reassembling the skeletons to tower once again.
2013-12-20 - Johannesburg, United States.
A Chinese woman was sentenced to a R50 000 fine or three years´ imprisonment by the Kempton Park Regional Court on Wednesday for trying to smuggling ivory through South Africa, the SA Revenue Service said. “She attempted to smuggle 12.7kg ivory, two lion claws and 10 Pangolin scales to Hong Kong,” spokesman Adrian Lackay said in a statement.
2013-12-19 - Oakland, United States.
Joel Parrott, the Oakland Zoo CEO who earlier this month proposed a plan to develop an elephant reserve in Tehama County, assured county supervisors Tuesday that the reserve would not cost the county money, and water concerns would not be a prohibitive factor.
2013-12-16 - Portland, United States.
An online poll Friday asking, "Should the Oregon Zoo keep its elephants?" drew 5,332 responses. The results: Yes: 3,066 votes or 57.5 percent, No: 2,266 votes or 42.5 percent. The poll was prompted by news Friday morning that comedian-turned-animal-activist had emailed the Oregon Zoo and Metro, which operates the zoo. Her goal: persuade the zoo to send Packy, the zoo´s beloved, 51-year-old male Asian elephant to a sanctuary.
2013-12-16 - Salt Lake City, United States.
Eric Peterson works with a pair the zoo´s African Elephants. With the only spectators consisting of a couple of other keepers and a wandering rooster, Peterson interacts with the elephants in an extraordinary manner.Peterson, who commutes from American Fork each day, works as the zoo´s elephant manager.
2013-12-09 - Tehama, United States.
Representatives from the Oakland Zoo and Ndovo Foundation shared their vision Thursday at a Tehama County Planning Commission meeting of a 4,900-acre facility that at peak capacity would house around 50 African elephants.
2013-12-06 - New York, United States.
In Zoo Tycoon you can hose down a baby elephant and pull faces at a chimpanzee. The premise is fairly simple: you must build a popular, profitable zoo and care for all of the animals and visitors inside your gates. You can buy the PC game at the link to the right >>>
2013-12-04 - New York, United States.
So the team removed the sperm to examine the seminal plasma, the nutritive brew that helps fuel and protect sperm in the female reproductive tract. Good samples had higher volumes of plasma. They also found that a particular protein showed up in almost all of the good samples and almost none of the bad ones.
2013-12-02 - Ponte Vedra, United States.
In a traditional Hindu marriage ceremony, the groom travels from his city to the bride�s in a procession called a Baraat, entourage in tow, often riding a mare. �We were lucky enough to find an elephant,� Puja Roy said. It was Deepak Dugar�s first time aboard one. Tiny arrived late Saturday morning, said Cyndi Benzel, the wedding planner. She has used Tiny before, she said. Tiny is no newcomer to Hindu weddings.
2013-12-01 - Miami, United States.
On Wednesday morning Maude, a 41-year old Asian elephant at the popular South Miami-Dade attraction, died while receiving treatment for a severe digestive impaction. Essentially, Maude appears to have died of constipation.During a treatment session at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Maude collapsed and passed away in less than a minute
2013-11-27 - Miami, United States.
Zoo officials also announced that Asian elephant “Maude,†is gravely ill. “She has displayed symptoms of having a severe impaction in her digestive tract which has resulted in no bowel movements and an almost total loss of appetite,†said Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill in a press release. Maude arrived at Zoo Miami from the Central Florida Zoo in 2011. The elephant is believed to be age 40 and suffers from arthritis.
2013-11-25 - Springfield, United States.
Federal inspectors have found no issues with the care of an elephant that killed a zookeeper last month in Springfield. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates zoos under the Animal Welfare Act, released a report last week that found “no non-compliant items.”
2013-11-25 - San Diego, United States.
Read the bullshit: >> "A coroner´s investigation later branded the death as the result of an accident, not an attack. A witness told reporters that Mila seemed to be trying to protect, not harm, Schofield." The coroner and the witness are they elephant experts? Not really...
2013-11-16 - San Diego, United States.
The 41-year-old elephant, named Mila, arrived in San Diego on Thursday, through collaboration with the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust. Mila has been living at the Franklin Zoo since 2009, where she has been cared for and trained under a system of positive reinforcement. San Diego Zoo Global was a pioneer in development of this training system for managing elephants.
2013-11-15 - Los Angeles, United States.
Ivory stockpiles were destroyed in Kenya in 2011, Gabon in 2012 and the Philippines in 2013. But those events haven´t deterred poaching and the illegal trade of ivory, and raw ivory prices in China have doubled since 2011, said Godfrey Harris, a representative of the Political Action Network of the International Ivory Society.
2013-11-14 - Los Angeles, United States. Dr Daniel Stiles, IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group
Don´t give an incentive to criminals to kill more elephants. They see this as ivory getting scarcer, prices and demand going up. In response, USFWS will crush seized ivory, almost certainly sending a message to criminals that they had better step up their killing of elephants before all the ivory is gone.
2013-11-14 - Washington, United States.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday offered a $1 million reward to help smash a Laos-based poaching network slaughtering endangered elephants and rhinos for their precious horns and tusks. The reward, the first of its kind by the State Department, targeted the Xaysavang network which operates from Laos as far afield as South Africa, Mozambique, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China.
2013-11-14 - Denver, United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is about to destroy 6 tons of confiscated ivory being held in Denver — ostensibly to help the campaign against the illegal killing of elephants.But does the destruction of stockpiles really help the cause?
2013-11-13 - Denver, United States.
U.S. wildlife officials in Denver plan to destroy 6 tons of ivory to send a message against elephant poaching that has reached record levels. The ivory tusks, statues and jewelry that will be destroyed Thursday were confiscated by federal agents around the country.
2013-11-13 - Deep River, United States. Paula Kahumbu
Indeed, Deep River owes a steep debt to the African elephant. Nestled in the lower Connecticut River Valley, it and the nearby village of Ivoryton in Essex at one time processed up to 90 percent of the ivory that was imported into the United States. According to the Deep River Historical Society, it began with Phineas Pratt’s invention of the circular saw. This led to the area’s dominance in the production of piano keys—made of ivory.
2013-11-13 - Medford, United States.
Jumbo took the United States and Canada by storm as the headline act in Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth. But in the fall of 1885, tragedy struck in the shape of a passing freight train. The elephant’s untimely death should have spelled the end of his career. Instead, the act of stuffing Jumbo transformed him into the stuff of legend
2013-11-11 - Erindi Private Game Reserve, United States.
This female hippo was flipped several feet into the air as she stood her ground against an aggressive elephant bull at the Erindi Private Game Reserve in Namibia.The elephant was grazing alongside a group of hippos, but took exception when the mother hippo ventured slightly too close. Amazingly, the mother emerged relatively unscathed from the attack, apparently suffering nothing worse than a little gash on her side - and a rather bruised ego.
2013-11-04 - Ellenton, United States. Michael Pollick
Ringling Bros. circus operator Feld Entertainment Inc. has asked a federal judge to make three animal rights groups pay $25.4 million in legal fees incurred by Feld during the activists´ unsuccessful lawsuit challenging Ringling´s use of elephants in circus acts. One of the original four complainants, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, already paid Feld $9.3 million in December.
2013-10-31 - Los Angeles, United States.
Cheered on by animal-welfare activists, City Council members voted unanimously last week to make Los Angeles the only place in the United States to ban the use by elephant trainers of the implements known as bullhooks. Is this a case of animal-welfare activists going too far and pressuring elected officials to take a politically correct stand that really isn’t necessary?
2013-10-31 - Houston, United States.
Houston Zoo is making preparations for 23-year-old Asian elephant Shanti to give birth in January 2014. Shanti gets regular ultrasounds and zookeepers have been monitoring her weight and her diet and leading the expectant mother through a regular exercise program. The night watch pregnancy monitoring will begin in late November and will continue until the calf´s birth.
2013-10-28 - Hohenwald, United States.
The Lead Caregiver position is a working, front-line supervisory position. This position implements policies and procedures established by The Elephant Sanctuary with direction from the Director of Husbandry. Provides and supervises daily care of elephants utilizing positive reinforcement to manage elephant behaviors.
2013-10-27 - Los Angeles, United States.
Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey, argues they are an accepted tool and that the new law is misguided. “There are already laws in place — federal, state and local ordinances – that prohibit animal cruelty," said Payne. "So this is basically an animal rights driven bill to kick out the circus.” Payne says his company is waiting to see the exact wording of the new law, which will be phased in over three years.
2013-10-21 - Williston, United States.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Karen Parker on Monday said Diane Bedard was injured Aug. 26 by an elephant at Two Tails Ranch at 18655 NE 81st St. Bedard has been in the hospital since Aug. 26 with “life-threatening” injuries, Parker said. According to Parker, Bedard was at the house of the owner, Patricia Zerbini, taking pictures of the elephant.
2013-10-20 - Walcott, United States.
Three Toronto Zoo elephants en route to their new home in California have passed Chicago and Nebraska and are now travelling through Wyoming. Their convoy crossed the U.S. border early Friday after leaving the Toronto Zoo before 11 p.m. ET on Thursday. The pachyderm parade had a minor incident overnight in Walcott, Iowa, at what´s billed as The World´s Largest Truck Stop.
2013-10-17 - Kingman, United States.
Fritz and his wife Phyllis came to Toronto to investigate the project. Even though the money was there; and even though he had tons of experience and wasn�t afraid of facing down animal-rights people, Fritz said no. �It�s not the people of Toronto; it�s not the zoo; it�s the way the whole thing came together. �I took a look at that Toronto project and said �no thanks.� He said he and Phyllis �loved the city; but he couldn´t tolerate the politi...
2013-10-17 - Springfield, United States.
The morning of the incident, Patience hesitated in the chute, and elephant manager John Phillip Bradford, 62, was coaxing her forward. Bradford leaned into the chute, reaching for her with a guide. The animal suddenly lunged forward, knocking Bradford down, into the chute. The animal then crushed Bradford against the floor, killing him instantly.
2013-10-06 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo welcomes you to Dallas for the 34th annual conference of the Elephant Managers Association. Please submit abstracts by July 15 to both Karen Gibson and Harry Peachey. Registration is $175 until August 15; $200 August 16 and later. Thursday, Oct. 10: Optional post-conference trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo.
2013-10-05 - Niabi, United States.
A trailer was inside the elephant enclosure at Niabi Zoo on Friday, October 4, 2013. Zoo Director Marc Heinzman said Asian elephants Babe and Sophie will eventually travel in the trailer, and that it was placed in the enclosure so the elephants could get accustomed to being inside of the trailer before they are moved. Heinzman did not give an exact timeline for the move. He previously confirmed the elephants would be gone from Niabi Zoo by the 2014 season.
2013-10-05 - Little Rock, United States.
The elephant, named Jewell, was euthanized after staff members discovered her lying on her side, unable to get up. Necropsy results showed that tissue from the elephant tested positive for tuberculosis, though the official cause of death will be listed as euthanasia due to arthritis and severe musculoskeletal problems, the zoo said.
2013-10-03 - Albuquerque, United States.
The newest addition is the third elephant born in New Mexico. Rozie was the first elephant born at the ABQ BioPark Zoo back in 1992. She gave birth to Daizy, her first calf, in 2009. The multi-generation herd includes Rozie, her mother Alice, daughter Daizy and brand new calf. An unrelated female, Irene, is also part of the herd and has been a good auntie. Samson and Albert, two young males, have formed a bachelor herd, and can be seen in yards adjacent to the females.
2013-10-02 - New Delhi, United States.
In a first experiment of this kind, the researchers recorded growls of tigers and leopards when they came upon elephants in the vicinity. There have been sporadic instances of use of predator sound playback to deter elephants or other animals, but in the long range they fail because the animals realize that it is a hoax. However, it is better to try out these methods than fight a costly and unjust war!
2013-09-20 - Tampa, United States.
Spike, the 32-year-old Asian elephant, arrived safely to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla. Friday that will be his new home after a safe 2 1/2 day, 4,500 km journey from the Calgary Zoo. The zoo’s three female elephants are scheduled to depart for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. early next year.
2013-09-15 - SACRAMENTO, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opens a four-day run in Sacramento Friday with animal handlers defending their treatment of the elephants. "Our animals receive the highest level of care," said assistant animal superintendent Ray Henning.
2013-09-14 - Houston, United States.
A $459,147 grant will support a research project focusing on elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). The research resulted from a collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston Zoo and now also includes Johns Hopkins University and the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park.
2013-09-14 - Wichita, United States.
The Sedgwick County Zoo will get about $31 million from the county over the next five years, giving zoo supporters a boost in efforts to expand the elephant exhibit. The zoo has two elephants and needs at least one more to meet new requirements for accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
2013-09-11 - Davis, United States. Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, , Davis, CA, USA.
Elephants retreated silently to tiger-growl playbacks, whereas they responded with aggressive vocalizations, such as trumpets and grunts, to leopard-growl playbacks. Elephants also lingered in the area and displayed alert or investigative behaviours in response to leopard growls when compared with tiger growls. We anticipate that the methods outlined here will promote further study of elephant antipredator behaviour in a naturalistic context, with applications for conservation efforts as well.
2013-09-10 - Washington, United States.
U.S. wildlife authorities say they will destroy six metric tons of illegal elephant ivory seized by customs agents. Whole tusks, carvings and other ivory material held in storage in the western state of Colorado will be crushed next month.
2013-09-09 - Little Rock, United States.
The Little Rock Zoo is sad to report the death of Jewell, a 62-year-old elephant living at the Zoo since 2011. The Zoo will be closed today as staff remove the elephant from the exhibit. Large equipment is in use and most pedestrian paths are blocked inside the Zoo.
2013-09-09 - Bakersfield, United States.
The protests have become a circus tradition in their own right. Animal rights activists show up outside circus venues to condemn what they consider to be inhumane treatment of exotic animals by traveling circuses. The circus industry sees these protests as well-meaning but wrongheaded.
2013-09-09 - Spokane, United States.
The Ringleader of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus says Carol the Elephant has made a full recovery and will make her first appearance Friday night, after being shot in Tupelo back in April.The circus is in Spokane, Washington this weekend.
2013-09-08 - Monroe, United States.
During Shirley’s long sojourn in Monroe, Solomon James was her principal keeper and caregiver. Both James and Shirley are featured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary, “The Urban Elephant,” made for National Geographic and PBS.
2013-09-08 - Portland, United States.
Construction workers digging the new elephant habitat at the Oregon Zoo discovered a human skull last month. Since then, archaeologists have found the remains of nine people buried within a six-acre area. The remains are believed to be people who lived at the Hillside Farm, a 160-acre poor farm owned and operated by Multnomah County. It was a place for the poor to get medical care, and often live out their last days.
2013-09-02 - , United States.
Thai police have arrested a Vietnamese couple for allegedly smuggling 105 kilograms of African elephant ivory from Angola to Cambodia through Thailand. Pham Ngoc Tuan and his wife Pham Thi Kim Chi were nabbed Thursday at Suvarnabhumi Airport after customs officials detected pieces from 23 African elephant tusks in their four suitcases, Bangkok Post reported Friday.
2013-09-01 - , United States.
A mechanical elephant built in the 1950s at an engineering works in a Lancashire village has returned home. Organisers said 250 people turned out for the official homecoming of Rajah to the former Luneside Engineering works in Halton, near Lancaster.
2013-08-31 - Pittsburgh, United States.
This week the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium hosted the International Elephant & Rhino Symposium, including a session Thursday at the International Conservation Center in Glen Savage. About 150 researchers, scientists and keepers from Africa, Europe and Asia attended the workshops. The last time the Pittsburgh Zoo hosted the symposium was in 1999. The International Conservation Center in Somerset County is believed to be the only one of it’s kind in the world. It’s home to five elephants an...
2013-08-25 - , United States.
Ronald B. Tobias has written a comprehensive history of the elephant in America. As tragic as it is comic, this enthralling chronicle traces this animal´s indelible footprint on American culture.
2013-08-24 - New York, United States.
Qiang Wang, a.k.a. Jeffrey Wang, 34, a New York antiques dealer, pled guilty on August 7 in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to smuggle Asian artifacts made from rhinoceros horns and ivory and to violate wildlife trafficking laws. Wang was arrested in February 2013 as part of Operation Crash, a nationwide crackdown in the illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns, for his role in smuggling libation cups carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to Hong Kong and China.
2013-08-21 - Washington, United States.
A $2 million gift from businessman David Rubenstein will allow the Smithsonian´s National Zoo to nearly double the size of its Asian elephant herd. The zoo announced Tuesday that it will receive three female elephants in an open-ended loan from the Calgary Zoo in Canada, which is relocating its elephants to more suitable habitats. The move will be funded entirely by Rubenstein, a co-founder of the Washington-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group. In 2011, Rubenstein gave $4.5 millio...
2013-08-16 - Portland, United States.
Mitch Finnegan said Wednesday that Rama, who started treatment about three weeks ago, began rejecting the oral portion of his drugs on Saturday. Packy´s treatment stopped one day after it started about 10 days ago because the Asian elephant went into musth, a periodic condition during which bulls´ testosterone spikes. Often, bulls in musth grow aggressive but Packy simply turns uncooperative, making it impossible for keepers to medicate him.
2013-08-10 - Albuquerque, United States.
Zookeepers say blood tests indicate that Rozie the elephant´s calf will likely be a girl. The window for her giving birth is between August and November, but keepers suspect the calf may come in mid-September. The BioPark´s elephant manager, Rhonda Saiers, says the zoo is excited about the potential of adding another female to the multigenerational herd. Still, there´s a chance the gender test could be wrong.
2013-08-10 - Springfield, United States.
Dickerson Park Zoo announced today that its oldest elephant, Connie, is battling kidney disease. She is not expected to recover. The estimated 50-year-old elephant - nicknamed “Pinky” - was born in the wild and came to the zoo in November 1981 from the Zoological Gardens in Abilene, Texas. She has exceeded the average life expectancy for an elephant cow, which is about 47 years.
2013-08-01 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium say a young bull elephant is being treated for a non-contagious autoimmune disease that is preventing skin lesions from healing. Zoo officials announced the illness in a news release Thursday and planned a news conference to provide additional information
2013-07-26 - Portland, United States.
A Multnomah County health official says members of the Oregon zoo staff, who have had contact with an elephant infected with tuberculosis, tested positive for the disease. A spokesperson for the Oregon Zoo would neither confirm nor deny that members of the staff tested positive for the disease.
2013-07-23 - Washington, United States.
What people really don´t know about PETA is that if they got their way, not only would they ban meat, milk, eggs, honey, leather, or fur. There would also be no more silk, wool, down feathers, fishing, circuses that use any kind of animals even domesticated, horse back riding, live animal shows, aquariums, zoos *even if they´re AZA approved*, hunting, service animals for disabled people, even pets.
2013-07-13 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Fort Worth Zoo is asking the public to help find a name for its newest bundle of joy - a 330-pound baby elephant The female Asian elephant was born Sunday. The calf´s mother is 40-year-old Rasha. The father is Groucho, the zoo´s 43-year-old bull, who is on loan to the Denver Zoo. Her sister, Bluebonnet, is 14.
2013-07-11 - San Diego, United States.
San Diego County Fair visitors, inspired by two of the five America’s Elephant Ambassadors, Rosie and Becky, donated over $5,000 to fight a virus that is fatal to young elephants. Before the fair opened, Have Trunk Will Travel held a news conference at Del Mar´s Dog Beach to encourage San Diego residents to donate to International Elephant Foundation
2013-07-01 - New York, United States. Michael Daly
In a tale that interweaves the electrocution of a gentle giant with the electrification of America and the rise of the big top circus, �Topsy,� by Michael Daly, reports that the elephant of the title was not the serial man-killer portrayed by those seeking to justify her wrongful execution.
2013-06-26 - Portland, United States.
Keele, 60 and that community´s most longtime employee -- he´s been there for one-third of the zoo´s 125 years -- will retire Friday. The man who began his life´s work as a less-than-ambitious 18-year-old cleaning up after rats and armadillos, evolved with his zoo. It embraced changing animal welfare standards and a conservation ethic, while Keele rose to be a respected, no-nonsense leader in one of Portland´s signature institutions, and one of North America´s ...
2013-06-26 - Denver, United States.
Billy, a 5-year-old Asian elephant, has safely arrived at Denver Zoo after traveling from Amsterdam. The young bull, the third male elephant in the zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit, will support the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan with valuable genetics as he is unrelated to any elephants in the US.
2013-06-24 - Nevada County, United States.
Truly, we have listened and continue to listen to the feedback – both the opposition of the elephants at the Fair, and to those that support the Board’s decision to invite the elephants to the Fair. To better explain our decision to welcome the elephants to the Nevada County Fair, our decision was based on the following facts
2013-06-21 - Tupelo, United States.
A circus elephant is traveling but not yet performing, two months after being injured in a drive-by shooting in Mississippi. Carol, a 39-year-old Asian elephant, spent several weeks recovering at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus farm in Springfield, Mo. Carol was shot in the shoulder April 9 after performing at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Miss.
2013-06-15 - New Bedford, United States.
Emily and Ruth, Buttonwood Park Zoo’s beloved elephants, are staying put permanently but they will be the last of their kind to live in the West End wildlife park, Director of Zoologicial Services Keith Lovett said. “Truthfully, we’re struggling to find a facility out there that could provide better care for Ruth and Emily (than us),” Lovett told The Standard-Times editorial board Friday morning.
2013-06-06 - San Diego, United States.
I´ve written about viral diseases such as herpes before. But until this morning I didn´t know that elephants can get it. Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus is killing baby elephants. A conservation group stopped by the U-T San Diego offices to show off two adorable examples of what they´re trying to save.(Read comments on the page!)
2013-06-02 - Portland, United States.
The male elephant tested positive for the illness last week. The zoo routinely tests all its elephants for TB by taking an annual trunk culture (collecting fluid from the animal’s trunk and sending it to a certified laboratory for testing) as part of its comprehensive health program and in compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.
2013-05-18 - Okeechobee, United States.
The family group, consisting of two adult female and two subadult male African elephants, arrived this week and made history as our very first residents. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Elephant Taxon Advisory Group supported the animals’ move to The Center as part of a Species Survival Program (SSP). Previously the four animals lived at an AZA-accredited facility in central Florida.
2013-05-04 - Cincinnati, United States.
The Cincinnati Zoo´s oldest Asian elephant is celebrating her 40th birthday with a special pachyderm-sized cake and a serenade. My-Thai has been at the zoo since she was 9 months old. She has been a zoo ambassador, marching in Cincinnati Reds´ Opening Day parades and handing out the first pitch to folks on the pitching mound.
2013-05-03 - Washington, United States.
The zoo announced Friday that Bozie, a 37-year-old Asian elephant, will join three others in Washington. In March, a 46-year-old elephant named Judy died at the Baton Rouge Zoo, leaving Bozie alone. Bozie is considered beyond her reproductive years. Once she arrives, she will be quarantined for 30 days.
2013-04-29 - Ruskin, United States.
As elephant herds with circuses grew larger, Craven is credited as being the innovator of the pyramid type elephant act in America introducing long mounts on bull tubs etc. The first being with Howes Great London and later improved versions with the Forepaugh Show and Cooper & Bailey. He later became a successful Animal Dealer and the owner of a large ranch near Dallas, Texas where he died Jan. 16, 1890.
2013-04-28 - Colorado Springs, United States.
Encounter Africa is the result of the zoo’s largest capital campaign, a two-year effort that raised $13.5 million through foundation and individual gifts, including $42,000 from zoo staff. The zoo is one of only a handful nationwide that don’t receive support from tax dollars.
2013-04-26 - Baton Rouge, United States.
Judy, the Asian elephant that died recently at Baton Rouge Zoo, died from chronic gastrointestinal irritation, a side effect from arthritis treatment, according to the animal’s necropsy results. “When dealing with an illness, one must use extreme caution when prescribing a treatment due to possible undesirable side effects. Through consultation with various zoo veterinarians, we used 12 different drugs to treat Judy,†zoo veterinarian Gordon Pirie said in a news release Friday...
2013-04-26 - Baltimore, United States. Gary S. Hayward, Johns Hopkins University
As a discoverer of elephant endotheliotropic herpes viruses and the developer of diagnostic DNA fingerprint tests used to confirm suspected cases worldwide, I can attest that much of what has been written in the popular press recently about EEHV is wrong or misleading.
2013-04-23 - Knoxville, United States.
Whether an organization permits free or protected contact training of elephants, operant conditioning through positive reinforcement can still serve as the basis for behavioral training. I asked my colleague, Jim Naelitz, the Curator of Elephants at the Knoxville Zoo to weigh in on the topic and answer some questions.
2013-04-23 - San Antonio, United States.
Zoo leaders met Tuesday to decide Luckys fate in the wake of last month´s death of Boo, the zoo´s other Asian elephant. Zoo director Steve McCusker met with elephant staff and other managers and opted to keep Lucky as a sole elephant, said zoo spokeswoman Debbie Rios-Vanskike.“We´re not even going to attempt to move her anywhere or bring in another elephant at this time,†Vanskike said.
2013-04-11 - Tupelo, United States.
Dr. Schmitt, one of five veterinarians who cares for the organization´s animals, has worked with pachyderms for decades. He said Carol, the 39-year-old Asian elephant struck by a bullet Tuesday morning, has been alert and active since the injury. "My estimation would be that she should be back to full recovery in six to eight weeks," Dr. Schmitt added.
2013-04-11 - New York, United States. pseudocode
Authorities say the two owners of a Hudson Valley auction house have been charged with breaking state law by trying to sell stools made from elephant feet. The owners, 60-year-old Mary Jo Garlo and 70-year-old Peter Francese, were charged with illegal commercialization of wildlife.
2013-04-10 - Tupelo, United States.
m US-Bundesstaat Mississippi ist ein Elefant verletzt worden. Jemand hat auf das Tier geschossen. Der Elefant stand auf dem Zirkusgelände in der Stadt Tupelo, als er in der Schulter getroffen wurde. Das Tier gehört dem "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus".
Tupelo police are investigating a shooting involving an elephant with the Ringling Bro´s and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The shooting took place around 2:00 a-m at the BancorpSouth Arena. Police tell WTVA that a vehicle drove by the arena and fired at the animal.A veterinarian that travels with the circus, and is an elephant specialist is flying to Tupelo later today. The elephant is alert and moving around. The animal is expected to make a full recovery.
2013-03-25 - San Antonio, United States.
When Lucky arrived at the San Antonio Zoo, John F. Kennedy was president. Fifty-one years later, the female Asian elephant still is there, having lived at the facility through the moon landings, the Reagan and the Clinton years and the new millennium. Following the death last week of her fifth and latest enclosure-mate, Boo, zoo leaders are discussing the future of their elephant exhibit and about where Lucky will live out her days.
2013-03-25 - Wallingford, United States.
The circus brought 13 elephants to Wallingford that summer, but left with only a dozen. On July 1, the Meriden Record reported that the circus left at 5 a.m. on June 30, “but ‘Miss India,’ a 2,600-pound cow elephant, didn’t know it. She died several hours earlier.” According to the article, Miss India was 25 years old, the youngest and most pleasant-tempered of the “40 tons of elephants in the show.” It was believed she died of a heart attack at about 2:30 a.m. on June 30.
2013-03-25 - New York, United States.
Animal rights and environmental extremism pose a significant domestic terror threat. To date, extremists have been responsible for more than 1,800 criminal acts and more than $110 million in damages. Currently, we are investigating approximately 170 such extremist incidents across the country.
2013-03-24 - Washington, United States.
Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to sniff and touch it. With their unparalleled sense of smell, the animals know exactly what they are going for. Vision is secondary. But as soon as an elephant picks up a stick, its nasal passages are blocked. Even when the stick is close to the food, it impedes feeling and smelling. It is like sending a blindfolded child on an Easter egg hunt. What sort of experiment, then, would do justice to the animal´s special anatomy and abi...
2013-03-23 - Washington, United States.
A 1930s-era elephant house built with individual stalls that drew a rebuke in 2006 from an animal rights group has been transformed into a wide-open new elephant community center with a soft sand floor and wading pool at the Smithsonian´s National Zoo. On Saturday, the zoo will open its new "Elephant Trails" area to the public, following a $56 million overhaul completed over the last seven years. It´s a major expansion, more than tripling the living and socializing space for the zoo&...
2013-03-22 - Maryland, United States.
Samson, the young male elephant who was diagnosed with a deadly virus at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore late last month, has continued to recover in recent days and has "turned a very positive corner" in his treatment, according to zoo officials. "His energy levels are very close to normal again, he´s much brighter and a lot of his symptoms have either gone away or are nearly gone," Michael McClure, general curator for the zoo´s animal department, said Thursday.
2013-03-19 - San Diego, United States.
While the OC and LA County fairs banned elephant rides, the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors of the Del Mar Fairgrounds maintained it´s 2011 decision to renew a contract with an elephant ride company. "The documented history with all of the animal care and regulatory agencies that license and inspect us, including USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is evidence of outstanding care and treatment of our elephants," stated the email. "We are happy to give...
2013-03-19 - Winston, United States.
Wildlife Safari keepers presented the animal park’s newest resident by coaxing out the 35-year-old African elephant with food. Tava moved to the animal park late last month from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. She joins the park’s two other African elephants, George, 32, and Alice, 43.
2013-03-12 - Fellsmere, United States. John Lehnhardt
February was a big month for The National Elephant Center. We have reached a major milestone and continue to look ahead to a promising future with the first elephants arriving this spring. Crews have finished the first phase of construction, which saw the completion of a large barn with paddocks, a keeper work center for three large interconnected pastures providing the elephants with more than 20 acres to roam.
2013-03-11 - San Antonio, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo says Boo, its female Asian elephant, has died. The zoo euthanized her Sunday because of a debilitating weakness. Boo was 59 years old. The Zoo’s senior veterinarian Dr. Rob Coke and his staff performed several tests to determine the cause of Boo’s declining health. The zoo says in a press release that specific blood tests revealed abnormal white blood cells indicative of lymphoma or blood cancer.
2013-03-11 - Niabi, United States.
Many animal-loving Quad-City children donated their savings, raised money at school or opted to forgo birthday gifts in the name of Niabi Zoo’s campaign to raise money for a larger home for elephants Sophie and Babe. Those contributions helped pay for an expanded elephant yard that is three times larger than the one the two Asian elephants have occupied for years. The larger enclosure does not satisfy size requirements by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but it gets Niabi closer to a pos...
2013-03-07 - Washington, United States. Patti Strand
Animal rights tactics are specifically designed to give the animal rightists the opportunity and freedom to express lies, while preventing others from speaking the truth. They are designed to intimidate non-believers into fear-based tolerance of the cult of animal rights, thereby enabling the movement to amass ever-greater political and financial clout.
2013-02-24 - Portland, United States.
Mike Keele, one of the nation´s leading experts on Asian elephants, this week told co-workers he plans to retire in June after 42 years at the Oregon Zoo. Keele, 59, started at the zoo in 1971. He was 18 and fresh out of Southeast Portland´s Marshall High School.
2013-02-24 - Phoenix, United States.
Elephant Care Conference Tusks & Feet, Husbandry & Health Hosted by the Phoenix Zoo Featured Speakers: Dr. Murray Fowler, Alan Roocroft- Elephant Consultant, Dr. Dave Fagan- Dental Specialist Topics to be covered: Husbandry and Medical Access to Captive Elephants, Restraint in Protected Contact, The Importance of Radiographs and Radiograph Techniques, General Elephant Foot Anatomy, Habitat Design That Supports Elephant Foot Health, Elephant Foot Care Tools and Other Equipment, Elephant Foot Care...
2013-02-23 - San Diego, United States.
This position requires extensive working experience with mammal care and management. An example of experience would be a minimum of fifteen years. Experience with mammal protected contact management, operant training and conditioning is required.Selected candidate must also have experience managing animal care personnel. An example of experience would be at least seven years.
2013-02-23 - Hohenwald, United States.
An inspection held in late January identified concerns by the USDA in the areas of The Sanctuary’s staffing, training and our health care delivery, which resulted in 2 citations by the USDA. Due to lack of sufficient number of trained employees, several elephants are not yet trained in procedures necessary for completion of routine husbandry tasks such as routine foot care, entering chute or allowing blood collection. (USDA 1/31/13 Inspection Report)
2013-02-17 - San Jose, United States.
After two longtime Bay Area animal rights activists sued Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for allegedly harassing them as they tried to videotape the backstage treatment of animals, the federal jury hearing the case began deliberations in San Jose on Valentine´s Day afternoon. And it was soon clear that the jurors didn´t buy what activists Deniz Bolbol and Joseph Patrick Cuviello were selling.
2013-02-17 - Galt, United States.
Diagnosed with throat cancer in July of 2010, she fought her way through radiation and chemotherapy and continued to deal with side effects from treatment, including anemia. In early fall of last year came the news that cancer had returned.
2013-02-09 - Portland, United States.
The Oregon Zoo now has the legal rights to elephants Lily and Tusko after buying them from Have Trunk Will Travel, the zoo announced Friday morning. The zoo purchased Tusko and Lily for $400,000, thus voiding its loan agreement with the California-based company, said Kim Smith, the zoo’s director. Tusko was on a breeding loan since 2005 and sired elephants Lily and Samudra.
2013-01-16 - Indianapolis, United States.
Staffers are busy assembling 300 bones of "Fred the Mastodon." Chief Curator Ronald Richards says they believe the bones are about 13,000 years old. Richards says they´ve spent months building a steel frame upon which to mount the bones. However, he says the bones themselves are authentic. Richards says more mastodon discoveries have been found in the Indiana area than any other state. He says the exhibit will be about nine feet high and 20 feet long.
2013-01-13 - Fellsmere, United States.
On schedule and under budget. That´s the word on the first phase of construction on the National Elephant Center being developed about 3 miles north of downtown Fellsmere. Located on a 225-acre site, the National Elephant Center is a collaboration of 73 accredited zoos and will provide a place for aging elephants and transient elephants being relocated between zoos. The first of up to nine elephants that could be served during the first phase of the project could arrive in the spring. When...
2013-01-09 - TAMPA, United States.
The African elephant birth is the second in the zoo´s history, and the first born in Tampa from the rescued herd. The newborn, sired by Sdudla, a Swaziland bull, is significant to the population because the calf introduces new DNA into the gene pool of elephants managed in North America, which averages three or four births each year.
2013-01-08 - Vienna, United States.
The ASPCA sued Ringling Brothers, but ended up paying the circus $9.3 million to help cover its legal bills. Tom Rider, the star witness for the plaintiffs, proved to be problematic. Even though he referred to the elephants as his “girls†and claimed to have a “personal†and “emotional†attachment to them on par with the one he had for his two daughters and his grandson, he was unable to identify the elephants in videotaped footage.
2012-12-26 - Los Angeles, United States.
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus train has been bringing four-ton Asian elephants to this city since 1919. But “The Greatest Show on Earth” might have made its last stop here. Los Angeles is poised to ban elephants from performing in circuses within its city limits, after pressure from animal welfare advocates who have for decades condemned the methods used to train and transport elephants as abusive and cruel.
2012-12-22 - Denver, United States.
Kimbo, a 42-year-old female from Fort Worth Zoo, arrived Thursday night and is getting to know her new digs at Toyota Elephant Passage, Denver Zoo said in a news release. Kimbo brings the elephant population back to four as she joins Dolly, the other female, and bulls Bodhi and Groucho. Dolly is 47, Bodhi is 8 and and Groucho is 41.
2012-12-19 - Los Angeles, United States. Deborah Olson
L.A. City Council´s proposed ban on elephants performing in traveling shows such as circuses paints a romantic picture of elephants as gentle giants. The editorial board seems to buy into the animal extremists´ idealistic scenario of happy, fat pachyderms lazily wandering the open plains of Africa or the jungles of Asia, free of disease and conflict with humans.
2012-12-13 - Detroit, United States.
A researcher has confirmed that two 11-year-old boys found a mastodon bone over the summer while exploring a southeast Michigan yard.The Detroit News reports Eric Stamatin of Macomb County´s Shelby Township and his cousin Andrew Gainariu of Troy found the bone near a stream while exploring Eric´s backyard. Eric says it looked like a rock, but a hole made them think it was a bone.
2012-12-13 - Portland, United States.
Next Tuesday, Oregon Zoo officials are expected to ask the Metro council for $4 million to $5 million to offset high construction costs of the new elephant habitat and other projects, and to exercise the Metro´s option to buy about 200 acres in Clackamas County for a remote elephant center.
2012-12-12 - Denver, United States.
Dave Johnson, elephant keeper at the Denver Zoo has written a children´s book, called The Elephants of Denver and is using all proceeds from it to travel to Nepal and work on conservation. While Johnson is in Nepal, he will be supplying other environmentally-passionate people with things they need. For example, an anti-poaching team needed a faster way to get around, so he and his colleagues bought motorbikes for them.
2012-12-09 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian
The zoo will keep the calf. Have Trunk Will Travel is in good standing with government agencies that grant its licenses and oversee animal-welfare laws. When it comes to captive elephants, cooperation across the spectrum of animal exhibitors is business-as-usual. Public zoos, private zoos, circuses, theme parks, traveling shows -- operations with radically different missions, messages and profit motives -- are all in it together because elephants are big business.
2012-12-09 - Seattle, United States.
Communicating the very serious threat to elephants in the wild — and working to save them — are the most important reasons to have elephants in zoos, write two members of the Woodland Park Zoo board of directors. Seeing, hearing and smelling elephants can spark a very personal, emotional connection that inspires people to help elephants in the wild.
2012-12-05 - Portland, United States.
Have Trunk Will Travel has no intention and has never had any intention of coming to take Rose-Tu´s calf. Have Trunk Will Travel supports Oregon Zoo´s vision for elephants and has great appreciation for the way they care for elephants. We are very proud of the significant contribution we have made together for Asian elephants. We could not be more excited about the birth of this new calf.
2012-12-05 - Los Angeles, United States. Deborah Olson
The Times´ editorial Monday on the L.A. City Council´s proposed ban on elephants performing in traveling shows such as circuses paints a romantic picture of elephants as gentle giants. The editorial board seems to buy into the animal extremists´ idealistic scenario of happy, fat pachyderms lazily wandering the open plains of Africa or the jungles of Asia, free of disease and conflict with humans.
2012-12-04 - Seattle, United States. Woodland Park Zoo
Recently, the Seattle Times published a two-part series on elephants in zoos. Woodland Park Zoo’s approach to elephant care and our attempt to help perpetuate the species by inseminating Chai, one of our Asian elephants, was highlighted in what we believe was a very biased and inaccurate slant. We would like to provide you with information that was not included in the series of stories.
2012-11-20 - Syracuse, United States.
A 15-year-old bull elephant has joined the elephant herd at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, zoo officials said today. Doc, who came to the zoo from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation, arrived at the zoo on Thursday, officials said. Doc replaces 40-year-old Indy, the zoo´s long-time resident bull. Indy left the zoo Friday and now resides at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo.
2012-11-16 - Tulsa, United States.
The Tulsa Zoo´s oldest resident is turning a very young 62 years old. Gunda the elephant will celebrate her birthday Friday at 11 a.m. Zoo officials are inviting everyone to stop by and wish Gunda a happy birthday as she digs in to her very own giant-sized cake to celebrate her big day. To commemorate Gunda´s birthday, the 62nd person to enter the zoo will receive free admission.
2012-11-15 - San Diego, United States.
Responsibilities for this position will be to work mostly with a collection of elephants in a protected contact management system at the San Diego Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey Exhibit. The keeper will work closely with senior keepers, lead keeper and Animal Care Supervisor to develop the skills necessary to become an integral member of a progressive elephant husbandry and training program.
2012-11-13 - Knoxville, United States.
Knoxville Zoo 1.2 currently houses African elephants and we are looking for an Elephant Keeper with 2+ years of experience. This person is responsible for a wide variety of tasks involving the husbandry of several area species, the daily upkeep of keeper and public areas and interpretation with zoo guests. The individual must be able to carry out the duties typical of a keeper and comply with Knoxville Zoo policies and procedures as they appear in the employee handbook and departmental protocols...
2012-11-07 - Little Rock, United States.
Provides supervision to Animal Keepers and other assigned Zoo personnel in a designated area of the Zoo; ensures that duties such as feeding, cleaning, and special projects are completed; ensures observance of safety procedures; provides training for assigned personnel and volunteers. Develops, implements, and maintains best practices in elephant care through modern principles relating to captive care.
2012-11-04 - Santa Barbara Zoo, United States. EMA
2012-11-02 - Nashville, United States.
Under the direction of the Curator of Mammals, the Elephant Manager assists in animal acquisition, husbandry programs, daily maintenance and development of Keeper routines, animal enrichment, behavior modification, exhibit design, staff selection and staff development.
2012-10-30 - New York, United States.
Chandanis great-great-grandfather was a mahout, an elephant trainer. The skills are usually passed down to the sons, but Chandani has no brothers and she wants the job. In this documentary film that feels like fiction, Chandani breaks with tradition and challenges everyone’s beliefs that a girl cannot train an elephant. Her father brings her a baby elephant and she eagerly takes up the challenge of getting him, and herself, ready to ride in the Perahera, a noisy festival where decorated e...
2012-10-30 - Venice Beach, United States.
A skeleton believed to be that of a prehistoric mastodon was uncovered near Venice Beach. Representatives of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society were called to the scene to debunk or confirm the find. Both groups were able to confirm the find as real.
2012-10-29 - Portland, United States.
Despite years of important scientific discoveries about elephants — many of them made right here in Portland — pinpointing a pregnant elephant´s due date remains something of a mysterious art. With a 22-month gestation period, the longest of any mammal on the planet, giving birth "a little early" can mean several weeks. Currently, the best predictor is blood-progesterone level, which remains high throughout pregnancy and drops precipitously a few days before delivery.
2012-10-24 - Hugo, United States.
Since the age of 5, Armando Loyal has been in the circus, with Kelly Miller Circus and a sister circus. His first performance was as a bareback rider. Before the circus, the Neosho Daily News asked Loyal some questions about how he got started in the circus, along with what are his duties in the circus today.
2012-10-23 - San Diego, United States.
In 1988, Huell attended a touching reunion between Charlie Franks, an 80-year-old elephant trainer, and Nita, the elephant he had raised from a baby of five years. When Charlie retired in the early 1970s after traveling the world with his beloved performing elephant, he donated her to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and hadn’t seen her for 15 years.
2012-10-21 - Princeton, United States.
Why do elephants have hair on their heads? After combing through the evidence, a team of scientists at Princeton University has teased out the answer: To keep them cool. Unlike other animals whose hairy covering helps keep them warm in cold weather, the sparse hair of the elephant which tends to be found in hot climes helps carry heat away from the animal´s skin and into the air, a study by Princeton University finds.
2012-10-21 - Hope, United States.
Asian elephants Rosie and Opal arrived safely today at Hope Elephants in Hope, according to the nonprofit that has been working for more than two years to bring the retired circus animals to Maine. Rosie and Opal have joint and muscle ailments and are the first residents of the Hope Elephants facility, which was created by Dr. Jim Laurita, a Cornell educated veterinarian, and Tom Laurita, his brother.
2012-10-13 - Topeka, United States.
THE PUBLIC MEETING ON ELEPHANTS IS TODAY AT 2:00 IN THE GARY CLARKE LIVING CLASSROOM AT THE TOPEKA ZOO. IF YOU ARE COMING TO THE MEETING, ADMISSION IS FREE. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! TEMBO AND SUNDA WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. THEY LIKE IT HERE!
2012-10-11 - Topeka, United States.
For 46 years, the Topeka Zoo has had elephants within their animal collection. Now, thousands of animal rights activists from outside our community- around the world - are urging the Topeka City Council to send our elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald Tennesse. We do not believe this is in the best interest of Tembo and Sunda.
2012-10-11 - Denver, United States.
Mimi, a beloved, female Asian elephant at Denver Zoo passed away October 9. Zookeepers had been offering her hospice care recently as she had displayed a natural decline in health over the past few months due to her advanced age. Born in India, Mimi´s birth date is not known. However, at the time of her passing she was believed to be at least 53 years old, making her the seventh oldest elephant in a North American zoo.
2012-10-06 - Plymouth, United States.
Well-known Alaskan wilderness guide Karen Jettmar was sentenced to three years of probation in a U.S. District Court last Friday, after the court found her guilty of helping Plymouth Meeting resident Robert Franz steal a 10,000-year-old mammoth tusk from a state park in 2007, the Alaska Dispatch reports.
2012-10-06 - San Antonio, United States.
A Texas fisherman says he made a pre-historic discovery while fishing on the San Antonio River. He claims he found a Mastodon tooth in it´s shallow waters. Davy Villanueva says he saw it in about a foot of water that was exposed because of the drought. He says he´s also found other bones there, but because of the rains, the area is now covered up.
2012-09-25 - Topeka, United States.
Topeka Zoo Director Brendan Wiley spoke out Tuesday night (9/25) out on the latest complaint against the zoo. It´s from animal activists to the USDA, and it calls into question video you´ll only see on 13 News and wibw.com. In the video, you can see Asian elephant Sunda run toward the zoo´s African elephant Tembo.
2012-08-30 - Boston, United States.
The federal government asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a group of animal rights activists who say a rarely used 2006 law has a chilling effect on lawful protest activities. Five activists represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the U.S. government last year, asking that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act be struck down as unconstitutional.
2012-08-29 - San Diego, United States.
Early Tuesday morning, a new female African elephant calf was born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, boosting its pachyderm population to 13. The calf´s mother, Swazi, delivered the 205-pound baby at 3:39 a.m. and within minutes, the calf was on her feet, Safari Park reported. The last calf to be born at the park was last November, said spokeswoman Jenny Mehlow.
2012-08-28 - Evansville, United States.
History Lesson is a pictorial history of Evansville compiled by Patricia Sides, an archivist with Willard Library. contributed photo Drought of 1936 When Karl Kae Knecht photographed this scene at Mesker Park Zoo in July 1936, he noted that the temperature was 107 degrees. Kay the Elephant, the zoo´s most celebrated resident after her arrival in 1929, obviously enjoyed the refreshing showers she received from her caretakers. The newspaper reported that the sizzling heat had entered its thi...
2012-08-21 - Dallas, United States.
Responsible for the care, husbandry, and training of the African Elephants. We are a protected contact elephant program, with 5 African elephants in a mixed species exhibit. Must have 3 years of Elephant experience.
2012-08-20 - Santa Barbara, United States.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is seeking a keeper for our Elephant Team. The person filling this position will carry out all basic aspects of the daily care of the elephants, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and enhancing the guest experience. This position is part of a dynamic and progressive Animal Care team.
2012-08-08 - Oklahoma City, United States.
We’re currently seeking a dynamic individual to work with a dedicated and highly motivated pachyderm team that would be responsible for varied taxa, including rhino, hippo, Asian elephants in restricted contact, and small primates. This person will work with associated staff as needed to enhance day-to-day operations including collaborating with other zoo personnel in reaching departmental goals and the presentation and development of guest experiences that support the Zoo’s mission and core...
2012-08-02 - Saint Louis, United States.
Ellie, one of the Saint Louis Zoo’s Asian elephants, is pregnant with her third calf. Ellie has two other daughters, 6-year-old Maliha, 16-year-old Rani. Ellie is also the grandmother of Rani’s daughter, Kenzi, who was born in June 2011. Now in her third trimester, Ellie is carrying another female calf. Ellie is due to deliver in the spring of 2013. The father is 19-year old Raja, the first Asian elephant ever born at the zoo in 1992.
2012-07-20 - San Diego, United States.
One of the two elephants brought to the San Diego in a trade with counterparts in Tucson in February was euthanized due to an infection, the San Diego Zoo announced today. Connie, an Asian elephant believed to be 45, was put down after a thorough veterinary examination that included specialists, the zoo´s Yadira Galindo told City News Service.
2012-07-05 - Miami, United States.
Zoo Miami reports that on Tuesday they had had to put down one of their most cherished residents, Machito, a 32-year-old African elephant who came to live with them back in 1981. Several weeks ago, the impressive pachyderm appeared stiff and soon his condition progressed to include lethargy, loss of appetite, weight loss and labored breathing, according to the zoo.
2012-05-07 - Miami, United States.
2012-05-04 - Hope, United States.
Two retired circus elephants are ready to move to Maine after the federal government gave its approval. Hope Elephants, a nonprofit group, plans to bring the animals to a new rehabilitation center built in town by this fall. The group already received town approval and the state approved the elephants’ move in September, according to Justin McAnaney, director of operations.
2012-04-28 - Racine, United States.
For more than 100 years, a once-famous elephant trainer who was fatally gored by a pachyderm that went berserk,rested in an unmarked grave at Mound Cemetery in Racine. Not a shred of evidence showed that this patch of earth covered the burial site of renowned elephant trainer Joe Anderson. But 113 years after the Great Wallace Circus Show came to present-day Racine, when Anderson was gored by an elephant in his charge and died on June 3, 1898, his grave has a headstone. And members of the motorc...
2012-04-25 - San Diego, United States.
The first ever YouTube upload, featuring one of its founders talking about elephants, is seven years old today. The site has grown remarkably in the intervening years, with an hour of video being uploaded to the site every single second and the Google-owned company inking deals with a number of major content producers.
2012-04-15 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo´s oldest elephant, Stumpy, died Friday, officials announced. The elephant was 47 and was believed to be one of the five oldest African elephants living in the United States, the zoo said. Dallas Zoo veterinarian Dr. Tim Storms said the cause of the elephant´s death had not been determined yet, but her health reportedly had been failing in recent weeks because of her age.
2012-04-14 - Portland, United States.
Packy the elephant celebrated his 50th birthday today by becoming the first animal knighted by the Royal Rosarians, listening to thousands of fans sing him Happy Birthday and swallowing a 40-pound cake in nine minutes and 57 seconds. The 12,600-pound pachyderm and face of the Oregon Zoo debuted on April 14, 1962, the first elephant born in North America in 44 years.
2012-04-10 - Honolulu, United States.
The nation´s leading accrediting organization for zoos and aquariums has renewed Honolulu Zoo´s accreditation. The new elephant exhibit that opened in December was a critical element, the city said. The new home for Mari and Vaigai is 1.5 acres, nine times larger than the previous exhibit. It also contains two 50,000-gallon swimming pools. The city also increased staffing and improved signage, two areas the Association of Zoos and Aquariums pointed out as deficiencies in a previous i...
2012-03-22 - Memphis, United States.
She was due to give birth in just a few months, but officials at the Memphis Zoo say that its 29-year-old African elephant has suffered a miscarriage. An ultrasound expert and veterinarians examined “Gina” Sunday and confirmed that the unborn calf had died. "Our animal caregivers, researchers and staff have been working for a very long time on this pregnancy, and everyone here at the Memphis Zoo is deeply saddened by this turn of events," said Dr. Chuck Brady, the Memphis Zoo´s preside...
2012-03-11 - Fellsmere, United States.
After 32 years working with elephants in various zoos, John Lehnhardt says he´s in familiar territory as the executive director for the National Elephant Center planned for Fellsmere. Lehnhardt, who was one of the center´s founding board members, agreed in January to be the first executive director and steer the project to opening. "I tried to retire," he said Wednesday, chuckling at leaving his most recent job last year, as animal operations director for Disney´s Animal Kingdo...
2012-03-08 - Albuquerque, United States.
Albuquerque BioPark’s 19-year-old Asian elephant is expected to have her second calf in November 2013, according to a news release from the zoo. Rozie is three months pregnant, and the average gestation for elephants is 23 months. We are cautiously optimistic because it is early in the pregnancy, said Rhonda Saiers, Elephant Barn Manager.
2012-03-08 - Calgary, United States.
Calgary Zoo officials hope the female elephant´s third try at motherhood will be a lot more successful than her previous attempts. Known as Rani by zookeepers, the 22-year-old Asian elephant initially rejected both of her calves, which both subsequently died. Rani is now 10 months along in a 22-month gestation period, meaning that she´s not due to give birth until February.
2012-03-03 - San Diego, United States.
Connie and Shaba, elephant pals from Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, are safely ensconced at the San Diego Zoo following a 10-hour journey during which they were housed in individual crates. Although the two females are to be kept in quarantine for six weeks, San Diego zoo personnel are already detecting interest from the Elephant Odyssey´s inhabitants. While Connie and Shaba are in a separate enclosed area, part of it is outdoors.
2012-03-01 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Pittsburgh Zoo has joined an international effort to establish North America’s first elephant sperm bank. The plan is to distribute from it semen collected from wild elephants in South Africa and frozen. Project Frozen Dumbo, started two years ago and led by a German researcher, has already set up an elephant sperm bank in France in the hope of resolving a similar predicament in Europe.
2012-02-29 - Tucson, United States.
Zookeepers are preparing elephants Connie and Shaba to leave for their new home. The beloved Reid Park Zoo elephants are going to live at a sanctuary in San Diego. There has been a big push to keep Connie and Shaba together, as they have been together for more than 30 years. The city received more than 16,000 emails from concerned citizens when there was talk of splitting up the elephants.
2012-02-28 - Tucson, United States.
There are two new faces at the Reid Park zoo. Lungile and Mabhulane (Mabu), two African elephants just arrived on Friday night. They came from the San Diego Zoo, where both have been staying since they were transported to the U.S. in 2003.
2012-02-25 - Dong Nai, United States.
A herd of wild elephants have been ravaging farmers’ fields in the southern province of Dong Nai for a week-and-a-half, according to local forest management authorities. The elephants have eaten up fields of corn, sweet potatoes, cassava and sugarcane in Hamlet 2 near the Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve in Phu Ly Commune, Vinh Cuu District.
2012-02-25 - Corvallis, United States.
Vernon Kessi was digging a sewer line for a new apartment complex last December when he saw something strange from the cab of his excavator: What Kessi and his power shovel unearthed that morning turned out to be the jaw of a mastodon, an extinct elephant-like creature that roamed North America until the end of the last Ice Age. A deposit of white, crumbly material that he could tell wasn’t rock.
2012-02-17 - Chowchilla, United States.
The Fossil Discovery Center in Chowchilla (Madera County), which opened in 2010, recently added a 13-foot-tall mammoth skeleton replica to fossils of saber-toothed cats, camel kin and the dire wolf, all unearthed from the ground adjacent to the center - which happens to be the largest Pleistocene-era fossil bed in the West.
2012-02-15 - Northridge, United States.
April 9, 1973: Shirley, 9, getting a scrub-up at Goodtime Car Wash before her next performance with the Miller-Johnson Circus at the Devonshire Downs Fairground in Northridge. May 21, 1976: Judy, 12, gets a wash in the ocean at Venice Beach with the help of trainer Bones Craig. The Circus Vargas elephant weighs 6,300 pounds. This photo was published in the May 22, 1976, Los Angeles Times.
2012-02-14 - Fulton, United States.
A Fulton Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday that could prevent the county from enforcing animal control laws in the city of Atlanta, according to a Fulton County commissioner. Commissioner Rob Pitts said Judge John Goger´s order effectively blocks the county´s ban of the use of bullhooks by circus elephant trainers. The decision comes only days before Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to Philips Arena in Atlanta. The show will run from W...
2012-02-02 - Kansas City, United States.
Fewer U.S. zoos of the future may have elephants but those that do would have happier animals under a new policy requiring American zoos with two elephants to add space for a third in case one dies. Starting in 2016, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums will require room for three elephants if a zoo wants to retain the AZA´s coveted accreditation. "Elephants are social creatures, they require other elephants," said AZA spokesman Steve Feldman.
2012-01-30 - MORGANTOWN, United States.
Tina Dow has always had an interest in elephants. From her first Little Golden Book and frequent visits to the Pittsburgh Zoo as a girl, the Cumberland, Md., native´s love for the creatures has transformed into a career and a passion."In my backpack I still carry the first Little Golden Book that I was given as a child, and that was ´The Saggy Baggy Elephant,´" said Dow, a doctoral student at West Virginia University.
2012-01-30 - Wichita, United States.
Stephanie and Cinda have been two peas in a pod for 40 years, but the Sedgwick County Zoo needs to make room for a new friend for them. If it can’t, it risks losing the popular elephants. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is requiring that all zoos it accredits have space for at least three elephants by September 2016.
2012-01-25 - Kansas City , United States. MATT CAMPBELL
Penney the elephant was a favorite at the Kansas City Zoo for 40 years after coming here as a “mail order bride,” and she helped inspire a popular book and movie. But on Tuesday the four-ton animal was euthanized after it became clear she was losing her battle with arthritis and old age.Penney had long been arthritic and was being given ibuprofen, but her condition worsened over the last month and a half. Zookeepers upped her pain medication and were feeding her packed balls of grain and giv...
2012-01-23 - Vienna, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® is sad to announce the passing of Banana, a 55 year old female Asian elephant. Since 2010, Banana has lived at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® in central Florida, where she spent time with the herd and was cared for by dedicated members of the Ringling Bros. animal care and veterinary team. Unfortunately, Ringling Bros. veterinary staff recently concluded that euthanasia was appropriate due to Banana’s declining hea...
2012-01-18 - Tucson, United States.
City of Tucson Parks and Recreation officials and staff from the Reid Park Zoo have been re-evaluating a decision to separate Connie and Shaba from one another. Today, after conferring with experts from San Diego Zoo Global, Reid Park Zoo staff, Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the African Elephant Taxon Advisory Group (TAG), both Connie and Shaba will be relocated to Elephant Odyssey in San Diego. The decision to move Shaba to San Diego along with Connie allows Reid Park Zoo to conti...
2012-01-16 - Galt, United States. Dan Koehl
My earlier blogs Can elephants suffer in sanctuaries, as an effect of volonteers opinions? and Can Sambo and other elephants transmit tuberculosis to people? has become even more actual after the death of Sabu (Look Chai) at Performing Animal Welfare Society / ARK 2000 (PAWS). Sabu tested positive for TB (Tuberculosis) already in year 2000
2012-01-16 - Vienna, United States.
Feld Entertainment, Inc. announced today that a federal appeals court unanimously re-affirmed the judgment entered on behalf of Feld Entertainment, Inc. at trial and on appeal. Feld Entertainment, Inc., the producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus. , won the lawsuit that was originally filed more than a decade ago by animal special interest groups who ultimately sought to outlaw elephants in the circus. After losing at trial in 2009 and losing a unanimous appeal in October of 201...
2012-01-11 - Yorkshire, United States.
Now Yorkshire survivors of a wartime exodus of half a million people from Burma have seen their stories told in a newly published book Exodus Burma – The British Escape Through the Jungles of Death 1942 by Felicity Goodall. John’s father, A procession of 56 elephants, 22 women and 15 children through the mountains to safety in the first of two superbly organised caravans.
2012-01-10 - Azle, United States.
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) today announced that it is providing more than $225,000 to support 19 elephant conservation projects for 2012. IEF-supported projects protect elephants from poaching, seek solutions for human-elephant conflict, equip and train community conservationists, increase our knowledge of the treatment and prevention of disease and educate people.
2012-01-07 - San Diego, United States.
Veterinarians performed an emergency procedure on Christmas after discovering a blockage in Cha Cha´s esophagus. They were able to remove the mass, but the elephant´s condition continued to deteriorate. Animal care staff made the decision to euthanize her on Wednesday. The second elephant, Cookie, was estimated to be 56 years old and had been at the zoo since 1981.
2012-01-06 - Williston, United States.
Happy Holidays from everyone at Two Tails Ranch! Santa is bringing us an early christmas present. A new Asian Elephant is set to help extend our conservation and breeding program here at the ranch, but we need your help. We are in need of roughly $10,000 worth of upgrades. We only have two weeks to get our ranch ready to receive the new Asian Elephant
2012-01-06 - New Bedford, United States.
A well-meaning animal rights activist from out of state, Deborah Robinson, and her organization, have had at least four, if not more, letters published in this paper suggesting that our elephants, Emily and Ruth, be sent to a sanctuary. To my knowledge, Ms. Robinson has never visited our zoo nor met Emily and Ruth. We, obviously, work with these animals every day.
2012-01-06 - Myakka City, United States.
When she’s not on the road, Catherine Carden likes to relax at her family farm in Myakka City. It’s a relatively normal household — with three very big exceptions. There’s Carden, her husband and their two sons, of course. And then there’s the three Asian elephants in the backyard.
2012-01-03 - TUCSON, United States.
Crate training is under way at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson as zoo workers slowly prepare for the day they say goodbye to Connie the elephant. Last month, zookeepers moved into Connie´s pen the crate she´ll be traveling in when the time comes for her to leave Tucson for good. The 42-year-old is being traded to San Diego for a herd of African elephants.
2012-01-01 - KOTA BARU, United States.
The elephant, named Awang Jerek, was sent to the national park on Thursday with the help of two tamed elephants Che Mek and Lokimala. Department director Rahmat Topani said the three-hour operation, which started at 9am, involved 18 workers of the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang. "Like in the previous operations, we had to use Che Mek and Lokimala to escort Awang Jerek to ensure that the translocation process to Terengganu went smoothly," he said. R...
2011-12-28 - Los Angeles, United States.
The woman, who has not yet been identified, crossed ditched and climbed fences -- barriers specifically meant to keep people like her out to get into the elephant sanctuary on what was a very busy afternoon at the zoo. The woman walked right up to the animals and even petted some of them while horrified onlookers screamed at her, trying to get her to leave the sanctuary which houses three elephants.
2011-12-26 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a progressive elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program has become a state of the art program and facility. We recently opened another new Elephant exhibit, tripling the elephant’s usable space.
2011-12-26 - Dallas, United States.
Responsible for the care, husbandry, and training of the African Elephants. Responsible for maintaining all aspects of daily animal husbandry. Responsible for exhibit maintenance and observation. Assists in veterinary procedures and research. Provides environmental enrichment. Actively encourages public interest in elephants through educational presentations, public relations and tours.
2011-12-22 - Anchorage, United States.
A man from Pennsylvania who planned to go fossil hunting in Alaska has learned the hard way that bragging about your ill-gotten stash can come back to haunt you. In this case, though, it´s the guide who helped him gain access to Alaska´s prehistoric treasures who´s suffering the consequences. On Dec. 14, a federal grand jury indicted author and outdoor guide Karen Jettmar on charges of conspiracy and removing a paleontological resource from federal land.
2011-12-20 - Winston, United States.
This is a full-time staff position responsible for the daily animal husbandry of a designated department or area. Works independently and in a team environment to apply highest standards of animal care, enrichment and training. Interacts with the public to educate them about the collection and conservation concerns, providing keeper talks and encounters. Works closely with the vet staff to maintain animals’ good health and well-being.
This is a full-time, working supervisory role, coordinating daily operations of the Elephant Section while under general supervision of the General Curator and assisting the General Curator in managing the animal collection of the Elephant Section. Senior Ranger is responsible for supervising keeper staff and regularly performs keeper duties.
2011-12-17 - Hope, United States.
Hope Elephants welcomes the community to its nearly-completed elephant care and rehabilitation facility in Hope on Tuesday, Dec. 27, at 3 p.m. for a behind-the-scenes tour and presentation in advance of the arrival of its first resident elephant, Rosie. Jim Laurita, executive director and curator of Hope Elephants, will give a short tour of the facility, a description of the care Rosie and a second elephant will receive at the facility, and a presentation on Asian elephants, including their habi...
2011-12-17 - Colombo, United States.
Sri Lanka Department of Forest Conservation says that 200 elephants and 48 men were killed in the human-elephant conflicts this year. Of these elephants, 75 were killed due to gunshot injuries, says the Deputy Director of the Department W.S.K. Navaratne. Another 22 elephants were killed by food traps laid by farmers and hunters. This explosive laden food detonates when the elephant munches it and the animal receives a painful death.
2011-12-17 - Santa Ana, United States.
The Santa Ana Zoo announced Friday that it has ended its 25-year-old elephant ride attraction to comply with changes in animal care and safety guidelines designed to protect zookeepers and trainers from being harmed by the powerful and moody land giants. The decision was based on policy changes adopted in September by the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums, which accredits the Santa Ana Zoo. Santa Ana Zoo was one of the last two zoos in the United States encouraging visitor-elephant interactions.
2011-12-16 - Madera County, United States.
The biggest mammal ever to walk North America now lives in a museum in Madera County. On Thursday, the Fossil Discovery Center unveiled its new replica skeleton of a prehistoric giant. Center director Blake Bufford says it took three hours to set up the display of the mammoth that lived right here in the Valley about 10,000 years ago. But if you´re thinking "wooly," you´ve got the wrong mammoth.
2011-12-15 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The Oklahoma City Zoo added a bull elephant to its growing herd Tuesday as a male Asian elephant named Rex arrived about noon Tuesday after a 20-hour, 1,300-mile trip from Cambridge, Ontario. Rex was brought to the Oklahoma City Zoo to breed with the two female elephants, Asha and Chandra.
2011-12-10 - Powell, United States.
The 23-year-old named Hank arrived Thursday at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Plans are to breed him with the zoo´s females, Connie and Phoebe. Zoo Assistant Curator Harry Peachey says Hank has previously sired a calf. The elephant moved from Riddle´s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in Arkansas. He was born at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and has also lived at the Bronx Zoo and at Have Trunk Will Travel in California.
2011-12-07 - Azle, United States.
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) is thrilled to announce another major grant to help fund the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory (NEHL) at the Smithsonian´s National Zoo. Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Feld Entertainment, Have Trunk Will Travel, the Oregon Zoo, and the Saint Louis Zoo were all major donors to fund IEF´s grant to the NEHL lab through the Smithsonian´s National Zoo.
2011-12-07 - Washington, United States. Alasdair Wilkins
No, we won´t be able to clone a woolly mammoth in the next five yearsA team of Russian and Japanese scientists recently announced that they have discovered pristine DNA samples of woolly mammoths, and they will clone a living mammoth within five years. It´s tremendously exciting...but almost certainly not going to happen. Here´s why.
2011-12-02 - Cincinnati, United States.
Cincinnati’s zoo has received an elephant-size gift from the foundation of the late Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott. She was a major supporter of the zoo and once donated an elephant named Schottzie. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden director Thane Maynard says the $5 million contribution from the Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation is the zoo’s single biggest gift ever. Marge Schott died in 2004 at age 75.
2011-12-02 - Washington, United States.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals provides aid and comfort for the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The two groups are responsible for more than 600 crimes since 1996, causing (by a very conservative FBI estimate) more than $43 million in damage. ALF’s “press office” brags that in 2002, the two groups committed “100 illegal direct actions” -- like blowing up SUVs, destroying the brakes on seafood delivery trucks, and planting firebombs in re...
2011-11-30 - , United States.
Lifting equipment manufacturer R&M Materials Handling have been called on to help veterinary specialists in North Carolina lift a very unusual load, a 6.5USt partially-sighted elephant. A team of vets from North Carolina State University of Veterinary Medicine decided an operation to save the elephant’s eyesight was necessary, but the sedated C’sar had to be lifted into a suitable position to perform the procedure.
2011-11-30 - St. Louis, United States.
A documentary starring Flora debutes nationwide December 1st on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Circus Flora´s David Balding discusses the film, "One Lucky Elephant." Flora, the African elephant was the star of Circus Flora until she retired from the big top in 2000. Flora was moved to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. That´s where this story really begins: A documentary starring Flora debutes nationwide December 1st on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Circus Flora´s David...
2011-11-29 - Polk City, United States.
The USDA on Monday announced a $270,000 fine against the company that owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus and an elephant breeding facility in Polk County over its treatment and housing of animals. The United States Department of Agriculture reached an agreement with Feld Entertainment Inc. in which the company would be penalized for violating portions of the Animal Welfare Act between June 2007 and August 2011.
2011-11-27 - Bladensburg, United States. John Kelly
After last week’s column on George’s Pet Shop, Answer Man had mentioned that an elephant from George’s was sold to Jett’s Petting Zoo. Dan Koehl noticed that Jett’s sold an elephant to the Tucson zoo. Could it be the same elephant? Maybe.
2011-11-26 - Bladensburg, United States. John Kelly
As for elephants, George actually owned two over the years, baby Asian elephants that he purchased to rent out for political rallies, although a 1966 story in The Post said George was willing to part with his 4-month-old elephant from Thailand, for $5,000 to $6,000. One of the elephants was eventually sold to a traveling petting zoo called Jet’s. One was rented to a Republican convention where, Georgette said, it caught a cold. “Exotic animals are very, very frail,” she said. “It develop...
2011-11-25 - Daytona Beach, United States. Tom Johnson
"They say it´s a mastodon," said Leroy McDuffie. "I live right here on the corner and I´ve been watching them dig the project, and all of a sudden it came to a screeching halt." Archaeologists have already recovered some teeth and at least one tusk. "The tusks on that thing must´ve been massive," said McDuffie. "It had to be at least five foot long!" The historic find was sitting just 8 to 10 feet underground a block from McDuffie´s house.
2011-11-14 - Rochester, United States.
On Sept. 15, 1885, at St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, Jumbo and a tiny clown elephant named "Tom Thumb" were being led along a railroad track when an unscheduled freight train appeared. Jumbo charged at the train and was killed in the ensuing collision. Barnum immediately summoned the best man in America to salvage something from the debacle – Henry A. Ward of Rochester.
2011-11-13 - New York, United States.
The bill, introduced this month in the House of Representatives by Virginia Congressman Jim Moran, aims directly at travelling circuses by seeking to outlaw exotic or wild animals from performances if they have been traveling within the previous 15 days.
2011-11-10 - Syracuse, United States.
Three of the Syracuse zoo´s elephants are finally back home after spending the past five years at a safari park in Canada. Ted Fox, director of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, says Mali and her 3-year-old son Chuck arrived at the zoo Tuesday afternoon, followed the next day by Targa. The pachyderms were carried from Cambridge, Ontario in tractor-trailer trucks specially designed to haul elephants.
2011-11-10 - COLORADO SPRINGS, United States.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo´s ´Encounter Africa´ project took another step Wednesday morning when crews demolished the old elephant barn to make room for the new exhibit. Elephant keepers got the first swings in with sledgehammers, then gave way to a wrecking ball, which made quick work of the vacant barn.
2011-11-09 - Snowmass, United States.
The site was uncovered on 14 October 2010, when a bulldozer ran into a number of mammoth bones at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass, Colorado. Palaeontologists were called out, including Kirk Johnson of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and found the nearly complete skeleton of a Pleistocene mammoth (Mammuthus columbi).
2011-11-09 - San Diego, United States.
After hearing three hours of passionate disagreement about how to treat elephants, the governing board of the San Diego County Fair rejected a request Tuesday from two high-profile animal-rights groups to cut ties with a company that brings elephants to the fair for children to ride. But board members voted 4 to 3 to revisit the issue in 2014 when new restrictive rules from the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums about elephants become effective. The new rules do not have the force of law, but the asso...
2011-11-09 - Denver, United States. Electa Draper
The two-year din of construction behind screened fences at Denver Zoo is being replaced by the pitter-patter of enormous feet — elephant, rhino and tapir. The almost-completed $50 million Asian Tropics exhibit is the zoo´s bid for greatness. Everything about the 10-acre exhibit — which must remain under wraps until late spring, when animal relocations, quarantines and training all will have run their courses — is meant to be a gee-whiz, eye-opening experience. And not just for the hu...
2011-11-04 - Denver, United States.
The arrival Thursday afternoon of a 7-year-old male elephant named Bodhi marked a new chapter for the Denver Zoo, where staffers excitedly welcomed the first of the bull elephants for which it built the $50 million Asian Tropics exhibit. Bodhi, pronounced BOH-dee, traveled by truck with an elephant manager, veterinarian and head animal keeper from the Columbus Zoo in Ohio to his new home — which is nearly completed and slated for a public opening in the late spring.
2011-11-04 - Honolulu, United States. Nina Wu
Sometime this month, Honolulu Zoo elephants Mari and Vaigai will take a short stroll to their newly expanded home that is 17 times larger than their old enclosure. The new $12 million elephant exhibit, measuring 1.4 acres, features an open dirt space, tall concrete planters, shady coves and two 55,000-gallon waterfall pools with overlooking viewing areas. It is skirted by a walkway leading from the gharial display to the African Savanna section, and is surrounded by an electrified...
2011-11-04 - Bedford, United States.
Trimble County High School recently received a special donation that was at least 8,000 years in the making - a mastodon tusk. Trimble County Superintendent Marcia Dunaway delivered the tusk to TCHS biology teacher Debby Griffin about three weeks ago. It was donated by Rick Leach, the plant manager of Nugent Sand Co. in Milton, who found it while digging in one of the company´s pits.
2011-11-02 - Philadelphia, United States.
The Philadelphia Zoo announced yesterday that Kallie, an elephant that was moved to the Pittsburgh Zoo´s International Conservation Center in 2009 - along with Bette, another African elephant - was moved again yesterday, this time to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
2011-11-01 - Cleveland, United States.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo´s elephant herd just grew to six with the arrival of Kallie from the International Conservation Center near Pittsburgh. When her quarantine is over in about a week, she will find three familiar faces: Willy, the bull of the herd, and females Martika and Shenga.
2011-10-31 - Seattle, United States.
For years, scientists dismissed Carl Gustafson´s claims that a pierced mastodon bone found in Sequim in 1977 was evidence that humans were hunting large mammals in North America 13,800 years ago. For almost 35 years, his find was ridiculed or ignored, the site dismissed as curious but not significant. New tests now show he was right.
2011-10-31 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is seeking experienced elephant keepers who would be interested in joining a progressive elephant management team, utilizing both free and protected contact. The successful candidate´s primary assignment will be at the Zoo’s International Conservation Center just outside of Berlin, Pa., about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh.
2011-10-25 - SYRACUSE, United States.
Anyone who has tried to get their pet across an international border knows that it can be difficult. Try getting three elephants across the border. That´s what officials at Syracuse´s Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park are attempting to do five years after sending two pachyderms to a safari park outside Toronto because the upstate zoo was getting crowded. While at the Ontario zoo, one of the elephants gave birth.
2011-10-20 - Washington, United States.
Other scientists scoffed when Carl Gustafson claimed that Stone Age people were hunting mastodons 14,000 years ago in the Northwest, a millennium before the appearance of the Clovis-style stone tools widely regarded as the signature of the first Americans. Gustafson found mastodon remains including a rib with a foreign piece of bone embedded in it near Sequim, Wash., in 1977. He concluded it was a weapon carved from bone or antler and hurled at the tip of a spear.
2011-10-12 - Jacksonville, United States.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently seeking a qualified candidate for the position of full time Mammal Keeper with responsibilities focused on the daily management and care of 1.3 African elephants. Desired skills include, but are not limited to, animal husbandry, operant conditioning, environmental enrichment, exhibit maintenance and minor repair. Candidates must possess solid observational and record keeping skills, an excellent safety record, a strong work history, and the ability t...
2011-10-12 - Houston, United States.
An elephant exhibit sets great zoos apart from the ordinary. That is why the Houston zoo is proud to announce the latest improvement to the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The end result of two years of planning and construction, the latest addition represents a six-fold expansion of the Habitat since the opening of the 7,000 square foot elephant barn and improved viewing areas in June 2008. The new addition adds 1.5 acres to the elephant’s outside habitats.
2011-10-10 - Washington, United States.
The 36-year-old actor announced yesterday that he´s leading a new initiative, Elephants, Never Forget, to focus on the crisis that elephants face. "The ivory trade fuels conflict and strife," DiCaprio said. "Elephants are killed by poachers so their tusks can be traded for weapons and drugs by international criminal organizations before becoming trinkets and jewelry for consumers. Authorities in 85 countries have seized almost 400 tons of ivory on the black market since the 1989 ivory trad...
2011-10-06 - Memphis, United States.
The Memphis Zoo has an opening for a Keeper in our Elephant area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in pachyderm care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience). Significant experience with operant conditioning is required.
2011-10-04 - Hohenwald, United States.
Provides day-to-day care for elephants and endorses, practices and promotes the Protected Contact system of elephant management supervised by the Lead Caregiver.
2011-09-30 - Rochester, NY, United States.
The 32nd Annual Elephant Manager’s Association Conference hosted by the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, could very well be one of the most important to date. In today’s internet age, elephant management is now a global effort, and this conference will feature presentations on elephant conservation and management partnerships and collaborations in the US and worldwide.
2011-09-26 - Front Royal, United States. Brooke Boening
Shortly upon completing her undergraduate studies in animal and nutritional sciences, West Virginia University Ph.D. student, Tina Dow, discovered a passion that would take her beyond the ordinary work environment: elephants. When Dow landed an internship at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I., in 2002, she quickly developed a fascination with the park´s African elephants.
2011-09-26 - San Diego, United States.
Early this morning (5:45 A.M.) Umngani the 21 year old African elephant gave birth to her third calf. A male. Mabhulane is now tied with Jackson for the most calves sired. Although their ratios are reversed: seven males and two females for Mabhu, seven females and two males for Jackson. This is the sixth consecutive male elephant born at the park. And the third (out of four) born this year.
2011-09-19 - Phoenix, United States.
A Practical Workshop on Elephant Footcare and Habitat. Design to support elephant health. Friday, September 23rd, 2011 - Optional Trip to Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo. Reid Park Zoo provides participants to observe African Elephant Footcare.
2011-09-16 - Pittsburgh, United States. Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
The blood from woolly mammoths is helping scientists develop new blood products for medical procedures such as heart and brain surgery. Many such operations require artificial hypothermia to be induced by drastically reducing the patient´s body temperature.
2011-09-07 - Fellsmere, United States. Eric Pfahler
Plans for a National Elephant Center on the Treasure Coast are back, although the location has changed. The group looking to house elephants now plans to locate in Fellsmere instead of western St. Lucie County. After squabbles with St. Lucie County commissioners over restrictions, the organization is expected to apply for permits on Thursday on 225 acres in northern Fellsmere, currently an unused private citrus grove surrounded by farmland near the Brevard County line.
2011-08-26 - LAKE BUENA VISTA, United States.
The elephant herd at Disney’s Animal Kingdom got just a little larger with the birth of a baby calf. Weighing 311 pounds, the male African elephant was welcomed into the group by his mother Vasha, 10 herd members and a team of animal care professionals assisting with the birth. The 25-year-old mother delivered the herd’s sixth offspring after gaining more than 800 pounds during a 22-month gestation. This latest addition, which has yet to be named, is the second calf for Vasha, who gave birth...
2011-08-24 - New York, United States. Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
New rules recently adopted by the nation´s animal facility oversight agency may mean the end of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom´s popular elephant encounter attraction. The new policy, approved Monday, prohibits "free contact" handling of elephants in favor of the so-called "protected-contact" elephant management method, according to information from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) website.
2011-08-08 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium say they´re still waiting for South African officials to ship elephant semen to the United States so the zoo can establish North America´s first elephant sperm bank. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/qS5twH ) says the zoo has been working on the plan for nearly two years, but they´ve had difficulty getting export and import permits for16 liters of semen being stored in the National Zoo´s BioBank in Pretoria, South...
2011-07-28 - Philadelphia, United States.
An African art dealer from Philadelphia was arrested on Tuesday 26 July and has been charged with illegally smuggling elephant ivory. Police seized one ton of ivory originating from Africa, making it one of the largest seizures of ivory to be illegally imported to the United States. The suspect, Victor Gordon, stained and dyed the ivory to create the impression that it was old.
2011-07-14 - Tyler, United States.
Caldwell Zoo is saddened to announce that our African Elephant bull “Chico” passed away suddenly Saturday July 9. At the time of his death he was 46 years old and the oldest African bull in North American zoos. Chico had not exhibited any signs of illness prior to his death. A team of pathologists from Texas A&M University along with Caldwell Zoo veterinarians performed a necropsy and at this time the cause of death is undetermined pending further test results.
2011-06-08 - Little Rock, United States.
Two retired female circus elephants have arrived at the Little Rock Zoo to keep Ellen company. Full information is on the jump. Jewell is 60. Zina, the one with the hairy legs, is 50. Both are Asian elephants. The elephants came from the Ringling Center for Elephant Conservation and arrived here early this morning following a 20-hour tractor-trailer ride from Sarasota, Fla. They seemed comfortable in their new home when we visited — trumpeting and harrumphing occasionally as they ambled about,...
2011-06-08 - Chandler, United States.
One of the more poignant lessons in forgiveness that Colleen Bennett has received is exemplified on the walls of her daughter´s bedroom. Lauren Bennett sleeps at the family´s Chandler home while surrounded by pictures of elephants. They remain her favorite animals, three months after she was attacked by one in Thailand. The incident left her with a life-threatening liver laceration and severe anguish for a family stuck half the world from home.
2011-06-07 - Knoxville, United States.
The Knoxville Zoo is fighting the citations and fines imposed upon them by the Tennesssee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) after the death of a worker. In January, elephant keeper Stephanie James was killed when an elephant named Edie pushed her into a steel beam.
The Knoxville Zoo has been fined more than $12,000 dollars after an inspection by TOSHA following the death of an elephant trainer. Stephanie James was killed in January when Edie, an 8500 pound African elephant, pushed her into a stall. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) inspected the zoo after the incident, and their findings were released to 10News on Monday.
2011-06-04 - Charles Q. Choi, United States.
The woolly mammoth may surprisingly have regularly interbred with a completely different and much larger elephant species, researchers now find. Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) roamed the planet for more than a million years, ranging from Europe to Asia to North America. Nearly all of these giants vanished from Siberia by about 10,000 years ago, although dwarf mammoths survived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until 3,700 years ago.
2011-06-03 - Atlanta, United States. David Beasley
Queenie, a water-skiing Asian elephant who delighted fans in the 1950s, has been euthanized at the Georgia wildlife park where she lived her final years in retirement. "She had a declining quality of life and declining health," said Micha Hogan, public relations director of the Wild Adventures Water and Theme Park in Valdosta, where Queenie had lived out of the spotlight since 2003.
2011-05-19 - Asheboro, United States.
The oldest elephant at the North Carolina Zoo could not get to his feet after his Thursday morning training exercises, zoo officials said. Thirty-seven-year-old C’sar weighs 13,000 pounds, requiring the assistance of more than just a few zoo keepers to stand up.
2011-05-19 - Toledo, United States.
The Toledo Zoo is getting ready for a new addition -- a baby! This one´s going to big, nearly 300 pounds! Louie the elephant is about to get a sibling! Louie´s mother, Renee, is pregnant with her second calf. And her due date is any day now Imagine being pregnant for nearly two years! Mama elephant Renee has been with calf for 22 months!
2011-05-11 - Marseille, United States.
On a busy day, a veterinary clinic can seem like a zoo. But Tuesday afternoon at the Marseilles Veterinary Hospital it was more like a circus. Tuesday morning the hospital received a call asking if someone could inspect an elephant that was being transported with eight ponies from Florida to Baraboo, Wis. The elephant needed a health certificate to cross into Wisconsin, hospital technician Melissa Peterson told The Times.
2011-05-11 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The baby elephant born last month at the Oklahoma City Zoo has been named Malee. Zoo officials announced the name at a ceremony Wednesday in the zoo´s new elephant habitat. Malee (pronounced MAY-lee) was chosen in an online vote. Malee, which is Thai for flower or jasmine, garnered more than 70 percent of the 14,000 votes cast. Zoo officials billed Malee as the zookeepers´ preference out of the three names offered. Other options were Annika and Hanako.
2011-05-10 - , United States. Das SK, Chattopadhyay S.
The study attempts to find out the nature of injuries caused by wild elephant attack and the common factors contributing to human-wild elephant conflict so that vulnerable population can be cautioned to avoid conflicts. A distinct seasonal as well as diurnal variation of attack incidences was noted. Attacks were sudden and unprovoked. Killer elephants were wild tuskers in all the cases.
2011-05-06 - Little Rock, United States. Lindsey Fry
The long-lived life of Little Rock Zoo´s Mary the elephant ended peacefully Thursday, May 5, 2011, when the 60-year-old pachyderm was euthanized after her health took a sharp decline in the last few days. During the procedure, Mary was surrounded by the loving Zoo staff that cared for her including several staff members who worked with her for the more than 10 years she lived at the Zoo.
2011-04-15 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The pregnant Asian elephant at the Oklahoma City Zoo has gone into labor and is expected to give birth late today or early Saturday. Asha and her calf are both doing well, the zoo´s veterinarian said this morning.
2011-04-12 - Honolulu, United States.
We, as emotional beings, place a high value on happiness and joy. Happiness is more than a feeling to us - it’s something we require and strive for. We’re so fixated on happiness that we define the pursuit of it as a right. We seek happiness not only for ourselves and our loved ones, but also for our planet and its creatures.
2011-04-11 - St. Louis, United States.
St. Louis Zoo says it´s a mystery how 40-year-old Asian elephant Donna contracted tuberculosis. No other elephant or keeper has tested positive for the illness. "We assume elephants get TB like any other animal," said the zoo´s director of animal health, Dr. Randy Junge. "An animal or human who has TB blows it out and another animal can pick it up. It takes prolonged contact. But we have a closed herd with no animals coming or going."
2011-03-27 - Cleveland, United States.
Lisa Leeman´s documentary traces the relationship between circus owner David Balding and his main attraction, not just in the show but in his life. Balding raised the 18-year-old only to realize when she turned 16 that he´d made a mistake. She needs to be with other elephants, even if it means being apart from her human companion.
2011-03-27 - Portland, United States.
Packy made his entrance at what´s known today as the Oregon Zoo the first elephant born in the United States in more than 40 years. Matthew Maberry was in the elephant barn that morning and he recalls every detail in "Packy & Me: The Incredible Tale of Doc Maberry and the Baby Elephant Who Made History." Maberry, 93, wrote the memoir with his wife, Patricia, and Michelle Trappen, a former reporter for The Oregonian.
2011-03-25 - Knoxville, United States.
The Jan. 14 death of Stephanie James, the Knoxville Zoo keeper who died after being pushed by female elephant Edie, was accidental, a review panel has found. The zoo also announced Thursday that Edie and its other female elephant, Jana, will be permanently cared for by keepers in what´s called ´protected contact.´ That means keepers will work with the pachyderms with bars or barriers between them.
2011-03-25 - Miami, United States.
An update from the Central Florida Zoo & botanical Gardens: Maude, the Central Florida Zoo’s Asian elephant that moved to Zoo Miami, is adjusting well to her new elephant herd, the zoo reports. She has joined two other Asian elephants, Nellie and Dahlip. Central Florida Zoo hoofstock keepers Bernie Bartosch and Dani Lent remained in Miami for several days after Maude’s arrival to help her adjust to her new environment.
2011-03-25 - Monterey, United States.
Mark Hylkema, Archaeologist with California State Parks, told Central Coast News his team found the remains of a juvenile Columbian mammoth in Monterey County. "We´re hoping to find out more and to get a chance to view and learn more about what they do discover once they´re done excavating," said Annie Holdren, Pacific Grove Museum Curator. The archeologist asked us not to reveal the city or exact location of the discovery.
2011-03-16 - Nashville, United States. Craig Boerner
Circus workers, zookeepers and others having direct or indirect contact with elephants are on alert because of a study definitively showing that elephants can transmit tuberculosis to humans, the result of a cooperative investigation between the Tennessee Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
2011-03-16 - Washington, United States.
A judge sentenced Pascal Vieillard, CEO of A-440 Pianos Inc., to 3 years probation for illegally smuggling elephant ivory into the US, while the Georgia-based company has been fined $17,500. Vieillard had earlier pleaded guilty to importing pianos with ivory parts.
2011-03-16 - Seattle, United States.
The Woodland Park Zoo is hoping it will be able to ring in 2013 with a brand new baby elephant after artificially inseminating its 32-year-old Asian elephant, Chai, over the weekend. "Chai is very healthy and in excellent condition for pregnancy," Bruce Upchurch, curator of behavioral managment and elephants, said in a Woodland Park Zoo press release. "Our fingers are crossed that she has conceived."
2011-03-16 - Sherman, United States.
It may be hard to imagine woolly mammoths roaming through North Texas, but scientists from Dallas have unearthed the proof. Someone found a bone in a creek wall in Sherman a few months ago. When archaeologists started digging last week, they found more intriguing remains.
2011-03-14 - Washington, United States.
Two American explorers are heading to Africa today to begin an important expedition that could prove vital to the fight against the illegal ivory trade. Their five week long journey, dubbed the Elephant Ivory Project, may help to save herds of those creatures, which have come increasingly under attack from poachers in recent years.
2011-03-13 - Hohenwald, United States. Murphree R, Warkentin JV, Dunn JR, Schaffner W, Jones TF.
In 2009, the Tennessee Department of Health received reports of 5 tuberculin skin test (TST) conversions among employees of an elephant refuge and isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a resident elephant. To determine the extent of the outbreak and identify risk factors for TST conversion, we conducted a cohort study and onsite assessment. Risk for conversion was increased for elephant caregivers and administrative employees working in the barn housing the M. tuberculosis-infected elepha...
2011-03-13 - Hohenwald, United States.
A tuberculosis outbreak among workers at a Tennessee elephant sanctuary in 2009 is being blamed on one of the pachyderms, even though some of the employees didn´t have close contact with the animal. TB spread to eight employees, though three of them didn´t work directly with the elephant. The eight employees tested positive on a skin test and received treatment,
2011-03-12 - Nashville, United States.
Full Time Elephant Keeper - The Elephant Department is accepting resumes for a full time with benefits elephant keeper position. At least one year of free contact elephant experience is required. This position includes: Daily handling, training and care of 0.4 African elephants in a free contact environment, detailed daily cleaning and maintenance of holding areas and exhibit, record keeping, public speaking, veterinary assistance, team and individual problem solving and decision making.
2011-03-09 - Atlanta, United States. Plotnik JM, Lair R, Suphachoksahakun W, de Waal FB.
This paradigm explores the cognition underlying coordination toward a shared goal. What do animals know or learn about the benefits of cooperation? Can they learn critical elements of a partner´s role in cooperation? Whereas observations in nature suggest such understanding in nonhuman primates, experimental results have been mixed, and little evidence exists with regards to nonprimates. Here, we show that elephants can learn to coordinate with a partner in a task requiring two individuals...
2011-03-08 - Oklahoma City, United States.
After a year and a half of construction, the elephants at the Oklahoma City Zoo finally have a new home. The new elephant habitat covers more than nine and a half acres at the zoo. The $13 million, state-of-the-art exhibit includes three outdoor yards, pools, a waterfall, shade structures and a more than 15,000 square foot barn.
2011-03-07 - Hohenwald, United States.
The sanctuary has fired back with a counterclaim that Buckley created a hostile working environment, with mistreatment of workers. It also alleges that she failed to implement infection control measures, which the sanctuary and regulators agreed to, that preceded several elephant caregivers´ testing positive for tuberculosis.
2011-03-02 - Miami, United States.
Zoo Miami is accepting applications for a full time, temporary elephant keeper. We are seeking an energetic, team oriented, and outgoing person to join our staff. Experience with elephants and a working knowledge of operant conditioning is desired. This is a substitute position with the potential to be permanent. Minimum requirements are a college degree in Animal Science or related field and one year of professional animal care experience in an AZA accredited facility, as well as the ability to...
2011-02-24 - Baltimore, United States.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is looking for a qualified individual to join our team as the Elephant Operations Manager. Under the general supervision of the General Curator/Elephant Manager and Assistant Curator, the Elephant Operations Manager is directly responsible for the development, maintenance, and daily execution of the elephant program so that it meets or exceeds AZA standards for elephant care and management.
2011-02-23 - Cleveland, United States.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo says its current herd of three elephants this spring will welcome Shenga, a female African elephant from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. That zoo had two elephants but the other died in October, leaving Shenga alone. Cleveland also will receive one more elephant for a total of five that will inhabit the zoo´s new African Elephant Crossing when it opens May 5.
2011-02-22 - Portland, United States.
The Oregon Zoo is pleased to announce an available position working as a member of the professional animal care team for our Elephant facility. We are headed for an exciting time in our elephant program with the expansion of our current elephant facilities from 2.5 acres to 6 acres and the development of an off-site elephant facility.
2011-02-18 - Memphis, United States.
Working under the general direction of the Director of Animal Programs, responsible for the management and well being of the large mammal collection and associated exhibits in accordance with the Zoo’s goals of conservation, education, research, and exhibition
2011-02-15 - Knoxville, United States.
The elephant that killed its handler at the Knoxville Zoo last month apparently committed an “intentional” attack without provocation, according to a state report released today. Zoo officials say that’s a conclusion without any proof. “Intentional is a word that I don’t know how you can say,” said Jim Vlna, the zoo’s director. “They don’t know the mind of an elephant.”
2011-02-08 - Washington, United States.
Almost half a century back, in 1954, in the remotes and dense jungles of Angola, Jose (Joseph) Fenykovi first saw the track of largest animal ever recorded in human history. It was an unbelievably big elephant track by the muddy shore of a lake. Joseph Fenykovi, Hungarian-born resident of Spain, was an engineer and big game hunter. Every Year, Fenykovi and his wife would abandon Europe and take off for their 1,000-acre ranch in Angola to start their big-game sport spanning for three months.
2011-02-02 - Los Angeles, United States.
Sex and the City star Kristin Davis will receive the Wyler Award from the Humane Society of the United States for her work in helping orphaned African elephants that are hunted for their ivory tusks. She´ll receive the tribute on March 19 in Los Angeles at the organization´s 25th anniversary Genesis Awards.
2011-02-02 - Vallejo, United States. AZA
Responsible for helping to train Elephants in a free contact program. Have involvement in training programs; care of Elephants, presentations in Elephant show, and other various duties as assigned. Qualified candidates should submit a resume to the Human Resources Office at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
2011-02-01 - Central Florida, United States.
The Central Florida & Botanical Gardens announces it will be transferring Maude, the Asian elephant to Zoo Miami within the next month. Maude will share a home at Zoo Miami with two other Asian elephants and will become part of this elephant herd. "We have an obligation to all of our animals, and especially to Maude, to select what is in her best interest," says Joe Montisano, CEO of Zoo. "After an extensive process and analysis of our options, we are confident this is best for her at this time....
2011-01-21 - Jamestown, United States.
A fossil which brought thousands of visitors to Randolph nearly eight decades ago could bring a whole new generation of interested guests to Jamestown during the next several weeks. For the first time since it was un-earthed from the Randolph Fish Hatchery in 1934, the fossilized re-mains of the “Randolph Mammoth” will be on display beginning Saturday, Jan. 22 at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown. The fossil — which is part of the museums “Fossils!” exhibit w...
2011-01-21 - Vallejo, United States.
North America´s oldest Asian elephant has died at a Northern California theme park at the age of 71. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Tuesday announced the death of Taj, who had lived at the Vallejo park for 33 years. The elephant was one of Discovery Kingdom´s most popular attractions. Her tricks included stacking logs and playing tug-of-war with guests. The park retired her three years ago.
2011-01-16 - Knoxville, United States.
Stephanie James loved animals - whether it was the horses she used to take care of as a child, her dog she rescued from being euthanized or the elephants that she cared for daily at the Knoxville Zoo. "That was her life," her father, Ron James, said by telephone Friday evening. "It was just her goal in life to take care of animals and be around them."
2011-01-15 - Knoxville, United States. Amy McRary
The Knoxville Zoo African elephant that fatally injured one of her keepers will not be punished as multiple agencies begin to investigate what zoo officials call a tragic accident. Elephant keeper Stephanie Elaine James, 33, died from internal injuries she suffered Friday afternoon when a zoo elephant named Edie pushed her into the heavy metal bars of a stall inside the pachyderms’ barn.
2011-01-04 - Greenville, South Carolina, United States.
A Greenville Zoo elephant, Lady Bird, 40, lost part of her right tusk last week, according to zoo officials. In a release, they say the tusk was discovered by zoo staff in the elephant barn when they let her out for exhibit. While they say it is not uncommon for elephants to break off their tusks, Lady Bird had a large crack in what was left of her tusk that concerned staff. “If the pulp canal, the vital portion of the tooth that runs down the center of the tusk, is open via the crack, then th...
2011-01-02 - New York, United States. Matthew McDermott
There are only an estimated 116 wild Asian elephants in Cambodia´s Seima Protection Area, and until now most of the photographic evidence of them has be taken by camera traps. New footage released by the Wildlife Conservation Society changes that. The short video, a screengrab of which is above (here´s the original footage), taken back in August by Allan Michaud shows a male elephant feeding on grass.
2010-12-27 - San Diego, California, United States. Imperial Valley News
In the dark, early hours of Monday morning, an African elephant calf was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. No human was there to witness it, but when the elephant staff arrived, about 6 a.m., they noticed the tiny, new member of the African elephant herd. Keepers called the mother, Litsemba, into an upper yard for a visual check of her and the new calf. "The baby was born out on the main exhibit in the presence of all the other moms and calves, but we wanted to make sure today that he reall...
2010-12-23 - , United States.
A New Zealand elephant handler won a wrongful dismissal claim Wednesday against a circus that falsely told him it had lost his beloved animal and his services were no longer required. The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found that Tony Ratcliffe, who had looked after Jumbo the elephant for 30 years, agreed to sell the animal to the Australian-based Loritz Bros. Circus in 2008 and act as its carer.
2010-12-23 - Boston, United States. Nadin Rohland, David Reich, Swapan Mallick, Matthias Meyer, Richard E. Green3, Nicholas J. Georgiadis, Alfred L. Roca, Michael Hofreiter, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
To elucidate the history of living and extinct elephantids, we generated 39,763 bp of aligned nuclear DNA sequence across 375 loci for African savanna elephant, African forest elephant, Asian elephant, the extinct American mastodon, and the woolly mammoth. Our data establish that the Asian elephant is the closest living relative of the extinct mammoth in the nuclear genome, extending previous findings from mitochondrial DNA analyses
2010-12-22 - Old Crow, United States.
Baby woolly mammoths in the Yukon were nourished exclusively on their mother´s milk for two years, much longer than elephants nurse their young, a new study has found. The dependency on nursing may have hastened the extinction of the giant tusked mammals 10,000 years ago, suggested Jessica Metcalfe, the University of Western Ontario researcher who led the study published in December in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
2010-12-22 - Washington, United States.
Everyone is taught that there are two species of elephants — the African and the Asian — but new research is suggesting this isn´t the whole truth. The "African elephant" is actually two species, as evolutionarily different as lions and tigers are from one another.
2010-12-12 - Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States. Timothy Tegge
Clocking in at just under two full hours, this magnificent collection of all things pachyderm contains 28 different elephant acts (some partial and many complete), in addition to several additional accompanying vignettes filmed on various shows around the world. It can be purchased soon at http://www.circustimevideo.com/
2010-11-27 - Washington, United States.
The di no saurs’ de mise 65 mil lion years ago paved the way for mam mals to even tu ally grow over a thou sand fold in size, hit ting rec ords for heft some 34 mil lion years ago, a new study sug gests. “Size im pacts all as pects of bi ol o gy, from re pro duc tion to ex tinc tion,” said Uni vers ity of New Mex i co bi ol o gist Fe lisa Smith, who led the re search. “Un der stand ing the con straints op er at ing on size is cru cial to un der stand ing how ecosys tems work.”
2010-11-20 - Smowmass, United States. Loren Grush
An accidental discovery by a bulldozer driver has led to what may be the find of the century: an ice-age burial ground that could rival the famed La Brea tar pits. After two weeks of excavating ancient fossils at the Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village, Colorado, scientists from the Denver Museum of Natural Science returned home Wednesday with their unearthed treasures in tow -- a wide array of fossils, insects and plant life that they say give a stunningly realistic view of what life was li...
2010-11-19 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon
"Using Science to Understand Elephant Welfare" will involve all 290 Asian and African elephants housed in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Zoos with pachyderms were not required to participate, but all signed on.
2010-11-15 - St. Louis, United States. AZA
Works as part of a team to provide daily elephant care including but not limited to diet preparation and feeding, barn and yard cleaning, foot and skin care and training of 1.1 African elephants within a Protected Contact management system. Must be team oriented with strong communication skills (written and oral). Observes elephants for changes in behavior and any sign of injury or illness. Assists in maintaining enrichment programs Participates in on-going research involving elephant care and h...
2010-11-15 - Omaha, United States.
Her friend Maliaka dead, Shenga will now head to a new home. The female African elephant will move to a new zoo early next year, according to a news release from the Henry Doorly Zoo: "The decision to move Shenga comes after the death of Maliaka, a 47-year-old elderly female elephant who lived with her."
2010-11-11 - Winston, United States. AZA
The Wildlife Safari offers an exciting, hands-on, and unique internship program. These three-month, non-paid internships occur in one of four departments; Cheetah, Carnivore, Ungulate and Elephant departments. The Wildlife Safari offers an experience much like that of doing field conservation due to our large mixed species exhibits with 600 acres for the animals to roam. Wildlife Safari is also known for it’s top cheetah breed program with 163 cheetah births.
2010-11-10 - Cleveland, Ohio, United States. James Ewinger
Today´s word is "biggest" -- as in the biggest land mammal in the world, the biggest animal the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has ever housed, and an exhibit that is expected to be the biggest draw since the RainForest opened nearly 20 years ago. The new African Elephant Crossing, set to open May 5, is also expected to attract zoo managers from around North America because of its innovations. But the biggest news right now is the arrival of Willy, a 31-year-old African bull elephant who stands ...
2010-11-07 - Cleveland, United States.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is winding down construction on its African elephant crossing project. Although the sparks are still flying, the finishing touches are still being made to the facility and its grounds. “We’ve quadrupled the amount of space that we originally had for elephants. So it’s an increase in the amount of space, but also we’ve made that space so much better for the elephants by improving its quality,” said Amanda Majewski with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
2010-11-04 - Los Angeles, United States. Jason Jacobs, Los Angeles Zoo PR
On the morning of Thursday, November 4, 2010, the Los Angeles Zoo moved 25-year-old Asian elephant Billy into a completed section of the new six-acre Elephants of Asia exhibit, scheduled to open December 16. Zoo staff used pumpkins to create a trail for Billy to follow into his new home. After cautiously stepping into the new habitat, Billy began eating the pumpkins along with some of the landscaping. Billy then showered himself underneath the new waterfall and dug into the river sand which surr...
2010-11-03 - Snowmass, United States. Brent Gardner-Smith
Plant material and soil sent for radiocarbon dating; big dig at reservoir begins today. For now, think “Snowmass mastodon” as much as “Snowmass mammoth.” Dr. Steven Holen, curator of archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, has determined that five tusks found last Thursday in the Ziegler Reservoir are from mastodons. “We have an absolute minimum of three mastodons,” Holen said Monday by phone before excitedly rushing back to the archaeological dig, which is set...
2010-10-30 - Portland, United States.
We are headed for an exciting time in our elephant program with the expansion of our current elephant facilities from 2.5 acres to 6 acres and the development of an off-site elephant facility. We are seeking an Elephant Curator to manage the elephant collection.
2010-10-30 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall and Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
Two females will be on indefinite loan from the San Diego Zoo, bringing the Griffith Park facility´s number of pachyderms to three. Tina and Jewel are female Asian elephants of un certain age who between them have endured foot problems and dental surgery. They will be on indefinite loan from the San Diego Zoo, both zoos announced Friday.
2010-10-27 - San Diego Zoo, United States. Sarah, Real World Team
We talked to the Senior Elephant Keeper Ron Ringer, who gave us a breif explanation of the Center. Then Anne Alfama, the Lead Keeper of Elephant Odyssey, gave a basic rundown of both the Center and the Odyssey. She emphasized that the Elephant Care Center is a state of the art elephant care facility, built with Keeper input.
2010-10-26 - Winston, United States.
With the help of a local winery, the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore. made a little history this weekend. One of the elephants made famous for its Elephant Car Wash traded in bucket and sponge for a glass of Pinot. George the elephant from Wildlife Safari stomped grapes for wine this past weekend in Winston, Ore. – marking the first time in North America where an elephant has been used to stomp grapes for wine.
2010-10-22 - Washington, United States.
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s endocrinology laboratory is set to play a vital role in what will be the most comprehensive and collaborative study on elephant welfare in zoos—a project funded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services with the Honolulu Zoo serving as principal investigator.
2010-10-22 - Mt. Juliet, United States.
A Mt. Juliet native who survived an elephant attack in China is returning to Middle Tennessee to tell his story about survival and to sign copies of his book, Elephant Juice: Miracles Happen, this weekend. Jeremy McGill, 33, who now lives in Henderson, Tenn., was teaching English in China in January 2008 when he was given a vacation stipend and time off to travel the country.
2010-10-21 - Vallejo, United States.
REPORTS TO: Elephant Supervisos. STATUS: Full-Time Hourly. JOB SUMMARY: Responsible for helping to train Elephants in a free contact program. Have involvement in training programs; care of Elephants, presentations in Elephant show, and other various duties as assigned.
2010-10-19 - Franklin, United States.
Past the driveways and decorative mailboxes of a quiet Franklin cul de sac, the ancient bones of what´s likely a mastodon and the tools of prehistoric America are seeing sunlight for the first time in thousands of years. Since last week, a team of archaeologists and Middle Tennessee State University students has hewn a trench about 10 feet deep into the cool clay of a suburban Williamson County backyard, bringing out bags of bone fragments and stones once used perhaps as axes or other impl...
2010-10-18 - Oklahoma City, United States.
Asian elephants Asha and Chandra have returned to the Oklahoma City Zoo after more than 2 years in Tulsa. The sisters returned Monday to Oklahoma City after riding in a special climate-controlled truck. "They´re back in town," Oklahoma City Zoo spokeswoman Tara Henson said. "They´re doing great."
2010-10-15 - Portland, United States.
We are headed for an exciting time in our elephant program with the expansion of our current elephant facilities from 2.5 acres to 6 acres and the development of an off-site elephant facility. We are seeking an Elephant Curator manage the elephant collection.
2010-10-12 - Louisville, United States.
A post-mortem exam has concluded a 3-year-old African elephant that died at the Louisville Zoo earlier this year had a common complication of colic. The zoo, in a release Tuesday, said Scotty, the first elephant born in the facility´s 41-year history, died in early May after contracting endotoxemia, which happens when bacteria leaks from the intestinal tract into the bloodstream.
2010-10-11 - Central Florida, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus® and the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation® are pleased to announce a unique learning opportunity in elephant care. The next intern session is scheduled to begin on February 28,2011and will conclude on May 20, 2011.
2010-10-11 - Jersey City, United States.
You may never be too old to learn, but a new exhibit at the Liberty Science Center proves you’re never too old to enlighten either. Lyuba, a 42,000-year old baby woolly mammoth discovered in Siberia in 1997, arrived at the interactive science museum in Jersey City on Friday for a temporary stay which opens to the public on Oct. 16.
2010-10-11 - Jackson, United States.
When hungry, Rosie and Juno could each make quick work of an oak tree branch, bamboo stalks, a pitchfork handle, peanut butter sandwiches and a 55-gallon tank of frozen popsicles. When the light is right, both are the color of cappuccino, including their ears, which resemble maps of Africa so massive they could double as pup tents.
2010-10-08 - Oklahoma City, United States.
Asian elephants Asha and Chandra will return to their home at Oklahoma City Zoo in the coming weeks, and they´ll find a homestead that´s very different from their old stomping grounds. They´ll have 3½ acres of land instead of fourth of an acre. Theyir barn will be 10 times bigger.
2010-10-08 - Hohenwald, United States.
A co-founder of a renowned habitat for sick and endangered elephants claims she was forced out and is suing the safe haven and two of its Nashville board members. Carol Buckley, a founder of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, is suing for retaliatory termination, breach of contract and visitation rights for her elephant, Tarra, among other things. Buckley also claims she had her name and art used without her permission, according to a Davidson County Chancery Court lawsuit. She is suing the sa...
2010-10-08 - San Andreas, United States. Cynthia Hubert
Big news from the Performing Animal Welfare Society: Sabu, a seven-ton Asian bull elephant, has arrived at the organization´s ARK 2000 compound. A retiree from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, he is the largest captive elephant in North America, said Pat Derby, PAWS president. Sabu joins his brother Nicholas, who came to ARK 2000 five years ago. "Sabu is a big, big boy, and so beautiful," Derby said of the 28-year-old elephant.
2010-10-08 - Nashville, United States. LIZ POTOCSNAK
A founder of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee claims the sanctuary squeezed her out for objecting to illegal payments and its slow response to tuberculosis. Carol Buckley, whom Time magazine called a "Hero For The Planet" for her work at the refuge, says the sanctuary is still using her name and biography collect donations.
2010-10-07 - Winston, United States.
It is a heart wrenching day for the staff at Wildlife Safari in Winston. Tiki the Elephant, world famous for her paintings and working as a living Elephant Car Wash, has died. Tiki died early this morning, after park officials say she had been sick for several days. Even though she was the smallest one there, she was the matriarch. She had been at the park for over 35 years, and the staff doesn´t know how the other two elephants, George and Alice, are going to fare without her.
2010-10-06 - St. Louis, United States. Ryan Easley
The Tom Packs Elephants were considered the best trained elephant act of its time. Trained by elephant master Mac MacDonald, they represented the epitome of class and skill throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Originally trained as a group of five elephants for the Tom Packs Circus, four of the animals represent part of a larger group imported together in 1948.
2010-10-05 - Houston, United States. Caroline Gallay
The Houston Zoo welcomed its second baby Asian elephant in less than five months on Sunday evening. Baby Tupelo joins Baylor at the zoo´s McNair Asian Elephant Habitat, where the newborn is bonding with her mother, Tess. The baby weighed in at 273 pounds and is a half sister of Baylor, who was born May 4 to mom Shanti and bull elephant Thailand. Thailand is also the new baby elephant´s dad.
2010-10-05 - Hudson, United States. ALBERT McKEON
Bret Bronson practically shared a home with elephants. But he hardly recognizes that home away from home now, 15 years after he and his pachyderms said goodbye to the 165-acre tract that was once Benson’s Wild Animal Farm. The town of Hudson has converted the once-popular destination spot into a lush recreational reserve, with the hopes of again drawing the masses.
2010-10-03 - Pittsburgh, United States. Emily Gibb, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A playful squabble between 2-year-olds rolling in the dirt turns rough, so mom steps in because one is sitting on the other´s head. Such antics are a normal occurrence in the elephant yard at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, but this time they were in the international spotlight as the zoo hosts the 31st annual Elephant Managers Association conference this weekend. The EMA is a group of elephant professionals, veterinarians, researchers and enthusiasts, said EMA president Andrew Smith, w...
2010-09-30 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The 31st Annual Elephant Manager’s Association Conference hosted by the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, could very well be one of the most important to date. In today’s internet age, elephant management is now a global effort, and this conference will feature presentations on elephant conservation and management partnerships and collaborations in the US and worldwide.
2010-09-26 - New Bedford, United States.
New Bedford´s Buttonwood Park Zoo wants to expand, bring in new animals and become more self sufficient. Zoo management says their $12 million draft master plan unveiled this week would add four acres, making room for a third elephant, and exhibits featuring tigers, monkeys and red pandas. Director William Langbauer tells The Standard Times that expansion could boost attendance by 33 percent a year, and help make the zoo two-thirds self-sufficient.
2010-09-26 - Seattle, United States.
A 41-year-old African elephant lost her tusk at the Woodland Park Zoo Tuesday after getting excited when keepers were moving hay feeders. Watoto got her tusk stuck in a nearby restraint device and was able to dislodge it, but about 10 minutes later, the tusk fell out. Gigi Allianic, a spokeswoman for the zoo, said the elephant is doing fine and is expected to recover normally.
2010-09-26 - Washington, United States. OurAmazingPlanet Staff
In an attempt to further conservation efforts for the Asian elephant, veterinarians at the Smithsonian National Zoo have performed a series of artificial insemination procedures on Shanthi, a 34-year old Asian elephant. A successful pregnancy would be an important milestone in the zoo´s commitment to Asian elephant conservation, zoo officials said in a statement.
2010-09-26 - Chicago, United States.
For the first time since 1889, there are no elephants in either Chicago zoo. On Wednesday, Brookfield Zoo shipped its lone female, Joyce, to a Six Flags park in New Jersey. Joyce, a 27-year-old African elephant, was lent by Six Flags to Brookfield a year ago as a companion to Christy, a 28-year-old female elephant at the zoo. But Joyce was left alone when Christy became ill and died last December.
2010-09-22 - Las Cruces, United States.
The skull of a mastodon-like animal has been unearthed in a mining pit in southern New Mexico. It crumbled after researchers tried to excavate it from the site near Mesquite, and it will now have to be painstakingly reassembled. "We have a big job of putting it together again,´´ said New Mexico State University biologist and Paleozoic museum curator Peter Houde.
2010-09-19 - Ebay, United States.
This is an early real photo postcard showing a Female Elephant Trainer on a Elephant. Circa 1910. It is in excellent condition.
2010-09-15 - Johnson City, United States.
A mammoth skeleton is among the finds the director of East Tennessee State University´s paleontology center unearthed during a summer of Ice Age excavations in Saltville, Virginia. ETSU´s Blaine Schubert said the find represents the best potential evidence that the giant bears, which were up to 5 1/2 feet at the shoulder when on all fours, scavenged on mammoths.
2010-09-15 - Oklahoma City, United States.
Keepers at the Oklahoma City and Tulsa zoos hope Chandra will get pregnant like her sister, Asha, before the two move back to Oklahoma City this fall. After 2 years of trying, Chandra isn´t pregnant. It´s not that the Asian elephant isn´t healthy or able to conceive. She´s just not that interested in her suitor, Sneezy. "She´s being kind of a stinker," said Jennifer D´Agostino, director of veterinary services for the Oklahoma City Zoo. "She´s not really ...
2010-09-12 - San Diego, United States.
Today, I headed over to the zoo to meet with Ann Alfama, a lead keeper who takes care of the elephants and polar bears, and who´s also been known to feed the lions. Alfama grew up in Minnesota with dreams of becoming a veterinarian, but eventually had a change of heart, deciding that she didn´t only want to care for sick animals. Alfama earned a degree in exotic animal training and management and the rest was history.
2010-09-12 - Sacramento, United States.
Two days after the city sent a letter to Ringling Bros. officials declaring four elephants unfit under a new city ordinance to perform in a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus show at Arco Arena, it followed up with a second letter Saturday, clearing the elephants to perform. One elephant is to be limited in its performances.
2010-09-10 - Jersey City, United States.
When the Field Museum’s traveling exhibition Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age comes to the Liberty Science Center next month, it will bring with it the celebrated 42,000-year-old baby woolly mammoth Lyuba. Lyuba, considered to be the best preserved and most complete mammoth ever, was discovered in northern Siberia three years ago by a reindeer herder, and named after his wife
2010-09-07 - Hohenwald, United States.
Robert Atkinson, Head of Wildlife for the United Kingdom´s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was has been named CEO of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald. It’s the nation’s largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered Asian and African elephants, the group says.
2010-09-07 - Colorado Springs, United States. KIMBERLY FIELD
If a Hollywood casting agent sent over the quintessential rancher, you’d get Bob Norris, the original owner of the Oldachs’ home. He’s possibly better known as the Marlboro Man — but that is the least interesting role Norris has played in his 81 years. Take the story of Amy, for starters. Amy is an orphaned ele-phant who he raised and taught to waltz and play a piano. She stole his heart when an elephant trainer showed up at Bob’s T-Cross Ranch in 1988 looking to rent stalls for six ba...
2010-09-03 - Baltimore, United States.
2010-09-02 - Gainesville, United States. Jeanna Bryner
Palmer and his colleague Jacob Goheen, of the University of Wyoming, were conducting research in the central highlands of Kenya, where elephants have destroyed much of the tree cover. There, the A. drepanolobium trees appeared to be unscathed by the hungry giants. That tree in particular has a cozy relationship with ants, which live on its branches full time. "The ants protect the tree in exchange for both housing that the tree produces in the form of bulbous hollow thorns, as well as food in th...
2010-09-01 - Washington, United States. Emily Leaman
Years of renovations and new exhibits at the National Zoo have taken their toll on the institution’s most important residents: the crowd-pleasing animals known as “charismatic megafauna.” Zoos have learned that to attract visitors, they need to offer 6 to 12 species of charismatic megafauna, the iconic large animals that range from pandas and tigers to elephants and great apes. After relocating its rhinos, giraffe, Nile hippopotamus, and a few pygmy hippos to other zoos, the National Zoo i...
2010-09-01 - Oklahoma City, United States.
Devon Energy is donating more than 3 miles of recycled oil pipes to the Oklahoma City Zoo. The pipes will be used to build a fence at the zoo´s new elephant habitat. A shipment of pipes was delivered Tuesday. Devon Energy has delivered a little more than half of the used drill and steam pipes, which are worth about $115,000.
2010-08-27 - Escondido, United States.
A male African elephant born at the former San Diego Zoo´s Wild Animal Park three months ago will be called Emanti, which means "water" in the language of Swaziland, zoo officials announced Thursday. The calf was born May 12 at the newly renamed San Diego Zoo Safari Park located in southeast Escondido. More than 1,000 name suggestions were submitted via the zoo´s website. Of those, three finalists were chosen for a public vote.
2010-08-14 - Honolulu, United States.
The Honolulu Zoo´s two elephants will move into prime real estate next year when their 37,000-square-foot grazing habitat is completed. The zoo broke ground yesterday on the enclosure that will house the two female Indian elephants and provide space for a male, which the zoo is hoping to get in the next few years. The facility will replace the elephants´ existing 3,100-square-foot facility and form the backbone of a retooled Asian rain forest exhibit.
2010-08-12 - Columbus, United States.
Beco’s Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One by Linda Stanek, about the first year in the life of a baby Asian elephant. Both titles were released with 10,000-copy first print runs, half in hardcover, half in paper. The books are currently available at Columbus Zoo gift shops, local bookstores, and online.
2010-08-10 - Toledo, United States.
The elephant trainer who was attacked at the Toledo Zoo by a 7-year-old male elephant on July 1 has no memory of the incident, officials said Tuesday. As a result, Anne Baker, the zoo´s executive director, and Marna Ramnath, who headed a zoo review of the incident, said they do not believe they´ll ever know for sure what happened involving trainer Don RedFox.
2010-08-08 - Cincinnati, United States.
Dr. Mark Campbell makes his first house call of the day shortly before 8 a.m. The bearded, bespectacled veterinarian enters the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden´s Elephant House, where his patient awaits. My-Thai, a 36-year-old, 8,700-pound Asian elephant, is not sick. But Campbell needs to draw a blood sample for a species survival plan study that will determine whether elephants experience menopause
2010-08-08 - Fort Collins, United States. Pam Mellskog
If elephants carried their canteloupe-size testicles in the usual spot, sterilizing them would be easier. Instead, these reproductive parts — along with the tubes that carry the sperm away — grow internally by the kidneys. No one cared much about elephant birth control during those years when poachers ravaged herds to sell ivory for as much as $125 a pound. But since the 1989 international ban on the ivory trade, African elephants have replenished their ranks and then some.
2010-08-05 - Houston, United States.
A sensitive real-time PCR test that specifically detects a deadly strain of herpes virus in elephants has been developed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. The findings appear in the current edition of the American Journal of Veterinary Research. There are many strains of herpes viruses that affect elephants, but in particular the endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV1) is deadly. No symptoms are seen until it is too late, and treatment options are limited because little is known about ...
2010-08-04 - Springfield, United States.
The staff of Dickerson Park Zoo is deeply saddened by the death of “Ol’ C.C.,” the zoo’s oldest elephant. “C.C. held a special place in the hearts of everyone associated with the zoo and among the community,” says Mike Crocker, Zoo Superintendent. “This is a profound loss for our staff, especially her zookeepers who cared for her every day, and for the community as a whole.”
2010-08-03 - Tucson, United States.
Reid Park Zoo will begin construction this fall on a new multi-million dollar expansion, dedicated to housing elephants. "Expedition Tanzania" will be a seven-acre expansion, that Reid Park general curator Jim Schnormeier says is expected to cost between $8 and $9 million. Funding for the expansion will come from the City of Tucson and the Reid Park Zoological Society.
2010-07-29 - Boston, United States.
An Asian elephant rescued more than 30 years ago from a camp in Thailand has died at a local zoo. The animal, Dondi, died Wednesday morning at Southwick´s Zoo in Mendon. Dondi was rescued from a lumber camp in Thailand in April 1975 by Phil and Francine Schacht.
2010-07-21 - Toledo, United States.
Toledo Zoo officials released video of an African elephant pinning his trainer in a corner of its cell and charging at the zookeeper, critically injuring the man, who has remained in a hospital since the July 1 attack. Louie, a 7-year-old African elephant, is seen knocking down and attacking trainer Don RedFox after being startled by the man´s arrival in the enclosure.
2010-07-21 - Nairobi, United States. FRED MUKINDA and BENJAMIN MUINDI
Kenya has become a safe route for cartels involved in illegal ivory trade. Investigations have, however, cleared Kenya of being the source of elephant tusks and ivory products seized in parts of the world in recent months. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), working with Interpol, is now trying to identify key people running the cartels responsible for the dwindling number of elephants. The trafficking of game trophy through Kenya has exposed the relaxed surveillance at the country’s entry and e...
2010-07-17 - Guwahati, United States.
Two elephant calves were killed in separate incidents in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park on Saturday, officials said. According to report, a six-year old elephant calf died after it was hit by a speeding vehicle on NH-37 inside the park in the wee hours of Saturday. “When the killed elephant calf was trying to cross the NH-37 at Amguri under Burapahar Forest Range office in the Park, a speeding vehicle, coming from Jorhat to Guwahati, hit the calf. It died on the spot,” a senior forest off...
2010-07-16 - Los Angeles, United States. Jeff Favre
In recent years, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles had been getting a bit long in the tooth — and we’re not talking about the saber-toothed tiger fossils in its collections. No, the museum’s building was nearly a century old, and it was in need of a serious makeover. Thanks to an extensive series of just-wrapped renovations, the structure built in 1913 is looking better than ever. But what good is a structural facelift if there’s nothing new to see inside?
2010-07-15 - Springfield, United States.
Dickerson Park Zoo´s oldest elephant is recovering from a serious spinal injury. Dr. Erica Wilson, a staff veterinarian at the zoo, said C.C. the elephant was injured earlier this month when she fell during an exercise walk. She has two fractured lumbar vertebrae and minor damage to her spinal cord. Wilson believes the elephant fell due to some disorientation caused by anti-tuberculocidal medicine the elephant was given, she said.
2010-07-14 - Springfield, United States.
An ultrasound examination on one of Dickerson Park Zoo’s elephants provides new information about the animal’s condition. As the zoo has previously reported, zookeepers have seen signs of physical weakness and mobility problems in the zoo’s oldest elephant, Ol’ C.C. A local vascular surgeon helped Dr. Erica Wilson, the zoo’s staff veterinarian, visualize Ol’ C.C.’s spine and some internal organs. During the spinal examination, the doctors found two fractured lumbar vertebrae with m...
2010-07-13 - Toeldo, United States. Anne Baker, CEO/Executive Director, Toledo Zoo
On behalf of the Toledo Zoo, I would like to extend our thanks for the many kind thoughts that the community has sent for our elephant manager, Don RedFox. They have been a great comfort to his family and to our staff as we unite behind our friend and colleague. Even as this tragedy has galvanized the community in its support for Mr. RedFox and the zoo’s elephant program, the zoo’s positions on certain aspects of this incident have been misunderstood, and I feel the need to clarify them.
2010-07-12 - San Diego, United States. Yadira Galindo
The calf born in April to Swazi has been given a name courtesy of one of our donors: eMacembe La Lu Hlata; keepers call him Macembe (ma KEM bay). Now, after naming seven elephants born at the Wild Animal Park over the past six years, we’re out of ideas! Well, maybe not, but we still want you to suggest names for our youngest African elephant. Our blog readers have been kind enough to help us find very suitable names for Yun Zi, our youngest giant panda, and Zoli, a silvered leaf langur, but no...
2010-07-11 - New Bedford, United States. CHARIS ANDERSON
Zoo officials are proposing a multimillion-dollar renovation to upgrade the elephant exhibit and add new Asian-themed exhibits at the Buttonwood Park Zoo, improvements that officials said are needed to maintain the zoo´s accreditation and long-term viability.
2010-07-10 - Springfield, United States.
The oldest resident of Dickerson Park Zoo, an elephant called Ol´ C.C., has developed a weakness in her back legs for a reason not yet known. Since January, the 60-year-old pachyderm has been receiving medication for a mycobacterial infection, treatment that was expected to last about nine months, possibly less if she responded quickly.
2010-07-09 - Springfield, United States.
Earlier this week, Dickerson Park Zoo’s veterinarian and zookeeper staff discontinued medication treating one of the zoo’s elephants for a mycobacterial infection. The elephant being treated, Ol’ C.C., is in her early 60s. She is the zoo’s eldest elephant and the fifth oldest elephant living in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. C.C. is among the 15 oldest living elephants listed in the Asian elephant studbook for North America.
2010-07-09 - Vallejo, United States.
Reports to: Director of Animal Care Status: Full-Time/Exempt. Responsible for the overall quality and safe operation of the Elephant Encounter, its animals and team members. Must have a minimum seven years prior experience in the training of elephants for rides and shows with the ability to train all standard behaviors required; previous experience handling or training other species of exotic animals in other institutions preferred
REPORTS TO: Elephant Supervisor. Full-Time Hourly. Responsible for helping to train Elephants in a free contact program. Have involvement in training programs; care of Elephants, presentations in Elephant show, and other various duties as assigned.
2010-07-09 - , United States.
This picture of the poor elephant baby is like taken from Rudyard Kiplings The Elephant´s Child
2010-07-08 - Forest Park, United States.
The Saint Louis Zoo´s has announced that Ellie, a pregnant Asian elephant, experienced an early pregnancy loss overnight. Keepers, curators, and veterinarians have been monitoring her closely since Monday due to a discharge and changes in her blood progesterone levels. She was 36 weeks into a 22-month pregnancy and due to deliver her calf in late summer of 2011.
2010-07-07 - Indianapolis, United States.
Nominations for the 2012 Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation, will be accepted from now until January 21, 2011. The $100,000 biennial award is given to an individual animal conservationist who has made significant achievements in advancing sustainability of an animal species or group of species. It represents the largest individual monetary award for animal conservation in the world and is given as an unrestricted gift to the chosen recipient.
2010-07-07 - Windsor, United States.
There will be protests when the Shrine Circus comes to Windsor today, promises a local animal rights group. But Larry Solheim, the general manager of the circus, says the group’s criticism hasn’t hurt attendance. “If anything, they draw attention to the fact that the circus is in town,” Solheim said. “It’s not the majority of the people that have this opinion. It’s a very small but vocal group.” As they have in years past, the Windsor Animal Action Group has announced they will s...
2010-07-06 - Birmingham, United States.
The Birmingham Zoo has broke ground on Trails of Africa, a 14 acre state-of-the-art Elephant complex that, in its maturity, will display a variety of African veldt animals to complement the signature attraction – Bull African Elephants. These magnificent creatures will roam a vast habitat and provide a rich and rewarding experience for our visitors. Trails of Africa will provide an unprecedented view of the animals roaming in an environment that closely matches the wilds of Africa.
2010-07-06 - Atlanta, United States.
This is a salaried position that is responsible for implementing departmental activities and staff training of the Elephant Area of the Mammal Department. Staff in the Elephant Area cares for African elephants and warthogs. Zoo Atlanta’s elephants are managed in protected contact. This position reports to the department’s Assistant Curator and Curator. This position also works closely with the Zoo’s Elephant Manager.
2010-07-06 - Toledo, United States. Laura Rice
The Toledo Zoo keeper hospitalized after being knocked to the ground by an elephant is being kept in a sedated state and on a ventilator at The University of Toledo Medical Center. 53-year old Don RedFox´s doctors say he is in critical but stable condition and are hesitant to say he will make a full recovery after the July 1st attack.
2010-07-05 - Toledo, United States.
The Toledo Zoo is still investigating an elephant attack that sent a trainer to the hospital last week. Don Redfox suffered broken ribs and other injuries when Louie the elephant pushed him. The zoo decided not to release surveillance video of the incident after getting a letter from Redfox´s attorney, but an animal expert saw the video and says it looks like Louie was startled but didn´t want to hurt Redfox.
2010-07-02 - Brighton, United States. Mike Mueller
When a crew digging ground for a swimming pool found the jawbone of an extinct beast in Jim Leyden´s yard, the Tipton County homeowner confessed that he was disoriented. "I grew up in New Jersey. I might find a body, but not a prehistoric animal," Leyden said of the discovery at his Brighton home.
2010-07-02 - Toledo, United States.
An elephant keeper was injured by an elephant at the Toledo, Ohio, Zoo on Thursday afternoon, according to officials. Don RedFox, the keeper, was taken to the University of Toledo Medical Center, said zoo spokesman Andi Norman. RedFox´s injuries are not life threatening, according to the zoo. RedFox is the elephant manager and has been employed at the zoo for more than 30 years, mostly working with elephants.
2010-07-01 - Oklahoma City, United States.
The Oklahoma City Zoological Park is looking for a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and motivated individual who will compliment the pachyderm team in the day-to-day operations of the pachyderm department (Asian elephant, Asian rhino, black rhino, and pygmy hippo). Construction has begun on a state-of-the-art elephant exhibit to be completed in September 2010. This exhibit will accommodate multiple cows, calves, and at least two bulls. Contact with all species will be protected. The ideal candidate ...
2010-06-28 - Toledo, United States.
The Toledo Zoo and its Elephant Management Program has the ability to offer a unique opportunity to individuals that would like to make captive elephant management a career. The zoo has a structured internship program that encompasses many different opportunities throughout the zoo campus.
2010-06-13 - Denver, United States.
The Denver Zoo is currently seeking qualified applicants for an open position in the large mammal division. The large mammal division includes pachyderms, a great variety of hoofstock and large predators. The position requires excellence in husbandry skills and the ability to work in a team oriented environment.
2010-06-04 - Chicago, United States.
This summer, visitors can beat Chicago’s heat and chill out while ogling colossal bones at the Field Museum. The exhibit, called “Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age,” focuses on these ancestors of the elephant that roamed Europe, Asia and North America during the Ice Age. Life-size models, fossil tusks, skulls and video installations highlight the differences between mammoths and their shorter, stockier cousins, the mastodons.
2010-06-03 - Indianapolis, United States.
Douglas-Hamilton is one of world´s best known experts on the African elephants and was the first to do an in-depth study on there behavior, and chronicled the elephant holocaust for ivory between 1979-1989 helping to implement the world ivory trade ban
2010-06-03 - Fresno, United States.
Shaunzi and Kara are the Valley´s biggest losers. Together, the once-portly pachyderm pair have lost a ton -- 2,175 pounds, to be exact -- after keepers at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo put the two on a diet. The result, they hope, will be longer and healthier lives for the elephants. Shaunzi, the larger of the two, started the weight-loss program in January 2009 at 10,245 pounds and now weighs 9,135 pounds -- down more than 10%. Kara´s results have been similar. Tipping the scales at 9,800...
2010-06-02 - Kenosha, United States.
“At the Edge of the Ice: Mammoths, Mastodons and More” opens Saturday, June 5, at the Kenosha Public Museum, 5500 First Ave., and continues through March 2011. The exhibit explores the history of mammoths and mastodons in Kenosha County during the Ice Age. The exhibit highlights new research, data and scientific evidence, which has changed views of the early people of the Americas since the excavation of the Schaefer Mammoth in Kenosha County almost 20 years ago. The exhibit features mammoth...
2010-05-31 - , United States. Lesley Stahl
It´s difficult to imagine that 10,000 years ago, right here in North America, there lived giant animals that are now the stuff of legends - mammoths and mastodons, ground sloths and sabretooth cats. They, and thousands of other species, have vanished from the Earth. And today, partly due to the expansion of one species - ours - animals are going extinct faster than ever before.
2010-05-29 - Monroe, United States.
Museum Village in Monroe will hold a fundraising dinner and program devoted to the mystery of the Orange County mastodons and their scientific and historical significance on Saturday, June 19 from 5 to 9 p.m. Following dining under a tent on the Village Green, Evan Galbraith of Tuxedo will present his design and vision for the Peale Museum of Discovery in Montgomery.
2010-05-28 - Dallas, United States. Julie Cosgrove
Not Savannah, Georgia with an "h", but Africa! After seventeen months, the new 11 plus acres exhibit is open at the Dallas Zoo, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The Grand opening is tomorrow, Saturday May 29th. For more about the Great Savanna exhibit and everything else fun that happens on this 95 acre wonderland, log onto dallaszoo.com.
2010-05-28 - Houston, Texas, United States. Daryl Hoffman
Baby Baylor’s family just doubled overnight. The first few days after Baylor was born he spent all of his time with his mother, Shanti. Zoo keepers wanted to be sure that he and his mom bonded well and that he knew where to go to eat. The keepers also wanted to be sure that Shanti knew what to do when Baylor was hungry or needed her help. Once the team was comfortable with their behaviors and actions, we introduced “aunt” Methai. Methai is an experienced elephant that has been around man...
2010-05-27 - Jacksonville, United States.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently seeking an experienced elephant keeper. Required qualifications include a degree in a life science and a minimum of 3 years paid experience in an AZA accredited zoo. Applicants must be familiar with the AZA Standards for Elephant Management & Care and have previous experience working in protected contact.
2010-05-24 - , United States.
Heres a Youtube video of Nong Phils first hours. The elephant baby was born at Anantara and Four Seasons Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Thailand.
2010-05-23 - Fillmore, United States.
According to director Francis Lawrences twitter stream, production for his newest film, ‘Water for Elephants’ starring Hal Holbrook, Christoph Waltz, Reese Witherspoon and Rob Pattinson, began on Thursday, May 20. The first footage for the movie was shot on location in Fillmore, California, and the production is expected to continue in nearby Santa Paula, Piru and Los Angeles over the coming weeks.
2010-05-21 - Lake Buena Vista, United States.
The elephant herd at Disneys Animal Kingdom just expanded – by about 288 pounds. That amount represents the weight of the newborn female calf born late last night. Twenty-two-year-old Donna gave birth to the herds fifth offspring after gaining more than 400 pounds during a 22-month gestation. This latest addition, which has yet to be named, is the second calf for Donna, which gave birth to a female calf, Nadirah, in 2005. This birth raises the number of elephants in the Disneys Animal Kingdom ...
2010-05-17 - San Francisco, United States. Jeremy Hance
A lifelong advocate for elephants in the Southeast Asian country, Tuy Sereivathanas work has allowed villagers and elephants to live side-by-side. Working with Fauna and Flora International (FFI) he has successfully brought elephant-killing in Cambodia to an end.
2010-05-17 - Hollywood, United States.
Riding the tide of Twilight Saga, Hollywood and I do mean Hollywood hunk Robert Pattinson is set to appear opposite Hollywood Oscar Winners Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon. His larger than life other co-star happens to be a 8000 pound elephant named Tai. Tai is set to play Rosie in the film entitled Water For Elephants.
2010-05-17 - Louisville, United States.
The Louisville zoo director is apologizing after he says he mistakenly lowered the American flag to honor the dead baby elephant named Scotty. John Walczak told WHAS11 News, it is a mistake that was called to his attention by a WHAS11 viewer who saw the flag on our newscast.
2010-05-13 - Louisville, United States. Stephanie Crosby
Life goes on at the Louisville Zoo, though director John Walczak says the loss of three-year-old elephant Scotty has been hard on employees there. Scotty was euthanized last night after a week-long gastrointestinal illness. Walczak says Scotty was beloved by the community and by his keepers, and his loss has been difficult to deal with.
2010-05-12 - Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
Scotty, a three-year-old elephant at the Louisville Zoo has died. Scotty had been experiencing severe gastric and intestinal problems. He had been under close surveillance, and Wednesday night he took a turn for the worse and he had to be put down. His condition, known as colic, is not uncommon in elephants. Visitors have already made a makeshift memorial spot in his remembrance. One zoo visitor, Jessie Fife, tells Fox 41 News, "He was cute. I remember when he was born, and I was here when the...
2010-05-06 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo
After a pregnancy lasting almost 23 months, Shanti, a 19-year-old Asian elephant, delivered a healthy 348-pound male calf Tuesday morning at the Houston Zoos McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The calf has been named Baylor by the Zoos elephant care team in recognition of the unprecedented and ongoing advances made by Baylor College of Medicines research team to significantly reduce the threat of a potentially lethal elephant herpes virus.
2010-04-27 - Claremont, United States.
A Claremont doughnut shop owner has pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally bought the ivory of endangered African elephants on eBay. Moun Chau, 50, will face up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced Oct. 18 in Los Angeles federal court. Chau, who owns Pixie Donuts in Claremont and lives in Montclair, pleaded guilty April 8 to one count of importing ivory in part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.
2010-04-27 - Cheraw, South Carolina, United States.
Americas Elephants is a new ebook by Circus Historian Bob Cline. The entrance to America of the first couple elephants to the growth of elephant groups begins this fabulous journey into the elephants and the people that took care of them every day. Youll read about the scientific explanations as well as the descriptions of the elephants anatamy and its uses. Since the circuses became the largest owners of elephants in America for more than 100 years, the circus is given generous portions of the ...
2010-04-22 - San Antonio, United States.
Boo, also known as Queenie, is a female Asian elephant who used to be a circus performer worked by Wilbur Davenport, arrived Wednesday in San Antonio Zoo, as company for Lucky, who is a 50-year-old female. Queenie is believed to be about 55 years old.
2010-04-21 - San Francisco, United States.
Tuy Sereivathana introduced innovative low-cost solutions to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Cambodia, empowering local communities to cooperatively participate in endangered Asian elephant conservation. Since his work began, Tuy has seen significant success. At the start of the decade, elephant killings due to crop raids were not uncommon. As a result of Tuys involvement with the project, there has not been a single confirmed elephant death due to human-elephant conflict since 2005.
2010-04-21 - Williston, United States.
More than 200 elephants—as many as 40 at one time—have crossed the gates of Two Tails Ranch since it was founded in 1984. They arrive for various reasons and Patricia opens her doors and her heart to all of them. Some are boarded for Ringling Bros. when theyre not on the road; others are owned by zoos under renovation; and some are retired from a life of performing. If an elephant needs a place to stay—temporarily or permanently—Two Tails Ranch rolls out the welcome mat.
2010-04-20 - San Diego, United States.
Its a boy! The newest member of the Wild Animal Parks African elephant herd made his appearance at about 8:30 p.m. on April 12. He and Mom, Swazi, are doing famously. He joins his "big brother" (a whole two months older!) as the two calves born so far in 2010. Another calf is due within the next few months, so stay tuned.
2010-04-20 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for helping to train Elephants and have involvement in training programs; care of Elephants, presentations in Elephant show, and other various duties as assigned. REPORTS TO: Elephant Supervisor STATUS: Full-Time Hourly. Ability to manage elephants in a free contact system. Help with elephant training programs, public presentations, and elephant rides. Daily care & feeding of elephants in the collection. Maintenance of elephant exhibit, and night house. Behavioral observations, recor...
2010-04-16 - Orlando, United States.
Barack has recovered from the herpes virus, Ringling spokeswoman Amy McWethy said Friday. Hes "active and healthy," tipping the scale at about 1,400 pounds. Barack and his mother, Bonnie, are currently at the conservation center. Its still unclear when the mother-and-son duo will return to the circus lineup, McWethy said.
2010-04-14 - Dallas, United States.
We are seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. The Zoo is currently acquiring a herd of elephants that will reside at the new 10 acre African Savannah Exhibit. This exhibit will be opening in the Spring of 2010 and will be a mixed species exhibit. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a challenging and evolving elephant program. This is a full time, year round position that includes responsibility for the care, husbandry, and training of the zoos African Elephan...
2010-04-10 - Wilkes-Barre, United States.
Wilkes-Barre police Lt. Steve Olshefski confirmed that an animal groomer at the Irem Shrine Circus at the 109th Field Armory was killed by the shows elephant, Dumbo, Friday evening sometime before the 7:15 performance. He was unable to provide neither the groomers name nor details of what happened.
2010-04-05 - Hohenwald, United States.
A total of 2 real lead african elephant keeper salary data found within 25 miles of Hohenwald, TN. Salary Average: $23,700, Salary Range: $22,400-$25,000
2010-03-27 - Houston, United States. Kelly Russo
Shantis due date is rapidly approaching, so the zoos volunteers and the Elephant team have started to monitor her 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Over 35 volunteers have given their time to help the Elephant team keep an eye on Shanti. The volunteers started to monitor Shanti on February 20th and are at the zoo from 4PM – 7AM every day.
2010-03-27 - Pocatello, United States.
The auction scheduled for 10 a.m. today at the Idaho Museum of Natural History will be no typical sale. The sale will also include three rare books. One of them, a first-edition copy of the 1936 book “Proboscidea” by Henry Fairfield Osborn, was listed for sale online Friday by a Florida book seller at $1,150.
2010-03-27 - Nashville, United States.
Unleash your artistic side at two new art classes offered by Nashville Zoo. The new Arts for Life and Sketch Safari classes teach kids and adults different art styles and techniques using Zoo animals for subjects. Arts for Life is taught by Karen Frey, a childrens art instructor in Middle Tennessee for more than 25 years. Each class uses live animal models and different mediums to teach kids ages 6 and up the basics of art, color theory, value, technique and form. Classes are held March 27, Apri...
2010-03-26 - Orlando, United States. Rachael Jackson
Earlier this month, Mary the elephant died at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford. While at 63 she was one of the oldest zoo elephants in the U.S., Mary will be greatly missed at the zoo, particularly by her manager, senior hoofstock keeper Bernie Bartosch. Bartosch, 48, who cared for the elephant for nearly 16 years, answered questions from Orlando Sentinel reporter Rachael Jackson.
2010-03-24 - Hohenwald, United States.
The co-founder of the internationally-known elephant sanctuary in Hohenwald is off the job. Carol Buckley said the Board of Directors has fired her. "This was unbelievable and shocking. I had no idea. I was broadsided," said Buckley. Buckley co-founded the elephant sanctuary 15 years ago.
2010-03-21 - Wichita, United States.
Sedgwick County is looking into building a new elephant exhibit and breeding facility. The zoo already has two South African bush elephants — Stephanie and Cinda. Their exhibit measures 19,000 square feet. But that would expand under a plan the zoo’s board of directors will vote on in July. The plan calls for 4.75 acres of public viewing space that could hold up to six African elephant cows with calves and two bulls.
2010-03-17 - Hohenwald, United States. John Van Mol
The board of directors of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee announced today it is beginning an international search for a CEO of the organization, as co-founder and former Executive Director and CEO Carol Buckley is leaving the Sanctuary. The pioneering work done by Carol Buckley in co-founding The Elephant Sanctuary with Scott Blais and the two of them nurturing it over the past 15 years are sincerely appreciated by all who care about the work of protecting elephants,” said William Schaffne...
2010-03-16 - Saint Louis, United States.
The Saint Louis Zoo has announced that Ellie, one of its Asian elephants, is pregnant. She is 38 years old and this will be her third birth. Her daughter, Maliha, will turn four years old on August 2, 2010. And her 14-year-old daughter, Rani is also pregnant. The Zoos bull elephant, 17-year-old Raja, is the father of both babies. He was the first Asian elephant ever born at the Zoo in 1992, and this calf will be his fourth offspring. An elephant pregnancy lasts about 22 months. Ellie will be du...
2010-03-15 - St. Louis, United States.
Ellie, a 38-year-old Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo, is expecting her third baby. The Zoo announced this morning that Ellie is due in late summer 2011. An elephant pregnancy lasts about 22 months. Ellie has two daughters -- 3-year-old Maliha, and 14-year-old Rani, who is also pregnant. Rani is expected to deliver in mid-summer 2011.
2010-03-08 - Washington, United States.
Police in Washington, D.C. arrested a man who was trespassing on the grounds of The National Zoo Saturday afternoon. The man was outside the elephant enclosure that has been closed for a multi-million dollar renovation and got into a dispute, according to Lindsay Renick Mayer, a public affairs specialist for the zoo. He was then escorted off the property by zoo park police.
2010-03-07 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo plans to have six elephants on display just two years after animal rights activists were calling for the shutdown of an aging exhibit with just one pachyderm. Zoo officials stirred controversy in 2008 when they said they planned to move their lone remaining elephant, Jenny, to Mexico. Activists wanted the facility shuttered and the elephant placed at a U.S. animal preserve
2010-03-06 - Dallas, United States.
Like birds in spring, elephants have been flocking to the Dallas Zoo over the past few weeks. Two female African elephants – Kamba, 30 years old and weighing 4,700 pounds, and Congo, 32, weighing 5,400 pounds – have joined the zoos two existing pachyderms, Gypsy and Jenny.
2010-03-04 - Orlando, United States.
One of the oldest Asian elephants on record has died. Mary, a 63-year-old elephant, died this week at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Orlando, zoo officials said. Shonna Green, spokeswoman for the zoo, said Mary died late Tuesday of an age-related illness. She was 63 -- which is rather old for an elephant -- but no one dies of old age, so there has to be some kind of complication, Green said. A necropsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
2010-03-03 - Orlando, United States.
Maintain the care, well-being, management, behavioral conditioning and enrichment of the elephant collection. Ensure the daily routines of cleaning, animal observation, diet preparation and reporting medical needs and abnormal conditions to zoological managers. The keeper is also responsible for maintaining daily records, collecting and logging information and insuring this information is communicated to management and the central record keeping system of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
2010-03-02 - Miami, United States.
2010-03-01 - Casper, United States.
After resting for 11,600 years underground, Dee the mammoth has a home at the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College. More than 180 bones were unearthed from the Allemand Ranch about 25 miles north of Glenrock, cleaned and sent to South Dakota to be mounted. The skeleton returned to Casper over the weekend, and carpenters and staff members on Monday assembled the pieces on a large platform at the front of the museum.
2010-03-01 - chicago, United States.
Lyuba, the baby wooly mammoth that goes on display this week at the Field Museum, was preserved almost perfectly intact right down to her baby fat for 42,000 years in frigid Siberian river muck. Now released from her icy grave, she is being preserved in much the same manner as another famous Russian relic, the body of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. It is a process called desiccation, removing all moisture from the body tissues.
2010-02-27 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium announced on Friday that elephants Bette and Kallie will not be bred at the International Conservation Center in Fairhope. The decision was made in consultation with the Philadelphia Zoo and international experts. Bette and Kallie, female African elephants, moved from the Philadelphia Zoo to the Pittsburgh Zoo’s ICC last July and several months later were evaluated as possible candidates for breeding.
2010-02-16 - San Diego, California, United States. Tony Barboza
The San Diego Zoo ushered in Valentine’s Day with a bundle of joy that’s not so little. A male African elephant was born about 2 a.m. Sunday at the zoo’s Wild Animal Park. He and his mother Ndlula are reportedly doing well. Visitors camping overnight at the zoo could hear the herd trumpeting in the early morning -- a common behavior when a calf is born, according to the Associated Press. The elephant, which hasn’t been given a name yet, is the sixth calf born to a herd that was brought t...
2010-02-15 - California, United States.
ROBERT PATTINSON experienced the "best day" of his life on the set of his new movie when an elephant picked him up in its mouth and turned him upside down. The animal-loving Twilight actor is currently shooting circus movie Water for Elephants in California with Hollywood beauty Reese Witherspoon, but it was another female co-star who caught Pattinson's attention after a close encounter. He tells Details magazine, "So this big female started sniffing my foot - big female elephant, that is. "She ...
2010-02-15 - Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Erich Spivey
Dirty Jobs, Jacksonville style, rolled up our sleeves to see how dirty it is behind the scenes at the elephant exhibit at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. We started at the rear, one of the biggest in town, then watched as a team of four trainers gave Moki a routine enema. The contour of Moki's intestines are out of line, so to avoid getting backed up, an enema is routine. Her trainers tie down her feet for safety; they said she obeys commands better than many other animals. The trainer reache...
2010-02-15 - White Plains, New York, United States. Aman Ali
Baby elephant Val performs for the crowd during the Royal Hanneford Circus performance at the Westchester County Center in White Plains Feb. 14, 2010.
2010-02-13 - Toledo, Ohio, United States. Jennifer Feehan
It didn't take long for the Toledo Zoo's newest addition to make herself at home. Twiggy, a 25-year-old African elephant, arrived at the zoo late Thursday after being confiscated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from a private circus owner near Peru, Ind. Now, she's getting comfortable in the just-completed "bachelor pad" that the zoo created for 6-year-old Louie. "Louie's facility has a stall with a concrete floor to bathe him and a huge stall with a sand floor," said Anne Baker, the zoo's...
2010-02-12 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Jody Gill
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium staff, in consultation with the Philadelphia Zoo and international experts, has determined that elephants Bette and Kallie will not be bred at their new home at the International Conservation Center (ICC) in Fairhope, Pennsylvania. The two female African elephants moved from the Philadelphia Zoo to the Pittsburgh Zoo’s ICC last July and several months later were evaluated as possible candidates for breeding. “Our first and foremost concerns are the short an...
2010-02-12 - Shelbyville, Tennessee, United States.
Three of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey elephants watch calmly, nibbling on their lunch of hay, while circus workers run power lines and set upstages and props for the show at Calsonic Arena. Circus performances will be 7 p.m. today; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. The all-access "pre-show" on the floor of Calsonic Arena one hour prior to circus time allows spectators to meet and interact with clowns and other circus performers.
2010-02-11 - Wichita, Kansas, United States. Beccy Tanner
The exhibit for the elephants at the Sedgwick County Zoo is about to get a new look — and some visitors may not like it. It's a safety issue for the aging elephants, the zoo says. Work began this week to replace the moat in the exhibit with an 8-foot-tall post and cable fence. Stephanie and Cinda, the two South African bush elephants, are close to 40 years old. Zoo officials are concerned that the elephants, who like to stretch their trunks out for treats and grass on the other side, could los...
2010-02-11 - Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States.
Thursday morning the U. S. Department of Agriculture took an African elephant from a home in Miami County, Indiana . The USDA took tigers and lions from the same residence a few days ago. The USDA claims the animals' living conditions weren't following the law, but the animals' owner, Julius von Uhl, 72, said he wasn't given proper notice of the violations. von Uhl grew up with the circus in Hungary. When he was 12, von Uhl started learning how to work with circus animals, and by age 15, he was ...
2010-02-11 - St Lucie County, Florida, United States. Eric Pfahler
The elephants might not be coming to town after all. What seemed to be a done deal has taken a step back after The National Elephant Center Board of Directors did not react favorably to demands made by St. Lucie County commissioners on the center, National Elephant Center Chair Rick Barongi said. The National Elephant Center is re-evaluating its options and could choose a different location for the $4 million, 326-acre project after county commissioners grilled the organization’s representativ...
2010-02-05 - Chicago, Illinois, United States. William Mullen
Home to Share. West Suburbs. Seeking single female roommate for high-spirited, inquisitive middle-age female. Must be African by birth or descent, age not important. Must be social and vegetarian. Trumpeting a plus, the louder the better. Large indoor space. Secure fenced yard, charming mudhole. All meals, clean daily bedding, electricity, heat provided free. That tempting offer might be how Joyce, a 27-year-old African elephant, might word a want ad if she were in charge of finding a companion ...
2010-02-05 - Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Officials at a zoo in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Ill., say they are seeking an elephant to serve as a companion to their African elephant, Joyce. The Chicago Tribune said Friday while animal rights groups have openly opposed keeping elephants on display, the Brookfield Zoo is attempting to add another of the large mammals to its collection. Carol Sodaro, Brookfield Zoo's associate curator of mammals, said elephants "are very social animals that live in large herds, with strong bonds and l...
2010-02-05 - Orlando, Florida, United States. Eloísa Ruano González
The first Asian elephant born as a result of artificial insemination at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus facility has been pulled from the circus lineup after he became infected with a potentially deadly herpes virus. The 1-year-old calf, Barack, is being treated for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), a disease that has killed several Asian elephants in zoos across the continent in the past three decades. He and his mother were taken off the traveling unit two weeks ago and...
2010-02-04 - Miami, Florida, United States. Brian Hamacher
Talkabout a tooth ache! One of the Miami MetroZoo's favorite inhabitants, a 12,000-pound elephant named Dalip, had to get some tusk work done yesterday and he took it like a champ. Elephant keepers at the zoo trimmed off about 12 inches from Dalip's ivory tusks to prevent him from injuring himself by hitting them on the floor when he walks. The handlers used a water-cooled hand saw to cut through the tough teeth. Dalip, an Asian elephant, is 43 years old. Most elephants live for as long as 70 ye...
2010-02-04 - Houston, Texas, United States. Allan Turner
It's stork time at the Houston Zoo's elephant barn as the maternity countdown begins for Shanti and Tess, endangered Asian elephants whose pregnancies, officials hope, will bring success to a pachyderm breeding program thus far marked by failure. Zoo officials Thursday staged a maternity “boot camp” in which they outlined efforts to ensure live births and the survival of the calves. In 25 years of zoo breeding efforts, all 14 calves died before or relatively soon after birth. Six of the calv...
2010-01-26 - Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Alec Harvey
Baby Barack, the year-old Asian elephant making his debut in the current tour of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, will not appear during the circus stop in Birmingham this week, a publicist for the show says. After appearing in Orlando and Jacksonville, the first two stops of the new tour, Baby Barack returned with his mother, Bonnie, to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation, a 200-acre facility run in Polk County, Fla. "The Ringling Bros. veterina...
2010-01-26 - , United States.
When money trouble led collector Jerry Snapp to put his prized possession up for sale, he had no idea what lay ahead. Jerry Snapp loved Tiffany, and it broke his heart that he had to sell her. Close to 200 pounds, almost 4 feet tall, a foot and a half wide, she was his most beautiful skull. He picked her up in the spring of '97. He heard about her from a friend and wanted to know where she came from. "The L.A. Zoo," his friend said.
2010-01-26 - Fenton, Michigan, United States. Sally Rummel
To have a memory like an elephant means that you remember everything. Just ask Brett Carden, 28, owner/elephant trainer for the Shrine Circus/Central States, and he’ll tell you that this saying is definitely true. “Elephants never forget what you’ve taught them,” said Carden, who travels the circus circuit throughout Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Their most recent performance was in Flint, where they finished a four-day run a...
2010-01-20 - St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
The St. Louis Zoo is expecting a 300-pound bundle of joy next summer. Asian elephant Rani is almost five months into her 22-month pregnancy. Raja, the first elephant ever born at the St. Louis Zoo, is the father. Rani is eating her regular diet of grain and hay and has stepped up her exercise routine, said Martha Fischer, the zoo’s mammal curator. She will gain some 500 pounds during her pregnancy. "She’s climbing up on these stumps to strengthen her abdominal muscles. It’s sort of like a...
2010-01-20 - Springfield, Missouri, United States. KSPR News
Here's the release from the zoo: Dickerson Park Zoo’s veterinarian and zookeeper staff have initiated an aggressive course of treatment to proactively help one of the elephants overcome a mycobacterial infection. The elephant, Ol’ C.C., is the zoo’s eldest elephant and the fifth oldest elephant living in AZA-accredited zoos. C.C. is among the 15 oldest living elephants listed in the Asian elephant studbook for North America. As a routine part of caring for the zoo’s elephants, the zoo’...
2010-01-17 - East Lansing, United States. Leanne Smith
If Sandra Losey Gifford closes her eyes, she can almost see giant prehistoric elephant-like animals grazing on her family's Tompkins Township farm. It isn't a far stretch. Fifty-five years ago — Jan. 6, 1955, to be exact — the farm, owned then by her grandparents, Vern and Avis Losey, and parents, Hugh and Harriett Losey, became a hot spot when the bones of a 12,000-year-old woolly mammoth were unearthed in a pond she often swam in on warmer days. "I came home from school, and there were peo...
2010-01-14 - Montpelier, Vermont, United States.
In a year dominated by a mammoth state budget crisis, statehouse lawmakers have found plenty of other causes to sponsor. "You know the old saying, 'Every bill is important to somebody or it wouldn't have been introduced,'" Gov. Jim Douglas said Thursday. The new proposals now pending cover everything from allowing Mom and Pop stores to sell hard liquor -- to requiring "chain restaurants" to publish nutritional information on menus. One would up the penalty for "super speeders" while another woul...
2010-01-14 - Tucson, United States.
It's close to 14 feet tall and almost 20,000 years old. And this prehistoric beast is for sale. GeoDecor, an Arizona company specializing in fossils, minerals and meteorites for interior design and research, is unveiling the ice age giant to southern Arizonans as part of an exhibit. The skeleton was originally found in eastern Siberia. This is a monster. This is one of the largest... maybe one of the top three mammoths ever found, GeoDecor President Tom Lindgren said.
2010-01-14 - Winston, United States.
About once a month, elephants Tiki, Alice and George get a special visit from 10-year-old Wylie Malek (pictured). "Wylie was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 3," said his father, Kris Malek. When he started school about kindergarten they kind of moved it up to a high functioning autism. For some children with autism, animal interaction improves their social skills and decreases anxiety. That can mean dogs, cats, rabbits or elephants? At Wildlife Safari, Wylie has bonded with animals 312 times...
2010-01-12 - Chicago, Illinois, United States. Bob Uphues
When Christy, a 29-year-old African elephant, died at Brookfield Zoo on Dec. 22, 2009 it left the zoo without an elephant of its own for the first time in its 75 year history. And with its only remaining elephant on loan from a California zoo - brought to Brookfield specifically to provide companionship for Christy - it's possible Brookfield Zoo could be without one of its signature animals for a time. Joyce, a 26-year-old African elephant on loan from Six Flag Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Cali...
2010-01-12 - Harrisburg, United States.
State Rep. John Siptroth reminds residents that a mastodon skeleton that was excavated in Marshall’s Creek will be the centerpiece of an exhibit at the State Museum from Jan. 24 to May 2 called Tusks! Ice Age Mammoths and Mastodons. The mastodon died about 12,000 years ago in a marshy area, according to museum officials. The site of the discovery was Leap’s Bog on the border of Smithfield and Middle Smithfield townships across Route 209 from the Pocono Bazaar. The bones, which are not fossil...
2010-01-08 - , United States.
Should the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals be hanging around school yards? How would you like to pick your kid up from school and find an elephant? Not a real elephant, rather a representative from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in an elephant suit. A cute costume, except this pachyderm is sporting a bloody ear. It's all part of PETA's campaign against cruelty to circus animals. Yesterday, students at a Florida elementary school were met at the gates by "Ellie the Elepha...
2010-01-08 - Vienna, Virginia, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® sadly announces the passing of Josky, a beloved female Asian elephant, at its Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation® in central Florida. Ringling Bros.® veterinary staff determined euthanasia was appropriate due to the elephant’s declining health and a necropsy was performed. As part of Ringling Bros. own reporting protocol, the USDA was contacted. During the mid 1970’s Josky made her debut at Circus World in Florida and became a featured perf...
2010-01-05 - Lake Buena Vista, United States.
Led by Disney’s Animal Programs, an international coalition of veterinarians from conservation groups, zoos, universities and private industry have returned from Africa after effectively sterilizing seven bull elephants in Swaziland’s Big Game Parks. As a result of this effort, Swaziland wildlife officials will be able to better manage the elephant population in wildlife parks and reserves over the next decade.
2010-01-02 - Oklahoma City, United States. CARRIE COPPERNOLL
Construction of the new elephant habitat at the Oklahoma City Zoo is on time and on budget, making way for the first elephant birth at the zoo. Asha, one of the zoo’s two female elephants, successfully bred with male Sneezy at the Tulsa Zoo this summer. She and her sister, Chandra, won’t return to Oklahoma City until their new home is finished.
2009-12-31 - Washington, United States.
A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum&Bailey Circus in a case brought by animal rights activists who accused the circus of abusing elephants. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said former Ringling employee Tom Rider and the Animal Protection Institute did not have legal standing to sue the circus, owned by Feld Entertainment Inc. Rider and the animal protection group brought the lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.
2009-12-27 - Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States.
The long-awaited mating of elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo conservation center in Somerset County now has a timetable: Officials want them to hook up next summer. And they plan to open an elephant sperm bank at the International Conservation Center to aid in breeding, zoo officials said. Barbara Baker, the zoo’s chief executive officer, traveled to Africa with a team to collect semen from bull elephants. She was in town recently to discuss plans for the conservation center in Fairhope. “We ...
2009-12-27 - St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Raja turns a whopping 17. The Zoo's bull Asian Elephant will receive special presents at 11 a.m. on his birthday, Sunday, December 27 in River's Edge at the Saint Louis Zoo, weather permitting. Visitors are invited to sing "Happy Birthday" and cheer for Raja who turns 17 this year. Raja, the first Asian elephant born at the Zoo, is the proud papa of babies Maliha, age 3, and Jade, age 2 . Zookeepers and volunteers have constructed giant presents for the party, filled with some of the elephant's ...
2009-12-25 - Greenbrier, United States. Dena Potter
As you walk through the field beside them, it's difficult to tell if that rumble is the sound of their mighty footsteps or your heart thumping in your chest. Then just before you sink into the forest, one of the elephants throws her trunk into the air and trumpets, and you're certain what you're witnessing is nothing short of magical. You're not on an African safari. You're in Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, at a sanctuary for unwanted elephants. And this may be the closest yo...
2009-12-23 - Brookfield, United States.
An elephant died Tuesday at the Brookfield Zoo, making it the second elephant the zoo has lost in the last seven months. Christy, 29, was euthanized as a result of kidney failure, according to a zoo press release. Necropsy findings concluded Christy had a structurally abnormal right kidney, roughly one-tenth the size of a normal kidney, the zoo stated. In 2007, Christy was diagnosed with the enlarged ureter — one of the tubes that carriers urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
2009-12-18 - Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Jennifer Brooks
When Kiba the elephant died, the rest of her herd mourned — human and elephant alike. The Nashville Zoo was forced to euthanize the 26-year-old African elephant on Thursday. Kiba suffered from a degenerative joint injury that was crippling her with pain. Afterward, her human caretakers said their goodbyes, then opened the doors to the rest of her herd, 25-year-old Sukari and 27-year-old Hadari. "It was pretty beautiful," said Connie Philipp, the zoo's director of animal collections, reduced to...
2009-12-16 - Tampa, United States. SARAH HOYE
For 140 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has let kids be kids and adults be kids, too. Also making his debut today was Barack, a baby Asian elephant born Jan. 19. To mark the 200th birthday of circus entertainer extraordinaire P.T. Barnum, organizers promise the making of their biggest, over-the-top show to date when it roars into town Jan. 6 with Barnum's FUNundrum, a celebration inspired by the greatest showman who ever lived.
2009-12-10 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Asian elephant Jade at the St. Louis Zoo has experienced a recurrence of the potentially deadly virus that struck last February. Her symptoms have subsided already, but Jade continues to receive intravenous antiviral medication and 24-hour care. The rest of the zoo's herd remains healthy. "We're in foreign territory," said mammal curator Martha Fischer. "We didn't expect a relapse because none of the other survivors (of this virus) have had notable relapses.
2009-12-09 - San Diego, United States.
See film when San Diego Zoo veterinarians, assisted by more than 30 staff members, surgically removed malfunctioning portions of Jewel's teeth. The procedure should result in weight gain and better health for the ailing elephant who was confiscated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this summer.
2009-12-07 - Tulsa, United States. SARA PLUMMER
The plan to breed Tulsa Zoo's male elephant Sneezy with the two female elephants from the Oklahoma City Zoo is proving fruitful. Asha, the 14-year-old female, is in the first trimester of pregnancy, which for elephants is about seven months along, said Assistant Curator Mike Connolly. Elephant pregnancies last for about 22 months, and Asha is due in the spring of 2011. "It's early in her pregnancy," Connolly said. "It should be a healthy pregnancy. She's young and she's in good shape."
2009-12-05 - Bridgeport, United States. JAMES HYNES
The saddest animal story in the book is that of Jumbo, the giant elephant Barnum purchased from a London zoo (to the outrage of the British public) and displayed at his circus, making millions. Even after Jumbo was killed in a collision with a train, Barnum managed to milk more money out of him, displaying both the elephant’s skin, stretched over a wooden frame, and his skeleton, as a “double Jumbo” exhibit.
2009-12-03 - Denver, United States.
A former concession stand at the Denver Zoo was razed by a front-end loader before a cheering crowd on Wednesday to make way for the new Asian Tropics exhibit. The weather was anything but tropical, as a light dusting of snow covered the 10-acre plot on the southern edge of the zoo where the new $50-million exhibit will soon stand. The price tag for half of the project is covered thanks to a 1999 Zoo Improvement Bond Fund passed by voters, while the other half came from private donors.
2009-12-01 - Hot Springs, United States.
Thanks to a $10,000 grant from South Dakota Community Foundation, the in-situ paleontological discovery at The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, will now be much more protected from environmental dangers with the installation of a humidity control system to regulate relative humidity. “The building enclosing the bonebed protects the bones, tusks and other specimens from the elements so they can remain where they were discovered (in-situ),” said Joe Muller, business manager at The Mammoth Site.
2009-12-01 - Somerset, United States. PATRICK BUCHNOWSKI
The long-awaited mating of elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo conservation center in Somerset County now has a timetable: Officials want them to hook up next summer. And they plan to open an elephant sperm bank at the International Conservation Center to aid in breeding, zoo officials said. Barbara Baker, the zoo’s chief executive officer, traveled to Africa with a team to collect semen from bull elephants.
2009-11-26 - New York, United States. Todd NE. Department of Biology, Manhattanville College
A new, descriptive character dataset was generated from studies of modern elephants for use with fossil species. Parallel evolution in cranial and dental characters in all three lineages of elephants creates homoplastic noise in cladistic analysis, but new inferences about evolutionary relationships are possible. In this analysis, early Loxodonta and early African Mammuthus are virtually indistinguishable in dental morphology.
2009-11-19 - Tulsa, United States. Rick Wells
There was a really big birthday Wednesday at the Tulsa Zoo. Gunda the Asian elephant is 59 years old. The News On 6 doesn’t show up for everyone's birthday, but Gunda has been at the zoo longer than any other animal. “Hi – birthday time,” said zoo keeper Jessica Scallan is getting us all ready for Gunda's big day. Ella Goodwin, 3, is very excited. She’s wearing an “I Love Gunda” t-shirt, and there are hats. Afterall, this is Gunda's 59th birthday
2009-11-18 - Tulsa, United States.
Oklahoma State University's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences students recently got an up-close look at a performing elephant. Kamba, a 29 year-old female African elephant owned by Doug Terranova, was referred to the center's OSU Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital after wandering away and being hit by an SUV on a highway near Enid.
2009-11-14 - Fairhope, United States.
On Friday, Somerset County welcomed a new elephant to its population. The elephant needs no space to roam and lives in Somerset Borough. Do not fear, Jackson, the fiberglass elephant, is a tame and gentle creature. Jackson was recently put together on the grounds of Laurel Arts at 214 South Harrison Avenue. The fiberglass elephant is the estimated size of the African elephants at the International Conservation Center in Fairhope Township.
2009-11-07 - Albany, United States. SCOTT WALDMAN
A 9-foot-long mastodon tusk recently excavated in Orange County is now at the State Museum. The tusk may be the largest ever found in New York state. It was discovered by two people canoeing through Orange County a year ago, but could not be excavated until recently because of weather conditions. Museum scientists removed the tusk from the riverbank where it had remained buried for thousands of years.
2009-11-07 - Los Angeles, United States. Robyn Dixon
Elephants are a harrowing threat to villagers and their crops. But they bring in tourists (and their money), and are rigorously protected -- more so than humans, critics say. Reporting from Katubya, Zambia - Here's how to pitch this (true) story to Hollywood: Ordinary guy named John, ordinary Sunday, cycling home into a setting sun. Monster roars out of the bushes! John abandons his bike, flees in terror. The creature smashes the bicycle, catches him in a few short strides, grabs him by the shir...
2009-11-05 - Milwaukee, United States.
Ruth the elephant is up and about after she took a tumble in her enclosure landing her in the exhibits moat for hours on Monday at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Ruth ended up on her back with her back legs up and her front legs on the ground. A fall like this could happen to any elephant, but it happened to poor Ruth on her birthday.
2009-11-05 - Oklahoma city, United States.
An elephant that escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds after being spooked caused a vehicle accident Wednesday night, Nov. 4, 2009 as it ran along North the U.S. 81 bypass in Enid, Okla. According to Enid Police Department Sgt. Billy Varney, the couple in the vehicle were not injured. The elephant suffered a broken tusk, a hurt leg and bumps, bruises and scratches, he said.
2009-11-04 - Sommerset, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is seeking experienced elephant keepers that would be interested in joining a progressive elephant management team, utilizing both free and protected contact. The successful candidates primary job assignment will be at the zoo’s International Conservation Center just outside of Berlin, PA about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. We will also require a moderate amount of time spent at the zoo’s facility in Pittsburgh to facilitate the development of a versatile an...
2009-11-03 - Raipur, United States.
A five-year-old male elephant was found dead in a hamlet in the middle of a forest in Chhattisgarh’s northern Surguja area, forest department officials said Tuesday. The officials, however, refused to speculate on the reasons behind the death till a post-mortem examination report was received. “The jumbo’s jaws were rotten and hundreds of insects were inside when we reached Chikni village after being informed by local people,” Amarnath Prasad, divisional forest officer (Surguja) told IAN...
2009-11-01 - Crestline, United States.
The Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center was full of the old -- and a little bit of the new -- on Saturday at the opening of the "Ice Age Mammals, Mastodons and More" exhibit. Heather Donnenwirth and her two children, Grayson and Jillian, posed for a photograph by a 174-pound mastodon skull found in Union County.
2009-11-01 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham
Not so fast, New York State Museum. The 9-foot-long Mastodon tusk retrieved from the Hudson Valley a year ago, which you say might be the largest ever found in the state, is not. That distinction evidently belongs to a 10-footer recovered from the Buffalo Museum of Science Hiscock dig in Genesee County in 1997.
2009-11-01 - Montgomery, United States.
The discovery of a 9-foot-long mastodon tusk in Orange County will provide scientists with a new source of information about the prehistoric animal, according to the men who found and helped exhume it. Glen Keeton, an archeologist from Mount Hope who found the tusk last year, and his father, Gary Keeton, talked about the discovery in detail for the first time Saturday during an archeology symposium at Valley Central Middle School. The tusk, the longest ever found in New York, is expected to prov...
2009-10-31 - Detroit, United States. John Frederick Walker
Ivory poaching is back, big time, and the Internet is awash with photos of bloodied tusks and elephant carcasses. In 2007, Kenyan wildlife officials counted 47 elephants killed by poachers. In 2008, the number jumped to 98. Estimates of the number of elephants now being poached across the African continent range as high as 37,000 a year. All this despite a ban on international trade in ivory that was enacted 20 years ago today. Why hasn't the ivory ban been effective? Mostly because it doesn't f...
2009-10-29 - New Jersey, United States. Brian Switek
As strange as it might seem, the living African and Asian elephants are only the remnants of what was once a very diverse array of proboscideans. In the not-too-distant past elephants and their closest relatives occupied Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, Central America, and South America, but almost all of them had perished by about 10,000 years ago.* Of these recently-extinct forms the most iconic was the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, which was covered in long coats of shaggy hair....
2009-10-26 - Lagrange, United States. BOB BRALEY
From the outside it doesn’t look like anything other than an old house. The wood is so old it won’t hold paint, and behind it there are clothes visible hanging from the line. Go inside and you find rooms filled with articles that recall former LaGrange County residents, from pump organs to a wedding dress, from school excuses to china, from Civil War memorabilia to an 18th-century Bible in German. And — oh, yes, there’s the mastodon skull.
2009-10-25 - New Bedford, United States.
Elephants never forget anything – including where to find your wallet. Those who work at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Mass., know to keep an eye on their pockets when they're around Ruth, a 7,200-pound Asian elephant that has a very tricky trunk. On Friday, elephant keepers Tina DeMedeiros and Shelley Avila recalled when Ruth snuck $20 from a visitor awhile back. Luckily, they were able to retrieve some of it – but in truth, Ruth still owes some guy $15. “She likes to be the center ...
2009-10-23 - , United States.
As part of the Halloween festivities at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, even the elephants are getting the chance to celebrate our ghastliest holiday in style. African elephants Felix (above, who, despite what her name suggests, is female) and her year-old son, Samson, will spend the weekend enjoying Halloween-themed enrichment activities before the zoo's visitors.
2009-10-23 - New York, United States.
Research under way at the New York State Museum indicates that a huge mastodon tusk, recently excavated by Museum scientists in Orange County, may be the largest tusk ever found in New York State. The nearly complete but fragmented tusk, measuring more than 9 feet long, was one of two excavated this past summer in the Black Dirt area of Orange County at the confluence of Tunkamoose Creek and the Wallkill River, on the property of Lester Lain of Westtown
2009-10-23 - San Diego, United States.
The operator of a private company in Texas that exhibits elephants is facing multiple alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act related to the care of three Asian elephants, two of which were rescued and brought to the San Diego Zoo, it was announced Thursday. The 10-page complaint was filed in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against Wilbur Davenport, who runs a business near Houston called Maximus “Tons of Fun” LLC, which leases elephants for exhibition. D...
2009-10-23 - Portland, United States.
Debate on the existence of a Younger Dryas comet impact, 12,900 years ago, and whether it is linked to mass extinctions of large mammals and early humans in North America reopened this week. This then wiped out such Pleistocene megafauna as the sabre-toothed cat, the mastodon and the mammoth, along with the Clovis people, one of the earliest American cultures.
2009-10-19 - Washington, United States. John Platt
Twenty years after the international ban on ivory trade took effect, poachers are still slaughtering more than 100 elephants a day, according to a report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Poaching almost ceased after the ban, but it is now on the increase once again, felling an average of 104 elephants per day, the IFAW has found.
2009-10-15 - San Diego, United States.
The two elephants brought to the San Diego Zoo from a private collection in Texas have both gained about 300 pounds and are building trust with their handlers, zoo officials said Wednesday. Jewel and Tina, who are believed to be in their mid-40s, were removed from their owner by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture and brought to San Diego in August. Jewel now weighs 6,714 pounds and Tina tops the scale at 7,664 pounds.
2009-10-15 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is pleased to announce that the 2009 Elephant Managers Association Annual Conference and Workshops will be held October 15 – 19 in Houston, TX. This meeting will include presentations on a variety of management and care issues facing the captive elephant population, as well the important link they have to wild populations of elephants. The program will include a tour of the newly constructed McNair Asian Elephant Habitat at the Houston Zoo and 3 full days of activities, prese...
2009-10-14 - Buffalo, United States. Charlotte Hsu
It was with the sorrow of losing a good friend that staff at the Buffalo Zoo said goodbye last month to Buki, the 52-year-old elephant who died on September 28. By all accounts, the 8,500-pound pachyderm, lauded for her intelligence and sweet disposition, was a charmer. She had a penchant for watermelons, loved a good rub behind the ears, and played the harmonica.
2009-10-14 - Ruskin, United States.
Ben Williams, who was born into a circus family and made a name for himself both inside and outside the Big Top, died this month of cancer. He was 56. Williams was best known as a flamboyant, tiger-skin-loincloth-clad performer who delighted crowds by fearlessly cavorting around elephants, particularly his beloved 7,880-pound Anna May. But he had another side apart from the circus, as East Bay High's first male cheerleader and president of the National Honor Society.
2009-10-13 - Toledo, United States. Arielle Berlin
Tuesday is the 100th birthday of jazz legend Art Tatum. As part of the celebration, Renee the elephant painted a piano in his honor at the Toledo Zoo. This is part of a larger project where painted pianos will be placed around the city to honor Art Tatum. Besides Renee, local artists have also contributed to the effort. This is similar to the large frogs that were placed around town several years ago.
2009-10-12 - Detroit, United States. Joshua
I got (via interlibrary loan) a book called The Proboscidea : evolution and palaeoecology of elephants and their relatives which is quite a bit more technical than I hoped, so I'm not adding it to my "What I'm Reading" list; I'm just flipping through it and reading parts of it, not the entire thing.
2009-10-10 - , United States.
In some towns visited by the roadside circus, people wait in line for the elephant dung. Fights can break out, too, like the time three men scrapped over the last of the pachyderm poop. A firefighter from Chicago regularly fishes out particular shapes, looking for the perfect pieces to take home, coat in shellac and give away as paperweights. But most people want elephant dung for their gardens. It is held in high, almost mystical, regard as a fertilizer. And the circus gives it away for free. "...
2009-10-10 - Jamshedpur, United States. JAYESH THAKER
When everyone at Tata zoo had lost hope of his survival, Raja had pulled through. But when they thought the worst was over, he bade adieu. The injured elephant calf, rescued from Rajabasa forest in Ghatshila and recuperating at Tata Steel Zoological Park in Jamshedpur, breathed his last around 1.30am last night at the park’s clinic. It was buried on the zoo premises this morning.
2009-10-09 - Palmetto, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® are pleased to announce an educational opportunity in elephant husbandry and management. The winter intern session is planned for February 15, 2010 through May 15, 2010. Application deadline for the winter session is December 15, 2009. A summer session is scheduled to begin in June 2010.
2009-10-08 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Andrew Meacham
The crowd hunkered in the dark as smells of cotton candy and peanuts filled the air. "And now, please welcome …" the ringmaster intoned over a drumroll before the payoff: "Ben Williams and Anna May!" The curtain opened, and in trotted an elephant carrying a blond man in a loincloth. "The crowd would scream," recalled Michael Christensen, a co-founder of Big Apple Circus, where Mr. Williams and his elephants performed. Mr. Williams was a star, and the act never failed. He was so attached to Ann...
2009-10-05 - Denver, United States. Kim Posey
Two teenagers made a significant scientific discovery in a creek bed Ken Caryl Ranch. Tyler Kellett and Jake Carstensen found a jaw bone and tusk of a mastodon. The elephant relative could be 50,000 to 150,000 years old. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science excavated the site and volunteers will preserve the fossils. "It's exciting and one of the best things that's ever happened to me,"" said 13 year old Kellett. "It's expensive to do, but I hope we can find more and keep digging," said Carst...
2009-10-04 - Erie, United States. ROBB FREDERICK
The tusks on the giant dino elephant at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center are 10 feet long. Each of the teeth weighs 15 pounds. The feet come up to Scott McKenzie's knee. "This is going to excite the 8-year-old child in everyone who sees it," said McKenzie, the curator of Mercyhurst College's annual Sincak Natural History Exhibit, which opens Monday and continues through Nov. 20.
2009-10-04 - Chicago, United States.
Coming next March to the Field Museum will be a perfectly preserved, 40,000-year-old baby, a little wooly mammoth found on the tundra of northern Siberia by two sons of a reindeer herder. Baby mammoth Lyuba drowned in a mudhole and was soon frozen in the soil which protected her for 40,000 years. Though she's a wooly mammoth, the years eroded the wool, but otherwise she's intact, right down to the food still in her stomach, mostly remnants of mothers milk though that would have soon been changin...
2009-10-02 - Kansas, United States.
Ruth Seeliger will be at the Winfield Public Library for a book signing and program for her newly published book Kansas City Zoo Tales ... a wild 100-year history at 7 p.m. Oct. 15. The public is invited Oct. 15 to learn about some of the colorful residents from the last century: Sally, the cigarette smoking chimp; Casey, the bull elephant; a furry escape artist named Nemo; and many others on this wild ride through 100 years of zoo-keeping history.
2009-10-02 - Denver, United States.
It's a dinosaur-loving kids dream come true - not to mention that of archaeologists. The chance discovery of a rare fossil American Mastodon tusk and partial jawbone with teeth by youngsters in Ken-Caryl hasis creatinga major scientific stir. Mastodon fossils, unlike wooly mammoths, are a rare find in Colorado. According to an account on the Ken-Caryl Ranch. org, Web site 13-year-old friends Jake Carstensen and Tyler Kellett were exploring June 1 after a period of heavy rain along a stream swoll...
2009-10-02 - Orlando, United States.
One of the Magic Kingdom's most beloved attractions, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, is completely re-imagined when the circus comes to town. Guests are invited to step into the big top and join the circus before their magical flight over Fantasyland. The attraction will be part of the expanded Fantasyland that was announced at the D23 Expo on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo.
2009-10-01 - Vienna, United States. Diana Lambdin Meyer
When Alana Feld turned 7, her backyard birthday party included a live elephant and a one-horned "unicorn" goat, followed by a field trip for all of her classmates to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Her sisters, Nicole and Juliette, recall similar birthday extravaganzas featuring trips to see Disney On Ice with all the students in their school, personal audiences with Disney character actors and skating practice with Olympic silver medalist Linda Fratianne.
2009-10-01 - Buffalo, United States. Mark Perrotte
Cancer may have killed one of the Buffalo zoo's most beloved creatures. Buki the elephant died at the age of 52. Pathologists discovered a large, cancerous tumor in her abdominal area. Officials said a full necropsy report will not be completed for a few weeks. Buki had been at the zoo for more than 20 years.
2009-09-29 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham
For several hours Monday, Jothi and Surapa hovered over a lifeless Buki in the Buffalo Zoo's Elephant House. The younger Asian elephants nudged the matriarch's head and brushed her body with their trunks, presumably in the hope that their constant companion of more than two decades might awaken and rise up from the padded floor.
2009-09-28 - Albuquerque, United States. Bill Diven
The 300-plus pound baby elephant born Sept. 2 at the Rio Grande Zoo will be called Daizy. After a contest and public vote Daizy with a Z suits the pachyderm best. Her mother is Rozie, also with a Z. Zoo patrons paid $1 each to have their votes counted. The money will go toward elephant conservation. Most days Daizy and Rozie can be seen from 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. Zoo officials also hinted there may be a baby shower coming up.
2009-09-28 - Buffalo, United States.
Buki, one of the Buffalo Zoo’s beloved Asian elephants, has died at the age of 52. A long-time resident, she was a favorite among visitors and a special friend to Zoo staff. Keepers were present when she passed away at 5:40 a.m. on Monday, September 28, 2009.
2009-09-26 - Columbus, United States. KATHY LYNN GRAY
Beco the elephant will be 6 months old Sunday, and his popularity has diminished little since his surprising birth at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on March 27. Instead of the usual middle-of-the-night delivery, mother Phoebe dropped Beco during the day in the outdoor elephant yard before a few lucky visitors.
2009-09-23 - Los Angeles, United States.
An actor who is suing to stop construction of an elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo can move forward with his lawsuit against the city.A notification was posted on the 2nd District Court of Appeal's Web site Wednesday, saying that a 2008 Superior Court ruling dismissing the case was "reversed in full." Actor and animal rights activist Robert Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider filed a lawsuit in August 2007, alleging that the zoo did not treat the elephants well and the planned l...
2009-09-23 - Washington, United States. LEE DYE
If you were as clever as an elephant you could communicate with your friends without a cell phone or iPod or any other fancy electronic gadget. All you would have to do is speak, quite loudly as it turns out, and the earth would carry your message through seismic waves across considerable distances.
2009-09-23 - Albuquerque, United States. David Romero
Shes cute. Shes just three weeks old. Shes 320 pounds. And, zoo officials hope shell bring in a lot more visitors and money. The Rio Grande Zoos baby Asian elephant made her public debut on Tuesday after spending the first weeks of her life bonding with her mother. She already brought in excited crowds. "Just a baby elephant running around with that little trunk flopping around like a wet noodle, its pretty cute," said Rick Janser, the director of the Albuquerque Biological Park.
2009-09-23 - Augusta, United States. Rosemary Herbert
Mention the 1836 wreck, off of Vinalhaven, of the Royal Tar to some of Maine's islanders and you'll hear some very amazing tales. Some will tell you about rumors of an elephant arriving on the beach, or serpents seen slithering on various islands way back when. You might even be told that there are some places where people still won't fish, ever since the Royal Tar's boiler blew and the ship went up in flames.
2009-09-22 - Columbia, United States. Ben, Columbia University
Today is Elephant Appreciation Day, which we learned is a fairly young holiday created in 1996 by a father who was disproportionately elated by the paperweight of elephants parading that his daughter gave him as a gift. Doesn’t he know that paperweights are just about the most thoughtless and empty gifts one can give? At any rate, it spawned a great holiday so we can’t really complain. In celebration, we’ve rounded up these 9 Unforgettable Elephants in Pop Culture.
2009-09-22 - El Paso, United States.
Firefighters used special inflating airbags to lift the 7,700-pound elephant Savannah when she could not stand on her own Monday morning at the El Paso Zoo. The rescue team was called after Savannah, who is 57 years old, was unable to stand up after lying on an incline, zoo officials said. Medical staff are monitoring the Asian elephant and gave her anti-inflammatory medicine.
2009-09-22 - Stromsburg, United States. Adam Lefkoe
It is the job of archaeologists to uncover and study ancient artifacts. Some search for years for the ultimate discovery. It did not take that long for one Central Nebraska man. But he is not an archaeologist, he is a mechanic. This guy is pretty excited and he has every reason to be. He was working in a sand and gravel pit when he came across a piece of history. It is one that dates back thousands of years.
2009-09-22 - Waverly, United States. MATT HICKS
The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center is all about making history come alive, and on Monday co-founder Ted Keir did just that with his presentation of the Newton Mammoth that was excavated near Wyalusing in the mid-1980s. Walter and Jane Newton owned the 58-acre impoundment that housed Spring Lake, and had plans to make it a more suitable recreational area by deepening the body of water and installing an island in the middle for waterfowl propagation, said Keir. When work began in 1983, ho...
2009-09-21 - York, United States. Kate Burke
Seth Staehr knows what it is, it’s a tooth, a grinding tooth, a worn, ancient tooth. But he still can’t believe it. Staehr works for Overland Sand & Gravel. Ordinarily he’s at the Stromsburg location, where he works as a mechanic. When he’s needed, however, he runs the payloader at different locations. In May, he was at the new Phelps pit, a few miles south of the I-80 Waco interchange.
2009-09-20 - New Bedford, United States.
You may have seen the story recently about a 48-year-old elephant in Thailand named Motala who lost part of her leg ten years ago to a landmine. She has just become the second elephant in the world fitted with an artificial leg to help her walk. To learn more about her and all things elephant, we're lucky to have on Dr. Bill Langbauer a man who really knows these creatures. He studied African elephants in the wild for many years and now as the director of the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford M...
2009-09-16 - Salt Lake City, United States.
Utah’s Hogle Zoo's animal management is announcing the immediate opening of a full time animal care position, as a relief keeper in our Elephant Encounter area. The Zoo is seeking qualified applicants for this keeper position. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care and husbandry of the resident pachyderms, as well as other animals as assigned. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a newly renovated facility.
2009-09-15 - Tulsa, United States.
The Tulsa Zoo is seeking qualified applicants for a Large Mammal zookeeper position, specifically will work in our Pachyderm area ( Asian elephants & white rhinos) and possibly swing into the African ungulate area. Minimum requirements include: graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate’s degree in biology, zoology, wildlife management or related field & two (2) years of experience in the care of large mammals; preferable experience with elephants, rhinos, and ungula...
2009-09-15 - Salt Lake City, United States.
The newest resident of Utah's Hogle Zoo finally has a name. The zoo says the clear winner for its newly arrived baby elephant is Zuri, which means adorable or beautiful. Nearly 10,000 ballots were cast and among five choices, Zuri picked up nearly half the votes. The zoo welcomed the African elephant calf on Aug. 10. She is the first baby for 23-year-old Christie and the first African elephant born at the zoo. Zuri made her first appearance before the general public on Friday.
2009-09-13 - Buffalo, United States. Maki Becker
Buki, the oldest Asian elephant at the Buffalo Zoo, may be in her last days. Over the last couple of weeks, zookeepers have become alarmed at the 52- year-old pachyderm’s sudden loss of weight and appetite. Blood tests have shown her kidneys are not functioning properly, although she’s not in kidney failure. This could be the beginning of the end, zoo President Donna M. Fernandes reported Saturday. But she said all hope is not lost. We’re hoping she’ll rally, she said.
2009-09-12 - Washington, United States.
Like humans, the living elephants are unusual among mammals in being sparsely covered with hair. Relative to extant elephants, the extinct woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, had a dense hair cover and extremely long hair, which likely were adaptations to its subarctic habitat. The fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) gene affects hair length in a diverse set of mammalian species. Mutations in FGF5 lead to recessive long hair phenotypes in mice, dogs, and cats; and the gene has been implicated i...
2009-09-11 - Hollowood, United States. Richard Williams
The movie sound stages of London and Hollywood are a long way from Karapur, Mysore City, India where Sabu Dastagir was born on 27 January 1924. Sabu’s father, who was in the service of the Maharajah of Mysore, died when Sabu was a small child. His uncle, Shaik Hussaim, also worked for the Maharajah as the caretaker for his herd of two hundred elephants. He hired young Sabu to help care for the herd, thus making his later screen persona as The Elephant Boy a legitimate reality as opposed to hyp...
2009-09-09 - , United States.
Earth is a brand-new full-length documentary from DisneyNature that takes a look at three animal families living across the globe. It shows the hardships they face in trying to survive. Watch how polar bears, elephants and whales live, love and survive against certain odds. The film is narrated by James Earl Jones.
2009-09-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. Elizabeth White
The baby elephant at Utah's Hogle Zoo is getting ready to make her big debut. And she'll soon have a name, too. The zoo, www.hoglezoo.org, welcomed an African elephant calf on Aug. 10. It's the first baby for 23-year-old Christie and the first African elephant born at the zoo. The little one will make her first appearance before the general public on Friday. A couple days after that, she'll get a name. The zoo invites people choose their favorite among five possibilities: Abenia, Apara, K...
2009-09-04 - Albuquerque, United States.
The Albuquerque BioPark's Zoo joyfully welcomes a female Asian elephant calf born at 1:43am on Wednesday, September 2, 2009. The newborn tipped the scales at a whopping 318 pounds! This calf is the second elephant born at the Zoo and her mother, Rozie, was the first. “Mother and calf are doing well,” stated BioPark Director Rick Janser. To allow time for bonding, mother Rozie and her yet-to-be-named calf will stay together behind the scenes. Staff will continue 24-hour watches to monitor the...
2009-09-04 - Coney Island, United States.
Suzie the circus elephant took a bath - and the FDNY got all wet. City Hall turned an engine company into a bunch of clowns by forcing them to wash an elephant for a Ringling Brothers photo-op, the firefighters union charged Thursday. The "public relations stunt" jeopardized the safety of Coney Island residents because Engine Co. 245 was out of service for a half-hour Wednesday, Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy said.
2009-09-03 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
Call them the peacemaking pachyderms. Tina and Jewel, two former circus elephants, have helped create rare goodwill between animal-rights groups and the San Diego Zoo after years of acrimony over the institution's policies for pachyderms. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and In Defense of Animals are applauding the zoo for accepting the two elephants, which federal officials had taken from a Texas exhibitor.
2009-09-03 - Woodside, United States. Julia Prodis Sulek and Brandon Bailey
Today he's home in Woodside, recuperating from serious injuries. A little more than a month ago, Silicon Valley billionaire Tom Siebel was in the Serengeti, where a charging elephant attacked him and a guide. "It was all happening so fast. There was no place to hide, no place to run," the 56-year-old Siebel, founder of the Siebel Systems software company, told the Mercury News in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
2009-09-02 - Salinas, United States.
It was about 5:30 in the afternoon. Fred Alspaw, chief elephant trainer for the Sells-Floto Circus, was lazing with some crew members after setting up the big top and menagerie at Hebert's Field in Salinas. When Alspaw arrived at the line of tethered elephants, he got the surprise of his life. There, in danger of being trampled to death by a pachyderm named Princess Alice, was the pinkish form of a baby elephant.
2009-09-02 - Toledo, United States. Jennifer Taylor
Major construction is underway Wednesday morning at the Toledo Zoo. The zoo is installing a brand new bull elephant exhibit. Voters approved the project by passing last November's zoo levy. The first phase of the project will be complete this fall. Another phase will be completed in 2012. 175 people and 85 local companies are being employed as part of this 10 month period of construction.
2009-09-01 - Las Vegas, United States. ERICA SHEN
In a desert wash that was once teeming with water, full of luscious plants and home to such animals as bison, camels and mammoths, they have identified hundreds of sites rich in fossils in an area north of the city. Two mammoth vertebrae were found at the dig.
2009-09-01 - Cleveland', United States. Michael Scott
When Cleveland's trio of elephants return home in June 2011 after a three-year Columbus Zoo vacation, they'll move into what could be the nation's largest green-certified animal exhibit. "No one thought it could be done -- build an animal building up to the highest green standards -- but we're doing it," said Dick Chodera, project manager for RFC Contracting Inc., a Strongsville firm advising the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on the project. Zoos in Philadelphia, Seattle and New York have green-certi...
2009-09-01 - Guwahati, United States.
It's always the children who bear the wrath of conflict, whether it's human or animal strife. Just as decades of insurgency have orphaned thousands of kids in terror-riddled Assam, relentless human-tusker conflicts have also taken a steady toll on the live of wild pachyderms, leaving behind scores of their young ones alone and vulnerable in the process. Many of these calves have had to be rescued by human intervention. Though the number of orphaned elephant calves is comparatively lower than hum...
2009-08-31 - Winston, United States.
Wildlife Safari is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic interns for our Elephant Department Internship Program. Interns will assist in daily routines including, but not limited to: diet prep, daily husbandry, exhibit maintenance, enrichment, observation and public interaction. We provide a large variety of educational opportunities for guests, so interns must be comfortable speaking in front of large groups.
2009-08-31 - Jamshedpur, United States.
The late monsoon is upsetting the migration schedule of the elephants of the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. Each year, in the month of September, elephants leave the reserve area and head to Purulia, West and East Midnapore districts. They return to sanctuary before the start of the summer season, around mid-February. Migration usually depends on the cultivation of paddy crops in the villages that fall along the migratory route of the tuskers.
2009-08-24 - McMinnville, United States.
Archaeologists made history in Oregon on Sunday when they recovered the second tusk of a 44,000-year-old mammoth near McMinnville. Mike Full, an ex-police officer in the area, led a team of archaeologists and volunteers who uncovered the 26-inch portion of what was once a 6-foot tusk along the South Yamhill River. It's the first time both tusks from a single mammoth have been found in Oregon.
2009-08-24 - Casper, United States.
Casper College Geology Instructor Kent Sundell was richly rewarded during his final attempt to recover the remaining tusk and skull from a large Mammuthus Columbi also known as a Columbian Mammoth during a final digging expedition. Not only did he find the skull, but also the complete tusk measuring approximately eight to nine feet in length and 9 inches in diameter. "Dee" the mammoth was originally discovered on March 8, 2006 on the Allemand Ranch. By the end of June 2006 Sundell, Tate prep lab...
2009-08-23 - San Diego, United States. Tony Perry
Two Asian elephants in need of better veterinary care have been removed from a Texas facility by the federal government and brought to the San Diego Zoo. Jewel and Tina, both thought to be in their 40s, arrived at the zoo Saturday after being removed from Leggett, Texas, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates zoos and other animal facilities. The Leggett facility's owner agreed to the removal as part of a deal in which the government dropped its demand for fines.
2009-08-22 - Portland, United States.
On his big day, Sam will get to chow down on a cake made by the zoo's Executive Chef Paul Warner, but he won't be the only one celebrating. The zoo will throw a party in Sam's honor on Sunday, Aug. 23, and all zoo visitors are invited. Sam was born as a part of the Oregon Zoo's renowned breeding program for endangered Asian elephants. More than 25 calves have been born at the zoo, beginning with Packy in 1962. Samudra is the first third-generation elephant to be born in the United States.
2009-08-21 - Ithaca, United States.
A CT scan of artifacts held by the Paleontological Research Institution could be the key to unlocking the evolutionary mystery of elephant legs. On Tuesday, curators from the Museum of the Earth and medical professionals from Cayuga Medical Center will take a look inside the leg bones of a mastodon skeleton at the museum with a CT scan. What they find will help advance research into the evolutionary path that has led to elephants' unusual structure, said biologist John Hutchinson, a reader in ev...
2009-08-20 - Leggett, United States. CINDY HORSWELL
Willie Davenport will keep Boo — a 9,000-pound elephant who has performed in circuses with his family since the 1960s — but he had to relinquish two other elephants to end his fight Thursday with federal authorities over permitting and care of the gentle giants. I am sad. This is not just my loss, but East Texas is losing their elephants. They have touched a lot of people, said Davenport, who was surrounded by 70 neighbors who came to show support when authorities arrived to collect the two ...
2009-08-18 - Oaktown, United States.
Mine workers in southwestern Indiana have unearthed the tusks and skeletal remains of a prehistoric elephant that lived more than 12,000 years ago. The workers were digging a coal slurry storage pit recently at Vectren's Black Panther Mine about 30 miles south of Terre Haute when they noticed the fossil mastodon bones in a backhoe shovel. After realizing the importance of the find, the crew notified the Indiana Division of Reclamation, which regulates mining operations.
2009-08-18 - , United States.
Central and local agencies have passed the buck in implementing a project to protect endangered elephants in the southern Dong Nai Province while the mysterious death of five elephants remains unsolved. The protection project envisaged setting up an elephant reserve in the province, 35 kilometers to the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
2009-08-17 - Leggett, United States.
Willie Davenport, an animal exhibitor, has 3 female elephants: Boo (52 yrs. old), Jewel (45 yrs. old), and Tina (42 yrs. old). The problem Davenport is having is with Jewel and a lady named Denise Sofranko. Sofranko wants to take Jewel away from Davenport and put her in an "elephant sanctuary". Davenport is a 3rd generation animal exhibitor. "Denise Sofranko drove my dad out of business in 1997 and now she's coming for me... It's personal", Davenport told PolkCountyToday.com. "Elephants at...
2009-08-15 - New York, United States. Simon Barrett in Book Reviews
Victoria Cristiani Rossi has just released a memoir Spangles, Elephants, Violets And Me. It takes us behind the scenes of the traveling circus, a staple of the first half of the 20th century. Victoria was born in 1940 and although she herself was not a part of the daring horseback act she was a performer in her own right, she appeared in the Elephant act. The Cristiani family are one of the best known multi generational circus families, their skills on horseback were legendary, and over the year...
2009-08-15 - Portland, United States. Bill LaMarche
The Oregon Zoo's Asian elephants have been getting fitter this summer, thanks to some local teenagers. Three Catlin Gabel students recently revived a six-year-old, out-of-service environmental enrichment device for the zoo's bull elephants. The device was initially designed by Portland State University students to mentally engage the elephants, while also encouraging them to exercise.
2009-08-14 - Knoxville, United States.
The Knoxville Zoo is seeking a qualified person to fill an opening in the elephant department. The Knoxville Zoo currently houses 1.2 African Elephants. The females are managed in free contact and the male is managed in protected contact. We need a dependable, trustworthy, and very team oriented individual who will be able to work in a fast paced, progressive program. Elephant experience not required but it is preferred.
2009-08-14 - Pittsburgh, United States. Allison M. Heinrichs
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's prolific bull elephant is a father for the eighth time, the zoo confirmed today. Jackson's latest offspring is a 251-pound female born at the Hogle Zoo in Utah on Monday. She and her mother, Christie, are doing well. Last year, Jackson became father to two calves at the Pittsburgh Zoo, females Angeline and Zuri.
2009-08-13 - Buffalo, United States.
Minimum two-year degree in one of the natural sciences or a closely related discipline, four-year degree preferred. A minimum of two years of elephant training, management, and husbandry experience with demonstrated proficiency is required. Free contact experience preferred. Experience may substitute for educational requirement.
2009-08-13 - Charleston, United States.
Elephants Cora and Shannon will take the spotlight at the 85th annual West Virginia State Fair starting Friday through Aug. 22. The girls are the stars of "Elephant Encounter," an educational and entertaining experience for the entire family. Bill Morris and his wife, Cindy, travel with their animals five months out of the year, doing fairs and festivals throughout the Midwest. These are not circus elephants, nor are they zoo elephants. They are family elephants and have been owned and cared for...
2009-08-13 - Salt Lake City, United States. Matthew D. LaPlante
She's a baby years in the making. Veterinarians decided back in 2004 that Christie the elephant was ready to be a mother. But it took five years and millions of dollars in renovations to the zoo's elephant habitat to bring the Hogle Zoo's newest resident to life. In a 20-minute labor that went by so fast it surprised her keepers, Christie gave birth to a 251-pound female calf on Monday afternoon. The as-of-yet unnamed calf is the first elephant born in Utah in more than 90 years and is the first...
2009-08-11 - Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
Salt Lake City now has its first newborn baby elephant in more than 89 years. Christie, a 7,900-pound African elephant at Hogle Zoo delivered her first baby Monday afternoon, after a 22-month gestation. The 251-pound and 36-inch tall female calf is reported to be doing well."The birth was extremely fast," elephant manager Doug Tomkinson said. "It went easy and well, but I can't believe how fast it happened." He added, "This is something miraculous that has occurred. It has been years of hard wor...
2009-08-10 - Indianapolis, United States. Stan Lehr
Elephants don't sweat. Cocktail party trivia to you, perhaps, but to Michael Rowe it's a scientific challenge. Rowe, a doctoral student at Indiana State University, is studying how elephants deal with hot and cold at four zoos in Indianapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Toronto. By learning how heat is dissipated in different environments, he hopes to better understand the impact of vanishing habitat and possibly provide new guidelines for the care of elephants in captivity.
2009-08-10 - Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The newest resident of Brookfield Zoo is described by the staff as a "busybody" who loves splashing water, wallowing in mud and chowing down on oranges, watermelon and cantaloupe, but she's not exactly a kid. Joyce is a 26-year-old African elephant who arrived at the west suburban zoo on Sunday, according to a release from the zoo. The nearly 8-foot, 6,800-pounds pachyderm arrived in a special truck from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., to become a companion for Christy, the zoo's...
2009-08-04 - Chicago, United States. Joe Fontanetta
"So, Joe, you've been working here almost a year and you haven't even come to meet the girls," he said. He was John, the head elephant keeper at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. "Hey, are you serious?" I asked. Meeting the zoo's two resident female elephants was considered a privilege, and rightly so. "Sure," answered John. "If things slow down a little in the Small Mammal House this afternoon, come on over." Well, even though I'd been a zookeeper for almost a year, I had, as yet, been lucky eno...
2009-08-01 - Tulsa, United States.
2009-07-31 - Memphis, United States.
The Memphis Zoo has an opening for a Keeper in our Elephant area; the anticipated vacancy will occur 10/09. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in pachyderm care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience).
2009-07-30 - Jacksonville, United States. AZA
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently recruiting a Supervisor of Mammals with the primary responsibility as the Elephant Program Manager. The successful candidate must have a bachelors degree in a related life science and a minimum of 5 years experience in an AZA accredited zoo with previous experience working protected contact. Must be familiar with the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care and have at least 2 yrs. experience as a supervisor. Responsibilities include managing 1...
2009-07-29 - San Diego, United States.
Lowell Lindsay, co-author of Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert: The Last Seven Million Years, will be at the San Diego Zoo’s new Elephant Odyssey Exhibit on Saturday, August 15. He will be discussing, in a hands-on presentation, one of America’s most significant fossil treasure troves—the Anza-Borrego Desert, located in San Diego’s own desert backyard. San Diego County’s Anza-Borrego Desert region boasts the longest continuous fossil record in North America, with fossils of s...
2009-07-28 - Fairhope, United States. BERNIE HORNICK
The stage is set for the biggest romance Somerset County has ever seen. But only one of the two players is certain: Jackson, the bull elephant who lives at the International Conservation Center. He gets to pick his love interest from the new arrivals, Kallie and Bette – pronounced Bet. Jackson hasn’t yet been given the chance to decide: As is often the case in matters of the heart, timing is everything, and zookeepers want to get this one right. The ICC on Monday introduced the girls to thei...
2009-07-27 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. KDKA.com
Two of the Philadelphia Zoo's female elephants are getting used to their new home at the Pittsburgh Zoo's International Conservation Center. Bette and Kallie are said to be doing well so far and will be introduced to the outside yards soon. "Both Bette and Kallie are doing very well," says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. "They started to explore the elephant barn almost immediately and love to be in the sand arena." Currently the two elephants are bein...
2009-07-26 - , United States. Keith O'Brien / Boston.com
In zoo parlance, they’re known as charismatic megafauna. We’re talking lions, tigers, and other large creatures. They are the big-ticket beasts and the reason, historically anyway, why people have come to the zoo. Where there is megafauna, the thinking goes, there will be crowds. That’s partly what made Ron Kagan’s decision so shocking. The executive director of the Detroit Zoo announced in 2004 that he was voluntarily sending his zoo’s two Asian elephants to a California sanctuary, wh...
2009-07-16 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. WPXI.com
Thursday was a big day for the elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. They're celebrating two birthdays. Angeline and Zuri were born last July. The first year of life is critical for elephants to grow and learn and both Angeline and Zuri are doing very well. The zoo said the little pachyderms have reached several major milestones. "They are eating solid foods, using their trunks to pick up objects, and learning simple commands such as ‘come here and stop,’ says Willie Theison, ele...
2009-07-14 - Dallas, Texas, United States. Dawson M Williams / The Dallas Morning News
Jenny the elephant, one of the Dallas Zoo's most famous residents, was introduced Tuesday to the pachyderm that will become her constant companion. Gypsy, a 27-year-old female African elephant, arrived at the zoo in late March from a private owner in Southeast Texas and had been quarantined since then. All new zoo animals are separated at first to ensure that they aren't carrying diseases and to allow them time to adapt to the staff and their new environment. The pair met for the first time earl...
2009-07-11 - Fairhope, Pennsylvania, United States. CUMBERLAND TIMES-NEWS
A trio of animal-rights groups is railing against the pending move of two elephants to Pittsburgh Zoo’s conservation center in Somerset County. The organizations — including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — argue that the two pachyderms from Philadelphia’s zoo are too old for breeding and would be confined to “small pens” at the Fairhope-area facility. But the zoo’s top administrator begs to differ, saying the activists’ assertions are misleading and, in some cases, ...
2009-07-08 - Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Linda Moore
The jubilance at the Memphis Zoo following the Monday night birth of an African elephant calf was snatched away on Wednesday after the new baby was accidentally killed by its mother. At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, the calf stumbled in the enclosure. As Asali tried to right the baby with her trunk, she used too much pressure and critically injured it with her tusk, said Chuck Brady, zoo president and CEO. Zoo staffers immediately moved Asali away from the female calf, but the facility’s medical te...
2009-07-07 - Memphis, Tennessee, United States. PRESS RELEASE
“Asali,” an African elephant at the Memphis Zoo gave birth to a female calf at approximately 10:23pm on July 6 after a gestation of 1 year, 9 months, and 15 days. Currently, Asali and her calf are in healthy, stable condition. The pregnancy is a result of the Zoo’s continued participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) plans to grow the captive population of elephants. This plan, known as the Species Survival Plan, outlines the management and development of healthy eleph...
2009-07-06 - Los Angeles, United States. WPXI.com
Hours before a public memorial for Michael Jackson, a herd of elephants were on the march through downtown Los Angeles in a fitting start to a circus-like day. Eleven Asian elephants and seven horses from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus lumbered from Union Station toward the Staples Center early Tuesday, where the memorial service for Jackson was to be held. The elephants were set to arrive at the arena some five hours before the memorial. Some elephants and early arriving Jackson ...
2009-07-03 - Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Jody Callahan
For a baby elephant, mother's milk really is the essence of life. In an elephant, the milk carries important antibodies and nutrients that human babies typically get while still in the womb. So if the baby elephant, due any day now at the Memphis Zoo, somehow doesn't nurse from its mother, Asali, the little bundle of joy could be in big trouble.That's where Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center stepped in, donating a human breast pump valued at more than $1,000. The pump and a stand were given to...
2009-06-24 - Fairhope, Pennsylvania, United States. WPXI.com
Their trunks are packed, and they're headed west. Kallie and Bette, the Philadelphia Zoo's two female African elephants, are moving to southern Pennsylvania. They'll join Jackson, a male African elephant, at the Pittsburgh Zoo's center for rare and endangered species. The zoos said the pachyderms will be trucked to their new quarters in a specially equipped trailer after the July 4 weekend. The Pittsburgh Zoo's 724-acre International Conservation Center is a new preservation and education facili...
2009-06-23 - Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Dana Rebik / MyEyeWitnessNews.com
A very pregnant African elephant is trying to stay cool at the Memphis Zoo. 23 year-old Asili is due July 12th, 2009, but could give birth at any time according to zookeepers. Zoology students from Rhodes College are keeping watch on mom 24 hours a day, monitoring her behavior. “She is definitely dozing in the shade a lot and throwing water on herself. Yes, she is hot," says zoo curator Matt Thompson. Zoo goers gathered around the elephant exhibit learning more about the pregnancy. "It is ...
2009-06-16 - Portland, United States.
Voters passed a $125 million bond measure for the zoo last fall. The money will be spent on everything from a new enclosure for polar bears to improved veterinary facilities. $30 million is earmarked to increase the elephant enclosure from three acres to six acres. Zoo deputy director, Mike Keele, says the bull elephants will also get a 200 acre off-site space.
2009-05-18 - Chicago, United States. Janice Hoppe
The elephant exhibit in Brookfield Zoo near Chicago is closed until further notice after the death last week of Affie, a 40-year-old African elephant. Officials are still unsure of the cause of death. About 8 a.m. Friday, Affie’s keepers arrived and found her lying on her side indoors not able to stand back up, according to Sondra Katzen, spokeswoman for the zoo. After hours of attempts to get the 10,400-pound elephant on her feet, she died at 2 p.m., Katzen said.
2009-05-17 - Hohenwald, United States.
On May 15, at 3:42 am CT, Ned, the second elephant ever confiscated by the United States Department of Agriculture, died peacefully in the company of his caregivers at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Ned was born into the captive breeding program at Busch Gardens, and at age two, sold to a circus trainer and performed with the Big Apple Circus until 2000. Later, Ned was traded to another circus trainer who hired him out to the Royal Hannaford traveling circus until Ned’s emaciated conditi...
2009-05-17 - Chicago, United States.
The Chicago Zoological Society announced the death of Affie, a 40-year-old African elephant at Brookfield Zoo on Friday afternoon. Despite the staff's efforts to assist the 10,400-pound elephant, Affie died on Friday surrounded by her zookeepers. At 40 years old, Affie was one of the oldest elephants in North America. She was one of the zoo's most popular animals with guests
2009-05-15 - Hohenwald, United States.
On May 14, at around 3:30pm Central Time, Bunny, the second to the oldest elephant resident of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, died peacefully in the company of her caregivers. Bunny’s long time elephant companions, Shirley and Tarra, kept a round-the-clock vigil nearby. Bunny suffered from no diseases, and approximately six weeks prior to her death had visibly slowed down and was no longer walking as far as she usually did. A necropsy will be performed on Saturday, May 16 with her burial...
2009-05-10 - Utah, United States. Becky Cairns
Baby fat? Not on this mommy-to-be, still svelte as ever at 7,500 pounds. It may be hard for human moms to fathom, but Christie the expectant elephant isn’t even "showing" yet — after 18 months of pregnancy. "If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know," says Nancy Carpenter, the Hogle Zoo veterinarian caring for the African elephant. Not only that, this pregnant pachyderm has escaped morning sickness, mood swings and food cravings. How about swollen ankles? No to those, too, her doctor says ...
2009-05-10 - Columbus, Ohio, United States.
The baby elephant born March 27 at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium now has a name: Beco. Zoo officials said the name -- pronounced BEE-co -- received 6,064 votes, almost half of the 12,783 votes cast. The name was announced this afternoon. Melanie Celello of Westerville was named the grand-prize winner after her name was drawn out of a hat. She and two others submitted Beco, which is a combination of the names of the baby's parents, Phoebe and Coco. Celello wins a one-year zoo membership and other...
2009-05-08 - Columbus, Ohio, United States. Susan Glaser/Plain Dealer Reporter
Pack up your herd of elephant enthusiasts -- there's a pachyderm party going on this spring in the state capital. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has become a major large-mammal meeting place, with eight elephants under one roof. Among the inhabitants: the three African elephants from Cleveland, temporarily relocated downstate while their digs here are redone. And the newest addition: a calf, as yet unnamed, born March 27 to mom Phoebe, an Asian elephant and longtime Columbus Zoo resident. The mal...
2009-05-07 - Tennessee, United States. Rich Davis
Ten years ago, under a postcard-blue September sky, I stood outside a million-dollar barn and watched Bunny the 8,000-pound pachyderm become part of The Elephant Sanctuary in tiny Hohenwald, Tenn., southwest of Nashville. The other Asian elephants had already entered the pasture, Barbara the matriarch lying in the sun in a far field, Tarra roaming a fence line and Jenny and Shirley — best buds, I learned — waiting for the new kid from Evansville to join in. For an hour, Bunny stood at the ba...
2009-04-26 - Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Dan Hinnenkamp
Shrine circus time in Duluth begins an annual debate over whether animals belong in circuses. I’ve worked for circuses. I’ve seen the care and dedication that goes into the daily lives of the animals, the proper techniques used when handling exotic and domestic performing creatures, and how no expense is spared when it comes to the animals — even when it means circus workers living less-than-glamorous lives on the road. Last summer, I spent three weeks traveling across northern Minnesota, ...
2009-04-26 - San Diego, United States. Brady MacDonald
Visitors to the San Diego Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey habitat will travel back in time to explore the ancestors of animals that roamed California 10,000 years ago or more. Opening May 23, the new $45-million pachyderm playground brings together the zoo’s three elephants with four from its sister Wild Animal Park into a single herd. The elephants’ new home features a 2.5-acre yard, a 120,000-gallon pool and a medical facility where visitors can watch zookeepers and veterinarians feed and care fo...
2009-04-26 - Baton Rouge, United States.
The East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission Foundation is looking for private donations to help fund projects such as a new running track, a boathouse for City Park and a new elephant exhibit at the Baton Rouge Zoo.
2009-04-25 - Columbos, United States. HOLLY ZACHARIAH
Anyone hoping to cast their vote today for one of top three name choices for the baby elephant at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will just have to wait. Zoo officials had planned to announce the public's best submissions today in its Name the Baby Elephant Contest. But they're still sorting through the suggestions. Now they hope to unveil a list on Monday afternoon, zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters said. The baby, born March 27, is on public view from at least 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily at the indoor el...
2009-04-25 - San Diego, California, United States. Tony Perry
After a year of planning and an hourlong trip on Interstate 15, four adult Asian elephants arrived safely today at the San Diego Zoo from the zoo's Wild Animal Park. The four -- the bull Ranchipur and the females Cookie, Mary and Cha Cha -- are set to star in the zoo's new Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey, which will open May 23. The zoo's three resident elephants will also be part of the exhibit, the largest (7.5 acres), most expensive ($45 million) and most complex (30 species) in zoo h...
Reporting from San Diego -- Ranchipur, the bull, is ready. Cookie and Mary are getting there. Cha Cha, well, she's always been the idiosyncratic one, the youngest and a bit flighty. Soon, Ranchipur and the three females -- Asian elephants all -- will transfer from the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park to the zoo itself. The exact day and time of the move is a closely held secret. The four will be stars in the zoo's largest and most expensive exhibit: the $45-million Harry and Grace Steele Elephan...
2009-04-18 - Portland, Oregon, United States. Phillip Swarts, The Oregonian
Packy the elephant turned 47 today, amid plenty of cake, smiles and elephant ears. Packy helped make Portland's zoo famous when he became the first elephant in decades born in the Western Hemisphere, and the Oregon Zoo has celebrated "Elephantastic!" on his birthday weekend ever since. Rama, one of Packy's sons, 26, also celebrated his birthday today, with a "trunk show" of paintings he creates with his trunk. With two and a half hours left until closing time, there had been 8,500 visitors to th...
2009-04-15 - Atlanta, United States.
The Keeper III is responsible for animal husbandry and maintenance of exhibit, holding and public areas of the assigned department. This person will report to the area Lead Keeper or Assistant Curator or Curator as appropriate.
2009-04-10 - Portland, Oregon, United States. Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian
The Oregon Zoo's effort to carefully track its elephant calf's weight began with a technique developed, or so it might seem, by sadistic physicians. Each day, keepers shoved little Samudra onto a scale. But as the zoo's prize newcomer approaches 1,000 pounds -- he was born last Aug. 23, weighing 286 pounds -- he's learned to follow the simple, firm directive that keeper Bob Lee delivered Tuesday: "Scale!" At the word, Sam, as he's known, stepped onto a plywood platform hooked to a scale. His leg...
2009-04-01 - Dallas, United States. Selena Hernandez
Jenny the elephant, at the Dallas Zoo, has been the center of controversy for nearly a year. Wednesday zoo officials announced that Jenny will soon have some new playmates. Dallas Zoo officials announced that Gypsy, a 27-year-old African elephant, has come to live with Jenny. Gypsy arrived at the Dallas Zoo on March 31. "She fits the profile of the type of elephant that would benefit from our new Giants of the Savanna habitat, and we wanted to find the best possible companion for our current ele...
2009-03-28 - Baroda, United States. DENNIS COGSWELL
As young boys will, brothers Ethan and Evan Hoge and their cousin Sebastian O’Connor spend much of their free time looking for antique bottles and other things around what was once a railroad line along the edge of their family’s property. They probably never imagined that one of their trips would result in finding part of the remains of a prehistoric elephant.
2009-03-27 - Powell, United States. Patty Peters, COLUMBUS ZOO
The much anticipated birth of an Asian elephant calf at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium occurred on March 27 at approximately 2:35 p.m. after a 655 day gestation period. The male calf stood within minutes. Phoebe's health was monitored throughout her pregnancy including an exercise regimen and regular ultrasounds and blood draws. On Wednesday her progesterone levels dropped significantly indicating the onset of the birthing process. Phoebe and her calf will continue to be observed around t...
2009-03-23 - Dallas, Texas, United States. Joanna Cattanach, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Elephants brought the Dallas Zoo nothing but problems last summer. But soon they'll be at the center of a $30 million African Savanna exhibit that officials hope will silence critics – and even serve as a national model. The 10-acre attraction, set to open next spring, will house lions, impalas, zebras, ostriches, giraffes, wild dogs, wart hogs – and elephants. Zoo director Gregg Hudson said the exhibit will be on par with a similar display at the acclaimed San Diego Zoo. Huds...
2009-03-22 - Baltimore, Maryland, United States. WBALTV
BALTIMORE -- My, how he has grown. Samson, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore's baby elephant weighed 290 pounds at birth and over the year he gained about 2 pounds a day. Samson is now tipping the scales at 1,000 pounds. Hundreds of people showed up for Samson's first birthday party on Saturday. The elephant and a couple of friends were treated to their very own cakes topped with sweet potatoes, bananas, apples and raisins. Two legged guests were treated to cupcakes from Charm City Cupcakes.<...
2009-03-22 - , United States. Ryan Easley
Elephants presented by Larry Carden: Bo - Vicky - Cindy - Betty. Larry Carden presents a great act and a very able hand, also presenting the only bull elephant on the road in America.
2009-03-19 - Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Gus G. Sentementes
Samson, the first elephant to be born in Baltimore, turns 1 year old today, and organizers at the Maryland Zoo are planning a birthday bash for him on Saturday. The zoo is inviting the public to the "elephant overlook," where people can sing "Happy Birthday" to Samson and watch him eat his own birthday cake. The birthday sing-a-long is scheduled for noon. Other child-friendly events include free cupcakes for guests, face-painting and the signing of a large birthday card for Samson. ...
2009-03-18 - , United States. DeWayne Bevil
A 24-year-old African elephant died Tuesday at Disney's Animal Kingdom after a brief, isolated illness, Walt Disney World officials say. Tumpe, a female that was moved to Animal Kingdom in 2007, had been suffering from skin sores and gastrointestinal problems for two months. The staff provided medical care including blood tests, ultrasound, bacterial and viral testing, electrocardiography and laparoscopic surgery, the company said. A pathology report is expected within weeks, but Disney experts ...
2009-03-15 - Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Bill Radford, THE GAZETTE
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has a movie star in its midst. Malaika, a female African elephant, arrived at the zoo in December after 21 years in the hands of a private owner - an animal trainer who found Malaika plenty of work on TV and in film. Despite her Hollywood status, keepers say she hasn't been throwing her weight around - and at 7,800 pounds, she has plenty to throw around. "She's real calm and laid-back," said Jason Bredahl, the zoo's elephant manager. It has ...
2009-03-13 - San Diego, California, United States. Jeanette Steele, UNION-TRIBUTE
NORTH COUNTY — An African elephant calf was born early Friday morning at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. The little male appears healthy and is nursing often from his mother, Umngani, said zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo. “He's doing great. He is wobbly on his feet, but he is walking around following his mom,” she said. The calf, as yet unnamed, was born with 2-year-old big sister, Khosi, nearby. Zoo officials intend to keep the trio together as soon as they ar...
2009-03-10 - Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville Zoo's baby elephant, Scotty, is getting ready for his second birthday celebration. Last year, Scotty was given a special birthday cake and other animals were invited to celebrate with him. Over the past year, zoo officials said Scotty learned to swim, went through teething and was featured in People magazine. Scotty, mom Mikki and aunt Punch will show off some of his training to the public on March 21. The festivities begin at 11 a.m. ...
2009-03-07 - Indianapolis, United States.
Indianapolis fire officials say a dozen children and an adult have suffered minor injuries when a circus elephant knocked over a portable stairway at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Indianapolis Fire Department spokeswoman Rita Reith (RIGHT') said none of the injured needed to go to a hospital after the incident Saturday at the Murat Shrine Circus. Reith says the elephant was giving rides to children when it bumped the stairway where adults and other children were standing.
2009-03-05 - Atlanta, United States.
An outbreak of community-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus occurred among caretakers of an elephant calf, U.S. health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, released Thursday, warns that people working with animals in zoo settings should perform proper hand hygiene before and after animal contact and use personal protective equipment -- gowns, gloves, and masks -- when working with ill or infected animals.
2009-03-03 - Washington, United States. Nedra Pickler, AP
The head of the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus acknowledged in federal court Tuesday that all his elephant handlers strike the animals with metal-tipped prods, but he said it´s necessary to keep the huge animals under control and doesn´t harm them. Feld entertainment Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Feld said the circus probably couldn´t have elephants without the prods - called bull hooks - and chains that are at the center of a trial i...
2009-03-01 - Columbus, Ohio, United States. Kathy Lynn Gray, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Think your pregnancy was tough? Imagine it lasting 22 months and ending with the delivery of a 300-pound baby. That's the reality for Phoebe, the Asian elephant who's about to deliver her second calf at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. But although the gestation period is long and the baby huge, Phoebe's not unlike pregnant humans in many ways. She has gained a bit too much weight, for one thing, said assistant curator Harry Peachey, who is in charge of the elephants. A...
2009-02-26 - St Louis, Missouri, United States. Malcom Gay, NEW YORK TIMES
Zookeepers here feared the worst when they noticed that Jade, a 2-year-old elephant calf, was acting sluggish this month. The calf was limping slightly, her appetite was down, and the keepers, wary of a deadly herpes virus prevalent in the country’s Asian elephant population, sent a blood sample to a laboratory for analysis. “That’s pretty much the first thing we do when we see something amiss with our Asian elephant calves,” said Martha Fischer, curator of mammals at the...
2009-02-26 - Salt Lake City, United States. Jessica Eyre
The 40-acre zoo at the mouth of Emigration Canyon has some great exhibits. The Elephant Encounter exhibit features a large canopy next to the view of the elephants. Although it was quite chilly the day we were there, I can imagine this being a welcomed shady area in which to escape the heat. Hogle Zoo now has the oldest african elephant in North America, Dari, who turned 48 on June 14, and another is pregnant.
2009-02-26 - Washington, United States.
The federal trial against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act will determine whether the circus can continue using bull hooks and chains to train and control its Asian elephant herd. But the implications of the trial go far beyond what devices elephant handlers can wield. If the animal rights plaintiffs succeed against Ringling Bros., they will also succeed in a dramatic reshaping of the ESA itself.
2009-02-25 - San Diego, United States. Tony Perry
Sunita, the oldest elephant at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, was euthanized this morning by animal keepers after a long battle with ill health, zoo officials said. A 60-year-old Asian elephant female, Sunita came to the zoo in 1974. Her death leaves the Wild Animal Park with four Asian elephants and 11 African elephants. Sunita had a number of health problems associated with old age, including a fast-moving infection. She had also broken a tooth and had refused to eat in recent days.
2009-02-24 - Bangkok, United States.
A drunken tourist staggers about as he repeatedly drops his bags of elephant feed on Bangkok's Soi Cowboy boulevard. Beneath the neon lights advertising Thailand's bars and bargirls, the man teases the two-year-old elephant as the beast tries to coax a few sugarcane snacks from his shaking hands. Finally the distressed elephant lets out a cry and her handlers pull her down the street to the next group of paying tourists. "They get beaten because they're tired, they don't want to walk, it'...
2009-02-23 - St. Louis, United States.
Officials at the Saint Louis Zoo announced on February 23 that Jade is showing some signs that she is responding to treatment. The Zoo's animal care team of curators, veterinarians and zookeepers have been working around the clock monitoring Jade's condition closely and aggressively treating her illness. "We are beginning to see some changes in Jade's laboratory results that suggest for the first time that she is not just holding her own against this illness, but may be making some progress in o...
2009-02-22 - Eugene, United States.
A University of Oregon geology professor has donated his collection of fossils to the university's Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Greg Retallack picked up his first fossil as a 6-year-old boy on vacation at a beach in Coledale, Australia. His collection now exceeds 9,000 items, stretching back through the ages, from 13,000-year-old woolly mammoth hairs found in Siberia to 3.5 billion-year-old limestone unearthed in Western Australia.
2009-02-22 - La Brea, United States.
Most rare of all is a well-preserved male Columbian mammoth fossil, about 80% complete, with 10-feet long intact tusks found in an ancient river bed near the other discoveries. This latter fossil is the first complete individual mammoth to have been found in Rancho La Brea. In recognition of the importance of the find, paleontologists at the Page Museum have nicknamed the mammoth “Zed.”
2009-02-21 - Port Townsend, United States.
How do whales and elephants use sound? And how important is sound to their survival? Researcher Jason Wood will present information about the importance of sound to both African elephants and southern resident orcas during a lecture today (Saturday). His presentation, "Whales and Elephants: Using Sound to Save Species," will follow the Port Townsend Marine Science Center's annual meeting at 4 p.m. in Fort Worden State Park's Building 204. After a brief meeting, Anne Murphy, the science center's ...
2009-02-18 - Los Angeles, United States. Dan Whitcomb
The nearly complete skeleton of a massive Columbian mammoth who died during the last ice age has been dug out of a construction site near the La Brea Tar Pits in downtown Los Angeles, a remarkable find even in the fossil-rich area, scientists said Wednesday. The mammoth, dubbed "Zed" by researchers at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, likely died in his late 40s some 40,000 years ago and was found near an unprecedented treasure trove of fossils that workers stumbled upon while digging the...
2009-02-18 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Maliha, another Asian calf at the St. Louis Zoo, has tested positive for the potentially deadly strain of herpes that struck 2-year old Jade more than a week ago. However, Maliha shows no symptoms of the disease and her blood values are normal. Maliha is Jade’s 2 1/2-year old cousin. The Zoo tested the rest of its eight-elephant herd after tests confirmed Jade had elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, or EEHV. The disease has killed 20 percent of calves born in American Zoos.
2009-02-13 - Tucson, United States. Tom Beal
Complete fossil skeletons of two ice age mammals — a woolly mammoth and woolly rhino — are being erected in the atrium of the state office complex Downtown at 400 W. Congress St. You can visit them for free. Heck, you can buy them if you've got the cash. The exhibit is sponsored by the Tucson office of the Arizona Geological Survey and supplied by a natural history museum in Siberia that sells its fossils to raise money. It's not illegal, but it's certainly not condoned, say U.S. museum offi...
2009-02-13 - St. Louis, United States. Todd C. Frankel
The virus that has a 2-year-old St. Louis Zoo elephant fighting for her life is a medical mystery. Scientists do not know how it is spread. They do not have a proven cure. The virus is often fatal. It seems to target the young. Since 2000, it has killed about one in five elephant calves born in U.S. zoos, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. And because breeding elephants in captivity is so difficult and so important to the endangered species, the virus is especially troubling.
2009-02-11 - Miami, United States.
Miami Metro Zoo is accepting applications for an elephant keeper position. The zoo currently houses both Asian and African elephants in a protected contact program and is in the initial phases of expanding our program and conservation efforts. We are seeking an energetic, team oriented, and outgoing person to join our staff as we move the program forward. The ideal candidate will possess a 2 year degree in a science related field, at least 2 years of elephant handling experience, and a strong ba...
2009-02-11 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Jade, a 23-month-old Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal strain of herpes. Jade is receiving antiviral medication and round-the-clock care from the veterinary and keeper staff. Jade had been acting lethargic Sunday. A blood sample submitted to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park’s elephant herpes research laboratory Monday showed the presence of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).
2009-02-11 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoo has begun a project to study the movement of elephant herds over a 50,000-square-mile area encompassing the African nations of Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The study is meant to monitor the impact of herds on various habitats from desert to riverine. So far, 60 elephants have been outfitted with global positioning system collars to track their movements.
2009-02-07 - Boreas Pass, United States. Mary Ellen Gilliland
Boreas Pass (el. 3499 m./11,481 ft.) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. Storytellers say that when the P. T. Barnum circus came to Breckenridge, the heavily-laden circus train failed to make it up to the pass. With the lions roaring from hunger and schedules unmet, officials unloaded the train’s bulkiest passengers to assist. And so, the circus elephants pushed the train to the Boreas summit.
2009-02-07 - Chicago, United States.
Author John Frederick Walker, who spent five years researching his latest book, Ivory's Ghosts, shares the fascinating and sometimes savage story of ivory’s enormous impact on both human history and that of its most important source—the majestic African elephant. Join John Frederick Walker for an exploration through ivory’s troubled past and its uncertain future—the future of elephants themselves.
2009-02-05 - Washington, United States.
The plaintiffs claim to be interested in protecting the welfare of circus elephants. But in a similar case in 2003, the same plaintiff’s attorney trying this week’s case—representing some of the same animal rights groups—argued that her clients would rather see African elephants killed than imported to the United States to be raised in captivity.
2009-02-04 - Washington, United States.
Embedded video from CNN Video
2009-02-04 - Washington, United States. Paul Courson
A federal judge began hearing a lawsuit alleging the abuse of circus elephants, including the use of heavy chains, tethers and sharp tools called bullhooks. Defense attorneys for Ringling Bros. deny any abuse and hope the trial will disprove what they call years of "misinformation" about the treatment of circus elephants. Lawyer Michelle Pardo told CNN "the agenda of these animal special rights groups are that they want elephants out of captivity but they are starting here with the circus.
2009-02-02 - Waikiki, United States. Brooks Baehr
In mid-January Stephen Walker, who spent 30 years at the Tulsa Zoo, took over as Zoo Director in Waikiki. He is still getting to know the 80 people on his staff and the 600,000 who visit the zoo annually. Walker will oversee changes at the zoo including construction of a new $6.7 million elephant facility.
2009-02-02 - Memphis , United States.
We have an opening for a Keeper in our Elephant area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in pachyderm care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience).
2009-01-30 - Winston, United States.
2009-01-30 - Garden City, United States.
Lee Richardson Zoo is currently looking for a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and motivated individual to join the animal department staff. Elephant experience as well as willingness to work under protected contact conditions required. Applicants should have a four year degree in a biology related field with some animal experience, an associate degree with two years paid experience in an AZA accredited institution, or 5 years paid experience at an AZA accredited institution.
2009-01-30 - Bronx, New York, United States. Christine Romans and Jennifer Bragg, CNN
Layoffs for sea lions? Furloughs for frogs? Is there no job security, anywhere? State budget cuts mean New York's 76 zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums will lose $9.1 million in funding. The recession may be coming to a zoo near you. State budget cuts mean many zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose crucial state funding for their exhibits. New York's 76 zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose $9.1 million in state funds next year. "We're faced with this...
2009-01-30 - Polk City, United States.
On behalf of the entire Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® family, I’m thrilled to announce the birth of our first Asian elephant born as a result of artificial insemination. A healthy male born on the inaugural eve of our 44th President of the United States, the calf named Barack, is a living tribute of our ongoing commitment to help save this magnificent yet endangered species.
2009-01-28 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo and Baylor College of Medicine are teaming up to find a vaccine for elephant herpes, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday. In November, a 2-year-old Asian elephant named Mac at the Houston Zoo died from the virus. His death prompted the two organizations to spend the next three years studying the virus in an effort to protect elephants in zoos and those in the wild. "Very little is known about it," Dr. Alan Herron said. "We don't know how it is spread from elephant to elephant." The p...
2009-01-28 - Los Angeles, United States. Rick Orlov
In what looks like the final chapter of the Battle of Billy, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday rejected entreaties from Hollywood stars and animal-rights groups and voted to resume the Los Angeles Zoo's controversial elephant project. With celebrities such as Cher, Bob Barker, Robert Culp, Tippi Hedren and Lily Tomlin urging them to shut down the $42 million, 3.6-acre project, council members voted 11-4 to move ahead with the long- planned Pachyderm Forest.
2009-01-27 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. Amy McWethy
January 27, 2009 -Vienna, VA) – The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® proudly announces the birth of a healthy male Asian elephant – marking the twenty-second birth in what has proven to be the most successful Asian elephant breeding program in the Western Hemisphere. Most importantly, this is the first calf in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey assisted reproduction program born as a result of artificial insemination (AI). Born on Jan. 19, the inaugur...
2009-01-26 - Asheboro, North Carolina, United States.
The North Carolina Zoo has on its staff some of the best and most experienced exotic animal veterinarians in the country. But sometimes even the best zoo doctors need assistance from other experts. That was the case recently when specialists from the North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine were called upon to help repair a broken tusk for a young female Elephant Zoo chief veterinarian, Dr. Mike Loomis, tells us more about the case. The elephant that broke t...
2009-01-26 - Portland, United States.
Samudra, the Oregon Zoo’s celebrated Asian elephant calf, turns 5 months old today, and according to keepers he is more playful and inquisitive than ever. Samudra is the first third-generation elephant to be born in the United States. “It appears he’s developed some athletic ability,” said Bob Lee, senior elephant keeper at the zoo. “He loves playing with a blue ball, knocking it around with his trunk soccer-style.” The Oregon Zoo has a renowned breeding program for Asian elephants. ...
2009-01-25 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
American zoos have decided to go big or give up when it comes to housing elephants. The San Diego Zoo is one of five nationwide with plans for larger exhibits, while at least 11 are getting out of the elephant business. The $45 million Elephant Odyssey, set to open in June in San Diego, will be the first supersized elephant home to debut after zoos have taken years of criticism from animal welfare activists about cramped quarters for the world's largest land mammals.
2009-01-24 - Los Angeles, United States.
Acknowledging that traditional elephant exhibits are inadequate to the point of cruelty -- small, spare, with foot-punishing floors -- zoos have chosen divergent directions. Some, including the Chicago, San Francisco and venerable Bronx zoos, are closing or making plans to close their elephant exhibits altogether. The Los Angeles Zoo has chosen the latter approach. Its planned $42-million, 3.6-acre Pachyderm Forest was $12 million into construction when Councilman Tony Cardenas called instead fo...
2009-01-24 - Salt Lake City, United States.
The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City is hoping a new addition later this year will boost attendance. An elephant calf is expected to be born late this summer. The zoo hopes the birth could increase visits, which numbered nearly one million in 2008. Christie the elephant is pregnant. Her calf would be the first African elephant born at Hogle Zoo. But zoo Director Craig Dinsmore said there are a lot of potential problems with elephant births in zoos.
2009-01-24 - Galt, United States.
Minnie, our 54 year old circus retiree whose vocalizations and sweet disposition charmed everyone at ARK 2000, died peacefully in her barn with Rebecca, her long time companion, and Pat Derby, Ed Stewart and her keepers at her side. Her peaceful posture and the serenity with which she slipped away were a great comfort to all of us. Minnie, who had endured years chained in railroad cars died tranquilly among her old friends.
2009-01-23 - Salt Lake City, United States.
The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City is hoping a new addition later this year will boost attendance. An elephant calf is expected to be born late this summer. The zoo hopes the birth could increase visits, which numbered nearly one million in 2008. Christie the elephant is pregnant. Her calf would be the first African elephant born at Hogle Zoo. But zoo Director Craig Dinsmore says there are a lot of potential problems with elephant births in zoos. Elephant stillbirths are common and infant mortality...
2009-01-22 - Seattle, United States.
A U.S. study shows the negative effects of African elephant poaching persist for decades after the killings. Kathleen Gobush, a research ecologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who led the study, said African elephants rely heavily on matriarchs to lead groups and keep families together. Before the 1989 ban on ivory trade, nearly 75 percent of all elephants in Tanzania's Mikumi National Park were killed, many of them females with large tusks.
2009-01-22 - Little Rock, United States. Doug Smith
The Little Rock Zoo seems to be at another turning point, large questions being raised by public officials and animal lovers about what sort of zoo there should be, and even, in some quarters, whether there should be much of a zoo at all. Zoo officials think that certain improvements would allow Little Rock to make that leap to world-class. The most dramatic of these would be the establishment of an elephant breeding program, something that no other zoo in the area has — not Memphis, not St. L...
2009-01-22 - Los Angeles, United States. The Elephant Keepers and colleagues at the LA Zoo
We know Billy and we know elephants. From 71 years experience with elephants including Billy we know that Billy’s best chance at a happy, natural life is a completed Pachyderm Forest at the Los Angeles Zoo. Here he can father calves with a herd of cows and make his own family. We know Billy. His favorite food is banana plants. We feed him bales of hay, bushels of produce and tree trimmings daily. We hide bananas and oranges in his yard for exercise and enrichment. We walk him miles, scrub his ...
2009-01-22 - Los Angeles, United States.
The LA Zoo’s Elephant Keepers held a press conference at the Zoo on Sunday January 11 2009 to release an Open Letter to the LA City Council calling for completion of the “Pachyderm Forest,” a cutting edge but controversial exhibit planned as home to Asian elephant Billy and a breeding herd. Seventy-seven of their LA Zoo colleagues also signed the letter. The LA City Council will vote later this month on whether to continue funding the exhibit, which was approved by 79% of voters and is two...
2009-01-20 - Perris, United States. JULISSA McKINNON
What started as an afternoon of rockhounding in the riverbed behind his Perris home ended with Greg Riecke discovering a tusk that experts say likely dates back to the last Ice Age -- 16,000 to 2 million years ago. Upon inspection, an archaeologist and paleontologist from a Hemet museum believe the 4-foot long tusk belonged to either a mammoth or a mastodon, two extinct ancestors of the modern-day elephant. Riecke, a part-time plumber who regularly combs the flood channel for gold with a metal d...
2009-01-18 - Washington, United States.
I loved this book, based on a true story. Washington state, an old elephant (Hannah) and keeper, been together 41 years; old run down circus/wildlife park created by past eccentric, we get parallel stories of parks origins and eccentric's talks withthe elephant keeper over the years, but now the elephant keeper is ill and must retire; no one know's Hannah and can care for her the way keeper and his wife have. Bossy and rigid park manager, has odd ideas how to attract people to park, but brings i...
2009-01-17 - Los Angeles, United States. Lindsay Barnett
L.A. Zoo animal keepers are the latest group adding their voices to the debate over Billy, the zoo's lone elephant. They appealed Monday to city officials to vote to complete the zoo's planned $42-million Pachyderm Forest. The keepers say they have Billy's best interests at heart and are firmly convinced that the zoo is the best place for him. (Construction on Pachyderm Forest was halted in early December; the City Council is expected to make a final decision on whether to continue the project ...
2009-01-15 - Los Angeles, United States. Rick Orlov
Los Angeles County officials warned Thursday that the city would have to refund nearly $5million within 60 days if it abandons plans for a $42million elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. The City Council is expected to decide today whether to proceed with construction of the 3.6-acre "Pachyderm Forest," which would house Billy, the zoo's last remaining elephant. Under pressure from animal-rights activists who want Billy sent to a free-range sanctuary, the city halted work last month although...
2009-01-10 - Hudson, United States.
Sure, it was huge, full of fun rides and oddball sights, and loaded with animals you'd usually have to leave the United States to see. But still, you'd think it would get old after a while, given it was so close by, right in our proverbial backyards. Not so. After all, this was "The Strangest Farm on Earth." Nobody, no matter how many times they'd been there, would ever turn down another stroll through the enchanted pathways and curious attractions of Hudson's famous Benson's Wild Animal Farm.
2009-01-09 - Baton Rouge, United States.
Includes but not limited to the supervison of animal care staff and management of hoofstock collection and exhibits. Also performs animal care duties as required. This position also oversees the elephant program. H.S. diploma and Associate Degree in Biology, Animal Science or related field. Three years experience in the care of exotic hoofstock. Supervisory experience. Valid drivers license.
2009-01-09 - Ebay, United States.
his is not a reproduction. Completely original and complete. From 1906. Contains a day by day account of the circus Elephant Keeper. Contains notes on what happened in different places as well as diary of his pay. Pages are yellowed and some are a little loose but overall very good condition for a notebook 100 years old. Approx 6 x 4 inches.
2009-01-08 - Portland, United States. Oregon Zoo Press release
The Oregon Zoo's elephant program enjoyed a remarkable year in 2008, with Rose-Tu successfully giving birth to Samudra and local voters passing a $125 million zoo bond measure, of which $30 million will go toward expanding the current elephant exhibit and funding an off-site reserve. Rose-Tu stayed physically fit during 2008 through brisk walks and daily workouts with her trainers. The zoo's comprehensive exercise program helped prepare Rose-Tu for the difficulty of labor, and on Aug. 23 she gav...
2009-01-04 - Belvidere, United States. Carolynn Regan
Wallace Beery was an American Academy Award winning actor, best known for his portrayal of Long John Silver in "Treasure Island" (1934), who appeared in 200 movies over a 36 year span. Wallace Beery joined the Ringling Brothers Circus at age sixteen as an assistant elephant trainer. He left two years later, after being clawed by a leopard. Beery found work in New York City in musical variety and began to appear on Broadway. In 1913 he moved to Chicago to work for Essanay Studios, cast as "Sweedi...
2009-01-02 - San Diego, United States.
Move over Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, theres a new diet thats proving a success — and its fit for an elephant. San Diego's elephants no longer supersized
2008-12-30 - Washington, United States. Brendan Borrell
In November, Brendan Borrell wrote about eBay's coming ban on the sale of ivory products and why it may not be such a great idea. The ban goes into effect Thursday. If, like me, you have always wanted to get a carved, elephant-ivory snuff box for that special someone, this holiday season may well be your last opportunity. The online auction site eBay announced on Oct. 20 that it would ban nearly all ivory sales on its auction sites effective Jan. 1. Last month, the company was embarrassed by the...
2008-12-30 - Los Angeles, United States. Brenda Scott Royce
My last post here, about the efforts by animal activists to halt construction of the Los Angeles Zoo's new elephant habitat, sparked more debate than anything I've previously written. As I've followed the firestorm of comments here and in other media outlets, I've been increasingly struck by what has become the rallying cry of Los Angeles's anti-zoo crowd: "Free Billy." It's cute and catchy, but utterly disingenuous.
2008-12-18 - Portland, United States. press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo
Samudra, the Oregon Zoo's celebrated Asian elephant calf, got his first taste of snow -- literally. Keepers say the newest addition to the elephant herd romped in the snow for nearly a half hour playing with it, rolling in it and, yes, eating it. After closing for a day and canceling two nights of its popular ZooLights festival, the zoo has resumed regular operations and visitors were rewarded with a rare glimpse of animals enjoying a winter wonderland. "Our visitors rarely get to watch the anim...
2008-12-18 - Victoria Falls, United States. Quentin Jones
Representatives of Wild Horizons have confirmed that earlier this week Gavin Best, an experienced and well respected handler of captive elephants used in their tourist elephant-back safari rides, was killed in a horrific and tragic incident by one of the elephants in his care. They have suspended their elephant tourism interactions whilst the incident is investigated. Wild Horizons recently established the ‘Wild Horizons Wildlife Trust’ to support their commercial elephant-back tours and e...
2008-12-17 - Los Angeles, United States.
Today, Connie Morgan, President of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., issued the following statement: "We are grateful to the Los Angeles Zoo Commission members for overwhelmingly voting today to support the completion of Billy's new home in the Pachyderm Forest after they had an opportunity to review all of the facts. Our forest will provide one of the largest and safest elephant habitats in the country, one that will be enjoyed for years to come by the schoolchildren and working families of Lo...
2008-12-16 - Polk City, United States. Eloisa Ruano Gonzalez
Ringling opened the Asian elephant conservation center in the Green Swamp in 1995 to retire and breed its circus performers. Officials say they've been successful breeding the endangered animal to ensure it survives, although animal-rights groups criticize the program. The center is experimenting with artificial insemination. Semen is collected from the male elephants and sent to various zoos and research centers across the United States to breed more elephants.
2008-12-15 - Colorado Springs, United States. KKTV
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo welcomed a new friend Saturday. The zoo has announced that America’s mountain zoo is the new home to a 22-year-old African elephant. The new female elephant, Malaika, was welcomed on Saturday, December 13 after her owner chose for her elephant’s new home. The zoo has been searching for an additional elephant to join their other two elephants. The addition of Malaika is an important step in the zoo’s plans for redesign and expansion of its elephant exhibit area. Malaik...
2008-12-11 - New York, United States. CORNELIA DEAN
Living in a zoo drastically shortens the lives of Asian and African elephants, possibly because of the effects of stress and obesity, researchers are reporting. But their work provoked a sharp response from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Paul Boyle, the senior vice president for conservation and education at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, based in Silver Spring, Md., called the work “terribly flawed” and said it reflected an antizoo agenda. He said he could not recall “the ...
2008-12-10 - Pennsylvania, United States.
Scientists have mapped out most of the genetic code of the wooly mammoth, marking the first time an extinct animal’s DNA has been decoded and raising the possibility that the creature could be cloned and return to life. Wooly mammoths, which roamed the planet 10,000 years ago, are relatives of the modern African Elephant, but were covered with thick hair, had larger tusks and smaller ears.
2008-12-10 - Pittsburgh, United States. Tacy Gray
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is roaring: You could be the 1,000,000th visitor! The Zoo’s current annual attendance is at 989 (Monday, December 8 2008) and counting. As a way to encourage everyone to visit the Zoo within the next couple of weeks and reach our goal, the 1,000,000th visitor to walk through the gates will receive a lifetime Zoo Membership, a $500 shopping spree at the Zoo’s gift shops, and a behind-the-scenes tour for ten people. The 1,000,000th visitor also will receive re...
2008-12-09 - Arkansas, United States. Fred Petrucelli
Solomon is dead; long live Solomon. The 24-year-old pachyderm, the star of the Riddle Elephant Preserve near Quitman, passed peacefully and quietly in his sleep. The end for Solomon was difficult for his owner Scott Riddle who considered the huge elephant a member of the family. "Solomon died earlier this year from the affects of an infection and we could not do anything about it," he said. Large four-footed creatures elephants and horses are susceptible to the kind of infection that doomed Solo...
2008-12-09 - Perris, United States. James Montgomery
On Monday, People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a press release condemning Britney Spears for featuring "cruelly trained lions and elephants" in her just-released "Circus" video and demanded that the pop star "stop using exotic animals in her videos and concerts once and for all."
2008-12-09 - Los Angeles, United States. HECTOR TOBAR
Stand behind the curtain of bamboo just outside the paddock of the last, lone elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo and you'll hear the daylong drumbeat of running feet. Boys and girls yell "elefante!" and cry out "grandotote," which is Spanish for "huge." They ooh and ah, and ask questions of their parents in English, Korean, Tagalog and many languages more. Visiting the zoo is a Los Angeles rite of passage. I started coming in the late 1960s. For my Guatemalan immigrant parents, it was one more libe...
2008-12-07 - Los Angeles, United States.
The Los Angeles City Council last week halted construction on the new $42 million pachyderm exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo under fire from animal activists who say it's cruel to keep the large animals in zoos. They will be considering killing the project altogether. In these economic times, it makes sense. But the council has yet to decide what to do with L.A.'s sole elephant, Billy. What's your take? Should L.A. set Billy free and use his pen for something else?
2008-12-05 - Houston, United States. MARY FLOOD
A Houston man was among six people arrested on federal charges of smuggling black market ivory disguised to look like wood sculptures or musical instruments into the United States. A Houston federal magistrate on Friday ordered Mamadi Doumbouya, 39, be kept in custody and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., to stand trial. He and his alleged co-conspirators, arrested in other states, are accused of bringing the forbidden elephant tusks from the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Uganda into this country through JFK...
2008-12-01 - Los Angeles, United States. Zach Behrens
Brenda Scott Royce, director of publications for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, sounded off this weekend at Huffington Post about all the elephant talk going on these days. Animal activists and Councilman Tony Cardenas want the exhibit currently under construction to halt work and have a search a large expansive elephant sanctuary. Royce, along with others, believe the exhibit is just fine. Their point of view has not gotten as much press, so here's some of it.
2008-12-01 - Oklahoma City, United States. CARRIE COPPERNOLL
The capstone of the Asia exhibit will be the elephants. It will transform the Oklahoma City elephant program from a pair of sisters cramped onto a quarter acre of concrete to a family herd roaming up to 6 acres of lush grassland. Zoo design, especially for elephants, has changed dramatically since Torre began his career more than 30 years ago.
2008-12-01 - Los Angeles, United States.
The fate of a new elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo will be debated Monday afternoon by a city council committee. At issue is a $42 million elephant exhibit, which critics say is too small and ill-suited for the elephants. The city council committee will provide new information about the financial consequences of scrapping construction on the project, which has already cost $12 million since being approved by the council in 2006.
2008-12-01 - Washington, United States.
Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of Elephants serves as a comprehensive text on elephant medicine and surgery. Based on the expertise of 36 scientists and clinical veterinarians, this volume covers biology, husbandry, veterinary medicine and surgery of the elephant as known today. This is the only definitive text on these species and should be available at every institution that may be involved, even peripherally, with elephants
2008-11-26 - Memphis, United States.
The Memphis Zoo has another big reason to be thankful this year. This morning, “Gina,” a 25-year-old African elephant, became the third resident in a growing herd of African elephants at the Memphis Zoo. The Memphis Zoo acquired Gina from a private owner. She joins the Zoo’s two other African elephant cows - “Tyranza,” age 44, and “Asali,” age 23. Asali is currently pregnant, and due in July 2009.
2008-11-26 - New York, United States.
They are the world's unlikeliest contenders heading to Nepal for the world's unlikeliest sport. Meet the New York Blue, America's elephant polo team. Now elephants are hard to come by in New York. Large motor vehicles are not. So before flying this week to the World Elephant Polo tournament, the New York Blue's seven adventurers practiced swinging at small white balls from the roofs of two SUVs in an empty beachside car park.
2008-11-22 - Pennsylvania, United States.
Scientists are a decade or two away from recreating the extinct woolly mammoth, according to a Pennsylvania State University researcher. The Colombian mammoth, the southern cousin of the woolly mammoth, roamed the eastern New Mexico plains up to 10,000 years ago. Matt Hillsman, the curator of Eastern New Mexico University’s Blackwater Draw Museum, said remains of the Colombian mammoth were found at the Black Water Draw dig site.
2008-11-20 - Pennsylvania, United States. Miller W, Drautz DI, Ratan A, Pusey B, Qi J, Lesk AM, Tomsho LP, Packard MD, Zhao F, Sher A, Tikhonov A, Raney B, Patterson N, Lindblad-Toh K, Lander ES, Knight JR, Irzyk GP, Fredrikson KM, Harkins TT, Sheridan S, Pringle T, Schuster SC., Pennsylvania State University, Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics
In 1994, two independent groups extracted DNA from several Pleistocene epoch mammoths and noted differences among individual specimens. Subsequently, DNA sequences have been published for a number of extinct species. However, such ancient DNA is often fragmented and damaged, and studies to date have typically focused on short mitochondrial sequences, never yielding more than a fraction of a per cent of any nuclear genome. Here we describe 4.17 billion bases (Gb) of sequence from several mammoth ...
2008-11-19 - San Andreas, United States. Mike Taylor
Exactly how a five-ton animal communicates with its friends and family came into focus as an expert visited San Andreas. Dr. Joyce Poole-who has lived with elephants in Africa's savannah for more than 27 years-described her experiences to more than 100 people Saturday at ARK 2000, the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary. She recounted her time spent working on the Amboseli Elephant Research Project at Amboseli National Park in Kenya, a 57-square-mile park near Mount Kilimanjaro.
2008-11-18 - Marshalls Creek, United States. Beth Brelje
With shelves of bones everywhere, the Phil Fraley Productions studio could be a dog's dream come true. The prehistoric bones there are not for gnawing, however, but for rebuilding history. The Marshalls Creek mastodon is one of the Pittsburgh company's latest projects. The nearly complete mastodon skeleton was discovered in a peat bog in Marshalls Creek, just behind Wendy's restaurant, in 1968. While excavating peat, John Leap and Paul Strauser of Lakeside Peat Humus Co. pulled a mastodon skull ...
2008-11-18 - Vienna, United States. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation press release
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation proudly announces the birth of a healthy female Asian elephant – marking the twenty-first birth in what is already the most successful Asian elephant breeding program in the Western Hemisphere. The calf named Sundara, which means “beautiful” in Hindi, was born on Nov. 9, 7:15 p.m. at 310 pounds, and is an offspring of 39-year-old Sally and 35-year-old Charlie. Sally has given birth before as part of the Ringling Bros. ...
2008-11-15 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo family came together Saturday to remember the 2-year-old elephant known as Mac. Mac, the largest Asian elephant born in captivity at 384 pounds, died last Sunday after contracting elephant herpesvirus. Staff and supporters of the zoo gathered at the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat to remember the loss. In a press release, the zoo's spokesman thanked the public for their outreach during the difficult time.
2008-11-14 - Cleveland, United States.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is seeking an experienced Animal Keeper to work with its three African elephants which are temporarily located at the Columbus Zoo until the Zoo’s new African Elephant Crossing exhibit is completed in 2010. Qualifications: Must have a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences or related field plus 6 months of elephant experience. This position requires excellent husbandry skills and knowledge, specifically related to the care of elephants at an AZA-accredited institution....
2008-11-12 - San Andreas, United States.
On Saturday, November 8, Ned, a severely underweight 21-year-old captive born, male Asian elephant, was confiscated by the USDA. PAWS has agreed to provide a permanent home for Ned as soon as he is strong enough to make the trip to California. An expansion of the existing bull elephant barn and habitat at ARK 2000 will begin immediately. Ned will occupy the Galt sanctuary’s bull elephant area until construction is complete in San Andreas.
2008-11-10 - Houston, United States.
Mac, an Asian elephant whose birth was a cause for celebration at the Houston Zoo scarcely more than two years ago, died Sunday night after a brief battle with the elephant herpes virus, zoo officials said this morning. "The entire zoo staff is absolutely devastated," said zoo spokesman Brian Hill. "It's difficult to put into words and describe the attachment that has developed over the past two years. "This is a terrible loss, especially for the elephant keepers and veterinary medical staff who...
2008-11-09 - Los Angeles , United States.
A City Council committee has rejected a move to stop work on a $40 million elephant enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo. The panel's decision came Thursday despite pleas from celebrities such as Lily Tomlin and Bob Barker to instead fund a 60-acre elephant sanctuary in the San Fernando Valley. The council committee declined to take a vote that would have sent the proposal to the full council for consideration. Celebrities who want to remove the elephants from the zoo say living there can harm their...
2008-11-09 - Hohenwald, United States.
An elephant confiscated by the USDA is on his way to the mid-state. Ned, a 21-year-old male elephant, has been placed in the care of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald. Ned was taken from his Florida-based circus trainer for what police say was failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. The elephant is expected to arrive at the sanctuary tomorrow. Officials at the sanctuary say they will help the elephant recover and find a permanent home.
2008-11-08 - Tucson, United States.
The opening of the Conservation Learning Center put the Reid Park Zoo one step closer to completing its $12.5 million master plan, which includes a 7-acre expansion and new elephant exhibit. The City Council is funding half of the expansion, provided the Tucson Zoological Society raises the other half of the funds, said Diana Whitman, director of development at the Tucson Zoological Society, the fundraising arm of the zoo.
2008-11-06 - Chicago, United States. Bob Cline
Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) didn’t get what she wanted tonight when she half heartedly agreed to an elephant protection bill that was no where near what she wanted to see in Chicago. Her original request would have eliminated the use of an elephant management tool called an ankus that is used by every elephant Professional throughout the world including Zoos and the Circuses that visit Chicago.
2008-11-05 - Miami, United States.
Miami Metro Zoo is accepting applications for 1 open elephant keeper position. The zoo currently houses both Asian and African elephants in a protected contact program and is in the initial phases of expanding our program and conservation efforts. We are seeking an energetic, team oriented, and outgoing person to join our staff as we move the program forward. The ideal candidate will possess a 2 year degree in a science related field, at least 2 years of elephant handling experience, and a stron...
2008-11-05 - Brooklyn, United States.
Coney Island is home to several iconic landmarks of American recreation. The Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel and the Parachute Jump come to mind. But it’s also aM graveyard of amusements—so many ostentatious attractions have come and gone, such as the Elephant Hotel. Situated on Surf Avenue and West 5th Street, this enormous elephant made of pine and tin—often referred to as the Coney Island Elephant—burnt down in 1896. The five people inside at the time of the blaze were safely guided to safe...
2008-11-05 - Atlanta, United States.
Officials at Zoo Atlanta say a pregnant African elephant that died suddenly last month had pneumonia. Officials announced the finding Wednesday after receiving preliminary necropsy results for 26-year-old Dottie. Still, zoo officials have not yet said whether the disease is what killed the elephant Oct. 28. “We are saddened by the sudden loss of Dottie. I know our veterinary and animal management team worked diligently to ensure she received the best care and treatment possible. This is especi...
2008-11-04 - Portland, United States. Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian
A $125 million bond measure that would provide more space and more natural surroundings for the Oregon Zoo's elephants, polar bears, chimps and other animals won handily Tuesday. Zoo supporters acknowledged the difficulty of passing a multimillion-dollar bond measure just as the state and national economies are flagging, but said a long list of improvements is necessary to improve conditions at the zoo. Metro area voters, including supporters who have contributed to record attendance at the zoo,...
2008-11-02 - Washington, United States. Amy Hotz
During the 1950s and 1960s American readers clamored for the sporting adventure books and magazine articles of Wilmington native Robert Ruark. With Hemingway-esque flare, Ruark described real and fictional hunting trips from his grandfather’s backyard to the wilds of Africa. At 10 a.m. Monday, a relic of one of those adventures, and other personal items that once belonged to the author, will be auctioned at Doyle New York in New York City. The first item in the lot is a pair of elephant tusks ...
2008-11-01 - Bronx, New York, United States. Stephen Blake, Sharon L. Deem, Samantha Strindberg, Fiona Maisels, Ludovic Momont, Inogwabini-Bila Isia, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, William B. Karesh, Michael D. Kock
A dramatic expansion of road building is underway in the Congo Basin fuelled by private enterprise, international aid, and government aspirations. Among the great wilderness areas on earth, the Congo Basin is outstanding for its high biodiversity, particularly mobile megafauna including forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). The abundance of many mammal species in the Basin increases with distance from roads due to hunting pressure, but the impacts of road proliferation on the movements...
2008-10-31 - Portland, United States. NATHALIE WEINSTEIN
When the Oregon Zoo opened in 1959 in Washington Park, the exhibits were designed at a time when naturalistic exhibits were not a concept, and instead focused on modern design, asymmetrical structures and bright colors. Over the years, the facilities have become outdated and detrimental to the health of the animals that inhabit them, zoo officials say. That’s why the Metro Council, Oregon Zoo Foundation, zoo staff and community leaders have been working to develop a bond measure for the past f...
2008-10-28 - Atlanta, United States. LEON STAFFORD, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The elephant, which had recently gone into the third trimester of her 24-month pregnancy, was 26. Zoo Atlanta’s veterinary team, along with the Department of Pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, will perform a necropsy. “We are saddened by the sudden loss of Dottie,” Zoo Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Kelly said in a prepared statement. “I know our veterinary and animal management team worked diligently to ensure she received...
2008-10-27 - Washington, United States.
This position is located in the Animal Programs, Large Mammal & Elephant Unit of the National Zoological Park in Washington, DC. This animal keeper position works with elephants and other wild/exotic large mammals and performs a variety of duties that ensure the proper care, feeding, exhibition, and propagation of the animals, many of which are rare and endangered.
2008-10-27 - Syracuse, United States. Lorrell Walter
Calling all pumpkin producers! The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is looking for someone to donate a giant gourd for the annual “Squishing of the Squash,” on Saturday, November 8. Each year, the zoo’s elephants and many of the other animals enjoy a post-Halloween pumpkin feast. While pumpkins have been secured for the zoo’s smaller pumpkin fans, the zoo has been unable to secure a pumpkin of pachyderm proportion.
2008-10-26 - Portland, United States. Brooks Burford
Samudra, now 2 months old, joins the Oregon Zoo's herd to "squish the squash" on Friday. Every year the zoo's Asian elephants are presented with pumpkins which they proceed to play with and tromp into squishy blobs of goo. "Sam" turned 2 months of age on Thursday. That morning he weighed 473 pounds "and he's growing 2 to 3 pounds every day, just on mother's milk." Elephant keeper Bob Lee says Samudra is now teething, chomping and chewing on leaves and branches.
2008-10-25 - New Orleans, United States.
Im right in the middle of running an elephant. Can you call back in like half an hour?" Michael Rowe pocketed his cell phone and returned full attention to clicking off Jean's paces. It was after hours at the Audubon Zoo _ one of four zoos where Rowe is studying how elephants, which can't sweat or pant to bring their temperatures down when they get too hot, deal with heat and cold. Regulation of body heat hasn't been studied much in very large animals, Rowe said. His doctoral research may have i...
2008-10-23 - Vienna, United States. Feld Entertainment, Inc.
Feld Entertainment is conducting a vigorous defense in the lawsuit, ASPCA, et al. v. Feld Entertainment, Inc. which is scheduled to go to trial on October 27, 2008 in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. The case, which began more than eight years ago, is being pursued by four animal special interest groups against Feld Entertainment, Inc., the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey(R) Circus. "Animal special interest groups are distorting the facts by making false allegation...
2008-10-23 - Providence, United States.
The African exhibit at the Roger Williams Park Zoo officially opened it's new elephant yard today, along with the recently renovated Elephant and Giraffe Pavilion. The 'Girls,' as the elephants are affectionately referred to by zoo staff, tried out their new yard for the first time last week. Elephant Keeper Brett Haskins, explains, "The first day, they just kind of crept out and looked around. But, the second day, they went berzerk, trumpeting and running around like 'this is our new home!'" Al...
2008-10-22 - San Antonio, United States.
Peggy MacDonald was famous with her husband, Mack MacDonald, for the training and presentation of the Polack Brothers’ Shrine Circus elephant act, known as the Besalou elephants, in the US. She was born in a tent at Glenwood, Minnesota, in 1923, during the Saturday night performance of the Henderson Comedy Company. In 1945 the Henderson family was engaged with the Bailey Brothers’ Circus in America. In 1946 its owner, Bob Stevens, took on a young man to train his new elephant group. Mack Mac...
2008-10-21 - Los Angeles , United States.
Bob Barker, Alicia Silverstone and other celebrities have joined a city councilman's efforts to remove elephants from the Los Angeles Zoo and into a massive sanctuary where they can roam free—or at least close to it. Councilman Tony Cardenas, accompanied by several celebrities at a press conference Tuesday, announced his desire to halt construction of the zoo's elephant habitat and use the money to build a 60-acre sanctuary operated by the zoo.
2008-10-21 - New York, United States. FELICITY BARRINGER, New York Times
In response to growing pressure from international law enforcement agencies and conservation groups, eBay, the online auction giant, announced Monday that it would ban all commerce in ivory, including most heirlooms, to avoid providing a market that will encourage the slaughter of endangered elephants. EBay says it will no longer allow advertisements like this one, for elephant tusks. The ban also extends to most heirlooms. The announcement, made to the company’s merchants and customers, came ...
2008-10-18 - Denver, United States.
Zoo elephants Mimi and Dolly have a new place to go when it's time for lunch. Two new feeders where the elephants get their meals are serving up a side of practicality with a design that blends with the natural environment of these several-ton creatures. The feeders, which are roughly six feet tall and weigh 8,000 pounds, provide a number of uses. They resemble tree trunks with various nooks and holes to place food for the elephants to find. This along with scent spots and branches give the elep...
2008-10-18 - Dallas, United States. DIANA HEIDGERD
An elephant expert whose beach house on the Texas Gulf Coast was destroyed by Hurricane Ike is putting his collection back together — one tooth at a time. Roy Davis evacuated his Bolivar Peninsula home on Sept. 11, two days before Ike slammed the Texas coast. Davis, 57, said Thursday that among the items scattered from his one-bedroom house were prized animal keepsakes from years of working at zoos. "I probably had 30 pieces of modern-day elephants, they shed their teeth, they wear them d...
2008-10-11 - Sabah, United States.
It is increasingly concerned over the rise in the number of injured and dead elephants in the state. In one instance, a 25-year veteran wildlife guide and lecturer was reduced to tears when he saw a calf (young elephant) in excruciating pain after falling prey to a man-made trap in Kinabatangan. SWD director Laurentius Ambu noted that the bigger issue facing the department involved elephants getting injured or maimed, mostly due to man-made traps and subsequently succumbing to the injuries. He s...
2008-10-11 - Washington, United States.
Come quittin’ time I was already running late for a casual dinner with close friends so I speed-walked out of the office and across the street towards the Metro station. I caught a glimmer out of the corner of my eye—something gold and high off the ground. A crowd of people blocked the sidewalk and I groaned as I tried to push through towards my destination. And then I looked up. The glimmer had grown larger as I approached and I finally focused my eyes away from my beeline to...
2008-10-09 - Montgomery, United States.
The Montgomery Zoo’s African Elephant Exhibit is in need of a Zookeeper I (Elephants)! Here is your chance to work with a TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED African Elephant Exhibit. Minimum Qualifications: High school diploma or G.E.D. and 1,000 hours or 6 months of professional experience working with elephants within the last five years, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Preference will be given to those applicants who have obtained their experience in a zoo or circus set...
2008-10-09 - Knoxville, United States. The Clausens
We recently visited the Shriner Circus where you were given the opportunity to ride an elephant. I graciously volunteered Mitch to take Tanner for a ride. As you can see from the photos, the elephant trainer was much to worried about his phone call than the 2 ton animal carrying small children! It was a highlight for Tanner, my little animal fanatic.
2008-10-09 - Knoxville, United States. Jamie Satterfield
Thomas D. "Zoo Man" Huskey appeared in Criminal Court for a new sentencing hearing that Judge Richard Baumgartner said was necessary because of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision rendering Tennessee's sentencing law as unconstitutional. What is at issue is a 22-year sentence Huskey received for the rape and kidnapping of a prostitute at the Knoxville Zoo, where he worked as an elephant keeper. That rape occurred before the bodies of four women were found in 1992 that Huskey admitted killing. He ...
2008-10-09 - Maine, United States.
The first human inhabitants are referred to as Paleo-Indians. They shared the land with woolly mammoths and likely hunted them for food. In 1959, when radiocarbon dating technology was in its infancy, a tusk more than four feet long was pulled out of the mud in Scarborough. After the initial excitement subsided it was concluded that the tusk probably belonged to "Old Bet" a traveling circus elephant that had been euthanized there in 1816. In the early 1990s the tusk was acquired by the Maine Sta...
2008-10-08 - Salt Lake City, United States.
The keeper is responsible for the daily care of the assigned animals, observation and enrichment, training, as well as assisting in veterinary practices, educational presentations, public relations and support aspects of the Zoo's operations. Also required to be trained and work in other animal areas of the Zoo as needed which may include birds, other mammals, reptiles and invertebrates.
2008-10-08 - Washington, United States. Ken Banks
According to Fauna & Flora International (FFI, "In Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy, FFI and its local partners have fitted elephants with radio collars that transmit their location in 'real time.' This technology is not only useful to researchers who are able to track the elephants with far greater precision, but can also be used on problem animals -- elephants that habitually break fences, for example. The collars can be remotely programmed to send SMS messages at user-defined intervals or when a...
2008-10-07 - Caplen, United States.
A homeowner whose beachfront property in Texas was destroyed during Hurricane Ike has found a football-size fossil tooth in the debris. Dorothy Sisk and her colleague, Lamar University paleontologist Jim Westgate, visited her Bolivar Peninsula home after Ike hit. Together they found something unusual in Sisk's front yard: a 6-pound fossil tooth. Westgate believes the fossil is from a Columbian mammoth common in North America until around 10,000 years ago. The tooth, which looks like a series of ...
2008-10-06 - Dallas, United States.
If you're following the trials and tribulations of Jenny, the Dallas Zoo's last elephant, or the trials and tribulations of those who care about her future, we may have found the book for you. Diane Hammond, onetime press secretary to the killer whale who starred in Free Willy, has written a book about an Asian elephant. The book, Hannah's Dream, seems to revolve around the struggle, both political and personal, of transferring an elephant from a zoo to a sanctuary.
2008-10-03 - Dallas, United States. JOANNA CATTANACH
The Dallas Zoo broke its attendance record this past year, welcoming 670,084 visitors in the 2007-08 fiscal year, which ended Tuesday. That's nearly 24,000 more visitors than the previous record of 646,169 set in 1979. It was big year in other ways, too. The zoo lost several prominent old friends and became the center of a national elephant debate. Year of loss: Boris the lion, KeKe the elephant, Hercules the gorilla and Jenny, the world's oldest captive gorilla, all died in the past year. Anima...
2008-10-03 - Kissimee, Orlando, Florida, United States.
October 3-7 at Radisson Worldgate in Kissimee Florida. An official notice has not been sent out yet, but this is the probable date and location. Deadline for Abstracts has been moved to August 1
2008-09-29 - San Andreas, United States. Mike Taylor
Preliminary results from a necropsy performed Sept. 21 indicate that 71, a poster elephant for the Performing Animal Welfare Society, died from pancreatitis. The pachyderm had lived at two PAWS facilities since 1986 and suffered from frequent bouts with colic. 71 died Sept. 19 at the ARK 2000 sanctuary in San Andreas. “Colic is fairly common in African elephants,†PAWS co-director Ed Stewart said. He said from her first days with he and co-director Pat Derby, 71 was battling one illn...
2008-09-28 - Gainesville , United States. Siegal-Willott J, Isaza R, Johnson R, Blaik M., University of Florida
Eleven juvenile Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) were evaluated radiographically to determine the relative times of growth plate closure and phalangeal ossification in the bones of the distal forelimb. Specifically, the first, second, and third phalanges of the third digit (D3) were evaluated, as well as the third phalanx of digits 1, 2, 4, and 5. All elephants were healthy at the time of examination. A retrospective evaluation of radiographs from six of the 11 juvenile elephants was also compl...
2008-09-27 - El Paso, United States.
Festival is the word – as the El Paso Zoo highlights our city’s favorite pachyderms Savannah and Juno in a celebration of elephants worldwide. You’ll have BIG fun while you support conservation of the world’s largest land mammal. You’ll touch neat bio-facts from elephants, kids can play elephant-themed games, or buy a ticket for the opportunity to actually walk into the elephant exhibit area and hide produce to feed Conservation Ambassadors; Savannah and Juno, the El Paso Zoo’s Asian...
2008-09-26 - Martinsville, United States. MICKEY POWELL
The Virginia Museum of Natural History’s newest temporary exhibit helps visitors learn about large elephant-like animals that roamed North America during the Ice Age. Tusks! Ice Age Mammoths and Mastodons” will open Saturday. The exhibit features 80 fossil specimens, artifacts and replicas of extinct animals. Most of the specimens are real, but do not feel cheated that a few are not. “The casts were made so accurately that they can be used for scientific research,” said Ryan Barber, the ...
2008-09-26 - Indianapolis Prize, United States. John Stehr
Hes taken on an incredible job, a commitment to save a species. That commitment to elephants has landed Iain Douglas-Hamilton as a nominee for the Indianapolis Prize. "I think I always wanted to fly," Douglas-Hamilton said. "I wanted to see how far the elephants went and from the air it's just a revelation." No one has revealed to the world more about African Elephants than Douglas-Hamilton. He was the first to put collars on key members of herds to track their movement and habits.
2008-09-24 - San Jose, United States. Lisa M. Krieger
After three years of undergoing scientific scrutiny at the University of California-Berkeley, the juvenile mammoth fossil nicknamed "Lupe,'' found near San Jose's Guadalupe River, is returning to San Jose. It will be the centerpiece of a new permanent display at the Children's Discovery Museum, officials told the Mercury News on Wednesday.
2008-09-24 - Omaha, United States. TIM JOHNSON
Henry Doorly Zoo's director, Dr. Lee Simmons envisions an arctic environment, elephant center and other specialized areas, he told chamber members at a luncheon Tuesday at the Mid-America Center. "Right now, we've got room for three adult and a bull stall," he said. "But once a year, the bull goes into lust; and when a bull goes into lust, nobody wants to be around it, except a female elephant," he said. "Our plan right now, we would be able to hold 10, 12, 14 elephants. We would become a player...
2008-09-23 - San Andreas, United States. Jennifer K. Morita
A 26-year-old African elephant at the Performing Animal Welfare Society's San Andreas sanctuary died from chronic pancreatitis, according to preliminary necropsy results. Pathologists from the University of California at Davis laboratory in San Bernardino told PAWS officials that the female elephant, who died Friday, had an inflamed pancreas that was likely a result of early medical problems. The elephant was named "71" for the tag number she was assigned when captured as a baby in Africa.
2008-09-23 - Kansas City, United States. Max Evans
A coalition of Zoos, including the Kansas City Zoo, received high honors last week at the 84th Annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Conference in Milwaukee for their work in elephant conservation. The AZA’s Significant Achievement Award for International Conservation was given to the zoos for their work as part of the Tarangire Elephant Project. The project is led by the Wildlife Conservation Society with support from a cadre of Zoos including the Kansas City Zoo, which provides...
2008-09-21 - Houston, United States.
In Houston, residents are having a hard time removing debris from their yards, after Hurricane Ike. So, some animals from the Houston Zoo are giving them a hand...a trunk, rather. The 2,600 pound elephant, named ‘Tucker,’ is moving tree limbs. The three-year-old elephant can lift four times its body weight. Zookeepers say it’s good exercise for Tucker.
2008-09-21 - San Andreas, United States. Jennifer Morita
A 26-year-old African elephant that once had been slated to be sold to a circus died Friday at the Performing Animal Welfare Society's sanctuary in San Andreas. Named 71 for the tag number she was assigned when captured as a baby, the elephant was shipped to the United States where she was purchased by a Florida man and later taken in by PAWS founders Pat Derby and Ed Stewart. When she arrived at PAWS in 1986, 71 was malnourished and chronically sick. Handlers had to sleep with her and bottle fe...
2008-09-21 - Pittsburgh, United States. Kellie B. Gormly
Guests at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Sunday can help zookeepers pamper and honor the zoo's eight elephants, especially the two baby females born in July, in a party just for the pachyderms. Macy's Elephant Day, an event in its eighth year, brings a special excitement this year, because with the two new calves -- Angeline and Zuri -- it's like a belated birthday party, with an added cuteness factor, zoo officials say. Guests will watch the keepers feed a special carrot or banana nut cak...
2008-09-20 - KOTA KINABALU, United States. Jaswinder Kaur
The death of a male Borneo Pygmy elephant near a jungle resort in the Kinabatangan district early this month has sparked an investigation by the Sabah Wildlife Department. The department is probing the cause of death of the elephant, estimated to be about two years old. Its carcass showed no visible injuries. The department's officer-in-charge in Kota Kinabatangan, Roland Nuin, received information about the dead elephant on Sept 2 and sent a team to the scene.
2008-09-17 - Vacaville, United States. Danny Bernardini
In a scene straight from the movies, Isa the elephant could be seen Monday morning helping set up poles under the big top in anticipation for the opening night of the Carson and Barnes Circus. He said the elephants can sense the tension in the big top and will stop before tearing the tarp, unlike someone on a tractor doing the same job.
2008-09-17 - Palakkad, United States.
The problems faced by elephants could be mitigated to a certain extent by imparting scientific training to the mahouts, said Deputy Speaker Jose Baby. He was speaking after inaugurating the five-day training camp organised by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) near the Pariyanampatta temple in Mangalamkunnu on Tuesday. The camp was being organised with the co-operation of the Departments of Forest, Animal Husbandry and elephant owners.
2008-09-15 - Montgomery, United States. John Shryock
The Montgomery Zoo says the calf born to Mary, an elephant who died last month at the zoo, has also died. The male African elephant calf died Sunday after officials said it became unresponsive and veterinary and animal care staff were unable to revive it. Marcia Woodard, Deputy Director of the Montgomery Zoo, tells WSFA 12 News she wasn't aware of a single case in North America where an elephant calf survived while being bottlefed, but that the zoo put great effort into the cause, taking care of...
2008-09-12 - Milwaukee County Zoo, United States.
The 2008 AZA Annual Conference will be hosted by the Milwaukee County Zoo, WI, USA. For more information, please visit www.aza.org
2008-09-12 - Warsaw, United States. Jennifer Peryam
Performing elephants, lions, tigers and horses will entertain those who attend Baron von Uhl's Wild Animal Circus in Warsaw next weekend. Elephant rides will be available for $5, and pony rides will be $4. The circus will feature two performing elephants it adopted from Africa, Tiny, 15, and Twiggy, 20. There will be photo opportunities with the basketball-playing elephant. Tom Liebling, who is an elephant trainer with the circus, has been with the circus for 50 years. The circus is based out of...
2008-09-12 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian
The votes are in, and the Oregon Zoo's new baby elephant is named Samudra, or Sam for short. The calf loves his baths, so the name, which means "lord of the ocean," is fitting. More than 17,000 people voted among five names, and Samudra took 35 percent. Hugo-Tu was second. The contenders: Amul: Hindi for priceless or of inestimable worth. Bao: Chinese for precious treasure. Duc (rhymes with hook): Vietnamese for good, moral, desire. Plus, the zoo notes, it makes up a fraction of Kevin Duc...
2008-09-11 - San Andreas, United States. MEGAN HOLLAND
A year into her new life roaming a California sanctuary with other elephants, Alaska's favorite expat shows every sign of enjoying it. She trumpets, knocks down trees and calls for her companions when they wander too far, say her new keepers. "She's the comedian of the crowd," said Pat Derby, president of the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary. "She's Ms. Personality." The facility, 50 miles southeast of Sacramento, offers Maggie three companions and 75 acres to roam. It's a stark contr...
2008-09-11 - Hollywood, United States. Elisabeth Rappe
The bidding war is over, and Fox 2000 has emerged triumphant, clutching the rights to Sara Gruen's bestseller Water for Elephants, which they are promptly putting on the fast track. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Francis Lawrence is attached to direct, and Richard LaGravenese is adapting it for the big screen.
2008-09-11 - Salt Lake City, United States. Lynn Arave
Misha, a 27-year-old African elephant, died at Hogle Zoo Tuesday afternoon after being euthanized because of declining health. For the last few weeks, Misha's physical health had been mysteriously deteriorating and early on, animal care staff was aware — through changes in her behavior — that she was not feeling well, according to Holly Braithwaite, Hogle Zoo spokeswoman.
2008-09-10 - Toledo, United States.
The Toledo Zoo and its Elephant Management Program has the ability to offer a unique opportunity to individuals that would like to make captive elephant management a career. The zoo has a structured internship program that encompasses many different opportunities throughout the zoo campus. A participant in the Elephant Keeper Internship Program would work directly with the zoo’s elephants and staff under the direction of the elephant manager. The intern will assist in the daily cleaning of the...
2008-09-10 - San Diego, United States.
Deep in the bush of South Africa, Dr. Dean Hendrickson finally has his surgical routine down: Hoist up the elephant, make a 4-inch incision, make a couple snips, and suture the elephant back up. Hendrickson, the interim director of the CSU vet hospital, is the surgeon on a four-person team from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in San Diego that ventures into the reserves of South Africa to perform vasectomies male elephants.
2008-09-03 - Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Darren Tom
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's three African elephants arrived safely yesterday at the Columbus Zoo, and they're adapting very well to their new surroundings. Elephants Moshi, Jo and Martika will be staying in Columbus during construction of the new African Elephant Crossing habitat at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The elephants are scheduled to return to Cleveland before their expanded exhibit opens to the public in 2011. The elephants were transported to Columbus in a specially equipped trailer and a...
2008-09-03 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo announced moments ago that it has received the largest gift in its 120-year history, a $5 million donation from the Harold Simmons Foundation. Zoo officials plan the use the funds to help build a new $40 million African Savanna exhibit that will house large animals from elephants to giraffes and zebras. Plans for the Savanna's elephant exhibit were recently fasttracked after the zoo decided to keep its lone remaining elephant, Jenny, in Dallas. Zoo officials hope to have a new 4-a...
2008-09-01 - Washington, United States. Joe DeCapua
An animal conservation group warns that Namibia's desert elephants face a severe blow because the government has issued permits to kill some breeding bulls. Permits to kill six of the bulls have been awarded for trophy hunting. The government says the elephant herds can handle the loss. Johannes Haasbroek is the operations director for the group Elephant-Human Relations Aid. From Swakopmund, Namibia, he spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about the permits to kill the br...
2008-09-01 - New York, United States. Melody Ng, ©The Moodie Report
US. Leathergoods specialist Hunting World is introducing a new bag made from organic material to help save wild elephants in Borneo. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the Borneo Bag will go to support the Trust's campaign to unify fragmented forests of Borneo and to help connect important elephant migration routes. Hunting World wants to raise awareness of what is happening to these animals in Borneo and to help save them for future generations.
2008-08-31 - BISMARCK, United States.
Rare prehistoric artifacts are on display in North Dakota's state museum. The "Clovis" artifacts are unfinished tools that are about 13,000 years old. The people who made them hunted woolly mammoth and mastodon. They're the oldest artifacts in the State Historical Society's collection. The artifacts were donated by some western North Dakota residents who unearthed them in Golden Valley County. Some of them are now on exhibit in the Recent Acquisitions case at the North Dakota Heritage Center in ...
2008-08-30 - Portland, United States.
The newest addition to the Oregon Zoo is ready to meet his adoring fans. The public will be able to see the 286-pound elephant calf born last weekend to Asian elephant Rose-Tu for the first time on Saturday. Zookeepers have been working to "baby proof" the elephant exhibit at the Oregon Zoo for the past few days. Meanwhile, the calf has been exploring his surroundings, picking up sticks and even playing in the bath with his mother. The baby has also been lying down Zoo officials say the calf con...
2008-08-30 - Washington, United States.
Almost 10 per cent of elephants have been killed in Congos troubled Virunga National Park by armed groups, soldiers, and poachers, allegedly driven by rising Chinese demand for ivory. Surveys carried out in the 1960s found 2,889 elephants in the park. By 2006 that number had dropped to 400. Just two years later, its estimated there are as few as half that number. According to a report in National Geographic News, the announcement raises fears that elephants could disappear forever from Africas o...
2008-08-29 - Denver, United States. Kathleen St. John
Sometimes, when you find yourself at a particularly boisterous bar, it seems like you're surrounded by wild animals. "For these guys, particularly Mimi and Dolly, the elephants, it's kind of business as usual for them," says Bowie. "They know it's evening, so that's different, but their keepers are still around. I think they think it's weird, but it's fine." The elephants probably remember plenty of past Brews — the annual beer bust is in its 11th year. With Mimi and Dolly looking on, visitors...
2008-08-29 - , United States.
Many scientists believe that the ancient pachyderms became extinct about 10,000 years ago because of climactic changes that drastically reduced their food sources. Although only about a hundred mammoth specimens have been found throughout the world over the years, it is believed that as many as ten million mammoths may be buried in permanently frozen Russian soil. Previously, scientists believed that woolly mammoths were one large homogeneous group, but the mitochondrial DNA extracted from froze...
2008-08-28 - Washington, United States. Gobush KS, Mutayoba BM, Wasser SK. niversity of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle
Widespread poaching prior to the 1989 ivory ban greatly altered the demographic structure of matrilineal African elephant (Loxodonta africana) family groups in many populations by decreasing the number of old, adult females. We assessed the long-term impacts of poaching by investigating genetic, physiological, and reproductive correlates of a disturbed social structure resulting from heavy poaching of an African elephant population in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, prior to 1989. We examined fe...
2008-08-28 - Vienna, United States. Lloyd Grove
What we´re doing with the Asian elephant is the best work in the world. We have the only sustainable herd of Asian elephants in the Western Hemisphere. It´s only through our Center for Elephant Conservation—that´s only about reproduction, research, and retirement of Asian elephants—that the zoos or anyone else can really hopefully propagate this species in the wild—that there are only 30,000 of.
2008-08-27 - Philadelphia, United States. Bonnie L. Cook
Petal, the Philadelphia Zoo's beloved African elephant, died of acute heart and lung failure after she fell on her side while sleeping, zoo officials said yesterday. What's more, the 52-year-old pachyderm, the oldest of her kind in an American zoo, suffered from an underlying condition related to aging - heart disease, according to autopsy results released yesterday. "Like some elderly people, older animals are often able to compensate for chronic health problems up to a point, but when somethin...
2008-08-27 - Dallas, United States. Carol Cavazos
The controversy over the Dallas Zoo elephant named Jenny has taken a musical turn. One songwriter is hoping her effort will help give Jenny a new home. "There's nothing that really tells about an issue more than a song… more than music," explained singer Beverly Perry. 'Jenny's Song' was recorded in a professional studio Tuesday night. The music and lyrics were birthed out of concern for the aging elephant. One verse of the song expresses the concern for the animal saying, "Your troubled life ...
2008-08-27 - Portland, United States.
The new baby elephant that arrived last weekend at the Oregon Zoo gave it a tremendous gift a 281.6-pound boost. But the baby's arrival is well-timed for another reason, too. In November, the region's voters will decide whether to support a $125 million bond measure that includes $30 million to expand the zoo's cramped elephant quarters. (In a memorable phrase in June, The Oregonian's Susan Nielsen described the current indoor viewing area and 1.5-acre yard shared by six, now seven, elephants as...
2008-08-27 - Evansville, United States. Rich Davis
Karl Kae Knecht, a photographer and The Evansville Courier's front-page editorial cartoonist from 1906 until 1960, was a lifelong circus fan. Courtesy Willard Library A parade down Riverside Drive on June 14, 1929, celebrates Kay the elephant's arrival in Evansville from Germany. A young Kay is shown in the Washington Avenue backyard of zoo superintendent Clem Kevekordes. She stayed there until the Knecht Building was finished in 1931. Courtesy Willard Library Wesiba the chimpanzee helps christe...
2008-08-26 - Philadelphia, United States. Bonnie L. Cook
Petal, the Philadelphia Zoo's beloved African elephant, died of acute heart and lung failure after she fell on her side while sleeping, zoo officials said yesterday. What's more, the 52-year-old pachyderm, the oldest of her kind in an American zoo, suffered from an underlying condition related to aging - heart disease, according to autopsy results released Tuesday. At autopsy, pathologists found latent traces of a bacteria that can cause tuberculosis in Petal's lung tissue, according to prelimin...
2008-08-26 - SOMERSET COUNTY, United States.
In a couple weeks, the first African elephant will be moving to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's International Conservation Center near Fairhope, Somerset County. The center's primary focus will be breeding programs, something the Pittsburgh Zoo has renowned success in, thanks in part to its elephant bull named Jackson. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium President Dr. Barbara Baker said "Jackson has eight babies on the ground and two more are due to be born shortly." The electric fencing is in pla...
2008-08-25 - Little Rock, United States.
Temporary Part-time employment available for Elephant & Lg. Hoofstock Keeper. Position is 36-40 hours/week. Pay rate of $8.00 to $10.50/hour is available depending on experience. This position will work with Asian Elephants as well as Black and White Rhinos, Giraffe, and Zebra. Experience in working free contact with elephants is helpful but not necessary. Our institution is willing to train a hard-working, motivated, enthusiastic individual with a specific interest in elephants. This position h...
2008-08-25 - Portland, United States.
Rose-Tu and her calf have been together since 5 p.m. last night, supervised by keepers. She's letting him nurse and gently tucks him underneath her when he does so. She's so relaxed during nursing, it sometimes looks like she's sleeping. The baby continues to get stronger and is sucking heartily. When Rose-Tu appears too tired to nurse, keepers supplement his diet with elephant formula, delivered via a 12-ounce bottle with a large, specially crafted nipple. The baby elephant is taking in about 1...
watch photographers pictures from Rose-Tu´s ultrasound until the baby is being dried by the keepers
2008-08-25 - Portland, United States. ANTONIA GIEDWOYN
Happy news for a baby elephant born at the Oregon Zoo over the weekend – elephant mother Rose-Tu has begun nursing her calf and appears to have accepted her newborn. The calf began walking up to his mother and successfully nursing on both sides, according to zoo spokeswoman Linda D'Ae-Smith. When Rose-Tu gets tired, staff supplements the nursing with a bottle.
2008-08-25 - Dallas, United States.
Africam Safari in Puebla, Mexico was very nearly the new home of the Dallas zoo's last elephant, the troubled and famous Jenny (don't those always go hand in hand). But after weeks of protests and a bit of bad press, the Dallas Zoo decided that it was best, for Jenny's health, that she stay right here. Tomorrow, the owners of Africam will be at City Hall to tell their side of the story and defend their institution from claims of protesters that their facility is nothing more than a "drive throug...
2008-08-25 - Ruskin, United States. Eric Beheim, Buckles WebLog
"Toug-Toulog" the sacred white elephant was imported to the Barnum & London Show in 1884 and thus began the famous White Elephant War between Barnum and his rival Adam Forepaugh who simply painted an elephant white. Since Albino elephants are actually somewhat gray in color, Barnum's elephant was something of a disappointment whereas Forepaugh's (John) was as white as the driven snow, leading to charges and counter charges of fakery. Three years later "Toug-Toulog" and three other ...
2008-08-25 - Portland, United States. Jeff Thompson
Rose-Tu and her newborn calf at the Oregon Zoo are continuing the reintroduction process after some scary moments Saturday afternoon. When the 280-pound calf was born, keepers say Rose-Tu was confused, having never witnessed an elephant birth before. She started kicking the baby and keepers had to intervene and separate the two. The calf has since been monitored and seems to be okay. Mike Keele, zoo asssistant director, says keepers and vets are carefully continuing the re-introduction process s...
2008-08-24 - Portland, United States.
Rose-Tu has given birth to her first baby, the 28th elephant born in the history of the Oregon Zoo. The 14-year-old Asian elephant delivered the 286-pound male calf Saturday afternoon and immediately kicked it, a common way mother elephants encourage infants to stand. Zookeepers, however, rushed in when the kicking became too violent. Mike Keele, the zoo's deputy director, believes that because Rose-Tu had never seen a birth before, she became confused when the baby was born. "Our veterinarians ...
2008-08-23 - Washington, United States.
This free event will feature demonstrations on how our keepers and vets care for elephants, and what a day in the life of a Zoo elephant is like. You can also sneak a peek at the construction of our Elephant Trails exhibit. Watch the elephants as they are bathed, weighed, and trained to hold still for physical exams, weighing, and x-rays. Our female elephant, Ambika, turns 60 this year so stop by the yards at 1 p.m. to watch her enjoy her birthday “cake,†specially prepared by the Zo...
2008-08-22 - Phoenix, United States.
The Phoenix Zoo is accepting applications for a part-time regular Keeper working in our Elephant Sanctuary. Essential duties involve interaction with both the animals and visiting public. Keepers will observe assigned animals on a daily basis, reporting any abnormalities; perform routine husbandry and environmental maintenance; feed prescribed diets; perform assigned and approved animal enrichment activities and trainings; assist in the restraint and treatment of animals; participate in non-rout...
2008-08-22 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon
Anxiety simmers at the Oregon Zoo, and it's no wonder. For the first time in 14 years, just as the zoo faces key decisions about its future, one of its Asian elephants --the institution's flagship species --is about to give birth. If all goes well, an adorably wobbly, floppy eared calf could draw tens of thousands of extra visitors and prompt a wave of positive publicity at an opportune time: Metro, which owns the zoo, will ask voters in November to approve a $117 million bond measure to upgrade...
2008-08-21 - Greenbrier, United States. Bill Bonucci, Elephant Manager, Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary
Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary has an open position working with African and Asian elephants. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing elephant care, maintaining and cleaning animal areas, preparing feed, and grounds upkeep. The position requires a high school diploma or equivalent; one-year experience working with elephants is preferred; good communication/organizational skills and ability to work well as a team; and a class “C” driver license with an acceptable ...
2008-08-20 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is seeking experienced elephant keepers that would be interested in joining a progressive elephant management team, utilizing both free and protected contact. The successful candidates primary job assignment will be at the zoo’s International Conservation Center just outside of Berlin, PA about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. We will also require a moderate amount of time spent at the zoo’s facility in Pittsburgh to facilitate the development of a ve...
2008-08-20 - Dallas, United States. JASON WHITELY
The Dallas Zoo has decided to keep Jenny, 32, its lone African elephant, after weeks of controversy over whether she should be sent to a zoo in Mexico. The Dallas Zoo originally planned to close its elephant exhibit and send Jenny away while it built a much larger exhibit here. But the zoo's idea to loan Jenny to the Africam Safari Park in Puebla, Mexico generated thousands of e-mails and phone calls in protest to city leaders. Opponents wanted Jenny to instead be retired to The Elephant Sanctua...
2008-08-19 - Montgomery, United States. Markeshia Ricks
State Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks said the department's diagnostic lab in Auburn was able to assist the Montgomery Zoo with diagnostic services this past weekend for an elephant that died at the zoo. Lab staff examined the 23 year-old animal and determined that it died from intussusception, a rare intestinal disorder. “The unfortunate loss of such a grand animal is a reminder of how important diagnostic ability is to veterinary health,” Sparks said. “Knowledge is ess...
2008-08-19 - Cleveland, United States. Michael Sangiacomo
Viktor Schreckengost's massive wall sculptures of mastodons and mammoths, on display at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo since 1956, are coming down. But the popular sculptures by the man called "Cleveland's Da Vinci" will not be gone for long. After cleaning and repairing, they will become part of a new zoo entrance in 2010. "After all those years at the pachyderm building, the sculptures will be in an area of even greater prominence and open to more people than ever," said Elizabeth Fowler of the ...
2008-08-19 - Washington, United States.
On a seemingly ordinary day in November, 2001, something amazing happens at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. aby Kandula is born. His birth marks a rare success and huge scientific milestone for the zoological community: The 320-pound newborn is only the second Asian elephant to be born through artificial insemination. Watch as this playful, rambunctious youngster grows up right before your eyes taking his first steps, learning to feed and figuring out how to manipulate object...
2008-08-19 - MontÂgomery, United States. Teri Greene
A male African elephant calf born early Thursday morning at the MontÂgomery Zoo was the second elephant calf born at the zoo within the past year. But the joyous occasion was soon marred by sorrow. After giving birth, the elephant calf's 23-year-old mother became ill. She died Saturday, reported Sarah McKemey of the Montgomery Zoo. Preliminary necropsy results inÂdicate that Mary, one of the zoo's perÂmanent elephant herd, died from complications due to colic with intesÂtinal rupture...
2008-08-18 - San Antonio, United States. AZA
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian. Minimum qualifications include ability to work weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours assignments; valid driver...
2008-08-18 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian
Anxiety simmers at the Oregon Zoo, and it's no wonder. For the first time in 14 years, just as the zoo faces key decisions about its future, one of its Asian elephants the institution's flagship species is about to give birth. If all goes well, an adorably wobbly, floppy-eared calf could draw tens of thousands of extra visitors and prompt a wave of positive publicity at an opportune time: Metro, which owns the zoo, will ask voters in November to approve a $117 million bond measure to upgrade exh...
2008-08-18 - MONTGOMERY, United States. John Shryock
The Montgomery Zoo lost a star in one of its main attractions over the weekend. Mary, an elephant in the zoo's collection, died Saturday just days after giving birth to a male African elephant calf. She was 23-years-old. Zoo officials say a preliminary necropsy showed that the elephant died of complications due to colic with intestinal rupture. Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks says the Department of Agriculture and Industries' Diagonstic Lab in Auburn helped with the necropsy. "The unfortunat...
2008-08-18 - Samburu, United States. David Quammen, Michael Nichols, National Geographic
The biologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton is walking up on an elephant, a sizable young female, nubile and shy. Her name, as she's known to him and his colleagues, is Anne. She stands half-concealed within a cluster of trees on the knob of a hill in remote northern Kenya, browsing tranquilly with several members of her family. Around her neck hangs a stout leather collar along which, at the crest of her shoulders, like a tiny porkpie hat, sits an electronic transmitter. That transmitter has allowed Do...
2008-08-18 - Little Rock, United States. L. LAMOR WILLIAMS
The elephants almost seemed to be eavesdropping. They’d seen Little Rock Zoo’s new curator for hoof stock and birds, Joseph Darcangelo, passing their enclosure. He was explaining renovations of the elephant house, expected to double in size by spring 2009. As if they knew he was talking about them and their home — the renovation also includes a new pool, kitchen and corral area to keep the elephants from moving around during examinations — the two female Asian elephants, named Ellen and ...
2008-08-18 - Pittsburgh, United States. Patricia Sheridan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Willie Theison, renowned elephant manager at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, oversaw the birth of two baby elephants (Angelina and Zuri) within weeks of each other in July. He was involved with a recent National Geographic special looking at elephants in India and the conflict between them and the human population.
2008-08-17 - Portland, United States. KATY MULDOON
Anxiety simmers at the Oregon Zoo, and it's no wonder. For the first time in 14 years, just as the zoo faces key decisions about its future, one of its Asian elephants -- the institution's flagship species -- is about to give birth. If all goes well, an adorably wobbly, floppy eared calf could draw tens of thousands of extra visitors and prompt a wave of positive publicity at an opportune time: Metro, which owns the zoo, will ask voters in November to approve a $117 million bond measure to upgra...
2008-08-17 - Waco, United States. Kelsie Hahn
Like footprints in the sand, the Glen Rose dinosaur tracks and the Waco mammoth bones have run parallel journeys through modern history. Separated by millions of years in their creation and decades in their discovery, both have gone from surprising find to national sensation to community cause, and the Waco Mammoth Site’s unveiling as a full-fledged park is only a step away, projected for late 2009. Both cities, however, say these sites are only a piece of the attractions that make for success...
2008-08-16 - John Mariani, United States.
Pass the word it's OK to pet the elephants again at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park. The state Department of Environmental Conservation told zoo officials Friday that it would amend the zoo's endangered/threatened species license to allow contact between the zoo's elephants and their human visitors. The move came just in time for the zoo's Asian Elephant Extravaganza, an annual celebration of its pachyderm herd and Asian culture taking place 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today.
2008-08-16 - Burnet Park, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park will host Asian Elephant Extravaganza, presented by Total Care Incorporated, on Saturday, August 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The annual event celebrates Asian culture and honors the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s Asian elephant herd, which includes Indy, Siri, Romani and Kirina. The many activities planned for the event include elephant demonstrations, cultural performances, games, puppet shows and more!
2008-08-13 - Dallas, United States. BRAD HAWKINS
There has been more debate in and outside Dallas City Hall today on the future of Jenny, the Dallas Zoo's lone elephant. Activists say they are going to keep coming to Dallas City Hall until there is an "acceptable" solution to the problem of what to do with Jenny. There may be other options other than the Africam Safari Park in Puebla, Mexico and the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Today, there was a new voice among those who say Jenny should not be sent to Mexico. "We recommend tha...
2008-08-11 - Honolulu, United States. Leanne Ta
An ongoing change is the expansion of the Indian elephant exhibit. Zookeepers are preparing to move elephants Mari and Vai Gai from their current 3,600-square-foot enclosure to a 30,000-square-foot space. Local landscapers will be contracted for the project, which will take about a year to build, Luscomb said. The zoo is searching for two more elephants — a cow and a bull — to add to the larger exhibit. About $6.8 million will go toward the project this year.
2008-08-11 - Akron, United States.
An art dealer who operated import and export businesses in Canada and Cameroon that were fronts for smuggling raw elephant ivory has been sentenced to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for smuggling ivory from Cameroon into the United States. Canadian citizen and former Montreal resident Tania Julie Siyam, 32, was sentenced in Akron, Ohio Thursday after pleading guilty in March to four felonies. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge John Adams, is the result of a multi-y...
2008-08-10 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an evolving and maturing elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program is well on its way to becoming a state of the art program and facility. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care, husbandry, and training of the zoos 2.2 resident Asian elephants. In the...
2008-08-08 - Seattle, United States.
The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle says an elephant that had been artificially inseminated has miscarried. The zoo says it's monitoring the 29-year-old Asian elephant Chai around the clock after Thursday's miscarriage, but she's eating and behaving normally. One of three elephants at the zoo, Chai had been inseminated in January with semen from an elephant named Sneezy at the zoo in Tulsa, Okla.
2008-08-06 - Knoxville, United States.
The Knoxville Zoo is seeking a qualified person to fill an opening in the elephant department. The Knoxville Zoo currently houses 1.2 African Elephants. The females are managed in free contact and the male is managed in protected contact. We need a dependable, trustworthy, and very team oriented individual who will be able to work in a fast paced, progressive program. Elephant experience not required but it is preferred. A high school diploma or equivalent is required, a college degree in a rela...
2008-08-05 - Syracuse, United States.
An Asian elephant on loan from an upstate New York zoo has given birth in Canada to the first third-generation calf born in North America, zoo officials said Tuesday. The 235-pound male was born July 15 at the African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario, home to North America's most successful Asian elephant breeding program, with more second-generation captive births than any other North American institution. The calf is the twelfth elephant born at African Lion Safari since 1991.
2008-08-03 - Washington, United States. Michael E. Ruane
The Asian elephants at the National Zoo have it nice. Every morning they get bathed and scrubbed. They often get pedicures, and step up on the scale to have their weight checked. Then they go outside to the oohs and ahhs of the adoring public. Now life is about to get even better. In March, the zoo began work on a $60 million renovation of its elephant complex, announced two years ago, that will transform it into a state-of-the-art sanctuary called Elephant Trails.
2008-08-03 - Birmingham, United States. Mark Hughes
It's easy to sometimes forget, even if we believe we think green, that we share the planet with those who really live in the green. You can't forget at the Birmingham Zoo. And yes, there will be elephants, a bachelor herd of four to six pachyderms. 'A majority of the spread will be for the elephants,' said Jamie Adcock, the zoo's marketing manager. The zoo's long-lived elephant inhabitants, Susie and Mona, died in recent years. The incoming bull elephants will be a different experience from the ...
2008-08-02 - Vallejo, United States.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is seeking qualified applicants for a full time Elephant Trainer. These elephants are managed in a free contact system. Trainer responsibilities include but are not limited to participation in animal training programs, daily care and feeding of the elephants in the collection, maintenance of the elephant exhibit and night house, behavioral observations, record keeping, animals enrichment and training, public presentations, elephant rides and operation of farm equipmen...
2008-08-02 - Dallas, United States. Ana Ley
Jenny the elephant lazily poked her trunk into a bucket of fruit as her keepers at the Dallas Zoo hosed her during her morning bath, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she could soon be shipped far from her home of 22 years. She's also certainly unaware of the debate her possible departure has stirred. Zoo officials plan to send Jenny, who became the zoo's lone elephant when her companion died in May, to a drive-through wildlife park in Mexico because African elephants become unhappy when left...
2008-08-02 - Lake Geneva, United States.
A half-hour from Milwaukee, the 135-foot-deep Lake Geneva ranks as the second-deepest lake in Wisconsin. During the late 1800s, the Barnum & Bailey Circus wintered in the area, and when one of the performing elephants died, practicality ruled. A hole was cut in the ice of nearby Delavan Lake, and the elephant was buried below.
2008-08-01 - Washington, United States.
African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a pace unseen since an international ban on the ivory trade took effect in 1989. But the public outcry that resulted in that ban is absent today, and a University of Washington conservation biologist contends it is because the public seems to be unaware of the giant mammals' plight.
2008-08-01 - Lake Buena Vista, United States. Dewayne Bevil
When African elephant Tsavo was born this summer at Disney's Animal Kingdom, two pachyderm families were already in place to welcome the 327-pound calf. Five years ago, his mother, Moyo, gave birth to Tufani, a built-in brother for Tsavo, who shares his name with a region of Kenya. He'll have playmates from other breeding groups, which is how the animals divide themselves in the wild -- and at Animal Kingdom. "They live very highly socialized existences," says John Lehnhardt, animal operations d...
Today's Calendar column revolves around the elephants of Disney's Animal Kingdom. You'll recall that the herd expanded in June with the birth of Tsavo, who weighed in at a whopping 327 pounds, the largest of the DAK baby elephants. When interviewing John Lehnhardt, who oversees animal care at Animal Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I asked him if he -- or anyone, for that matter -- can tell when an elephant is happy. "If they're acting like elephants -- getting along with others, eating nor...
2008-08-01 - Topeka, United States.
It's easy for everyone to get in on recycling, even elephants. With a toss of a phone book, Mayor Bill Bunten kicked off a recycling event at the Topeka Zoo today. It's called "Even an Elephant Doesn't Forget to Recycle Old Phone Books." The elephants recycled phone books by creating works of art on them. Children and their families came out to enjoy the show and all helped recycle old AT&T phone books. Some of the works of art will be auctioned off at an event tonight. You can see the elephants...
2008-08-01 - Knoxville, United States. LaSaundra Brown
A little pre-game pep talk still may not ease the nerves of the big orange players, who are getting ready to play one of their toughest games ever. "I've never been around somebody who was bigger than me," offensive tackle William Brimfield says. He's referring to elephants Edie and Jana, who together weigh more than 17,000 pounds. "They make an awesome offensive line," Knoxville Zoo Elephant Curator Jim Naelitz says. The elephants have been preparing for their match up against the star Vol play...
2008-08-01 - Houston, United States. Brad Woodard
On one occasion, our cameras spotted elephants being housed in a metal trailer on a sweltering summer afternoon. The trailer appeared to have an air conditioner, but it was unclear whether it was running. Then on a second visit, 11 News spotted the elephants outside and under an awning. The heat index was in the triple digits and the elephants appeared to be restrained by their legs. The circus manager said the elephant’s trainer is Will Davenport, but he was not available to talk to 11 News. ...
2008-07-31 - Orlando, United States.
2008-07-31 - Washington, United States. Kristen Everett, Press Releases, The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States and its international arm Humane Society International has a list of do's and don'ts for those traveling to China, where tourist souvenirs and some meals involve cruelty to animals. Teresa Telecky, Ph.D., policy director for Humane Society International, offers the following tips to help those wishing to make animal-friendly decisions while in China: Don't buy ivory. During a recent trip to China, Telecky saw ivory for sale widely, even in hotel gift shops...
2008-07-31 - Seattle, United States. Lisa Stiffler
The number of poached elephants is on the rise and could lead to the extinction of large populations of African elephants in a scant 12 years, according to new research from the University of Washington. Said Sam Wasser, a UW biology professor, in a press release: "If the trend continues, there won't be any elephants except in fenced areas with a lot of enforcement to protect them."Wasser is a master of DNA extraction from difficult sources such as ivory and various animal scat. Through his rese...
2008-07-31 - LAKE BUENA VISTA, United States. Andrea Finger, Walt Disney World
Disney’s Animal Programs is leading an international coalition of veterinarians, conservation groups, zoos, universities and private industry to conduct a series of procedures to effectively sterilize male elephants and help reduce the elephant birth rates in areas of South Africa. The team expects to perform laparoscopic vasectomies on eight bull elephants at the Pongola Game Reserve in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Elephant overpopulation in wildlife parks and reserves in southern Africa is ...
2008-07-31 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium announced the name of its second baby elephant today. The baby, born on July 25th, has been named Zuri. "We saw our visitors coming in to the barn and they would say, 'Oh, she's beautiful,' or 'Oh, she's pretty,' or 'Oh, she's gorgeous,' and she is actually a little bit of a pink coloration," said the zoo's Dr. Barbara Baker, "and so the staff went into books and looked up what was Swahili or African for 'pretty' and 'beautiful' and came up with the name Zuri."
2008-07-30 - Chennai, United States. D Madhavan
Started barely a fortnight ago with much fanfare, the jumbo safari at the Arignar Anna Zoological park, Vandalur, has come to a halt. The two elephants used for the rides were injured in the foot a few days ago. Compounding the problem, 24-year-old Ashwini and 26-year-old Pari who were brought from the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary are suffering from diarrhoea. Zoo director Ananthaswamy told The Times of India that the over-growth of nails on the toes and infection between them that was aggravate...
2008-07-30 - Lansing, United States.
Potter Park Zoo will host guest speaker Dr. Susan Mikota, co-editor of Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of Elephants and co-founder and Director of Veterinary Programs and Research of Elephant Care International at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 in the zoo’s Safari Room. The presentation is free and open to the public.
2008-07-29 - Dallas, United States. JOANNA CATTANACH and ANGELA KOCHERGA
Plans to move the Dallas Zoo's lone elephant to the Africam Safari Park by the end of the year are still on track, director Gregg Hudson said Tuesday after a tour of the facility in Puebla, Mexico. But Jenny's future is apparently not yet certain. Mr. Hudson met with the director of the driving zoo, Amy Camacho, and a team of elephant specialists who would take care of Jenny, a Dallas Zoo fixture for 22 years. "I've been impressed with the facilities that we've seen and the expansion that they'r...
2008-07-29 - Cheraw, United States. Bob Cline
The Gentry Bros. began their operation in 1887 as Professor Gentry's Canine Paradox. In a couple years the show had grown to two seperate units called Professor Gentry's Famous Dog & Pony Show. They bought their first elephant in 1890 which broke it's leg being unloaded and was euthanized immediately. 8 years later they bought a baby elephant again and named it Pinto. Same thing happened again. In 1899 they again bought another Indian female elephant and named her Pinto again. This was the first...
2008-07-29 - Maryland, United States. Chelsea Haddaway
"I honestly never expected to work with elephants, and I never gave them a whole lot of thought. I have a bachelor's in biology, and when I was studying I put a lot of my focus on animal behavior and physiology. I worked in a small state park-run zoo in North Carolina the whole time I was in college. After school I came up to Baltimore and worked in the animal department. There was an opportunity in elephants and I found out that it was something that suited my personality and just stuck with it...
2008-07-26 - Mendon, United States. Tanya Girgenrath
It's not uncommon for a groom to include his sister in his wedding party. The story becomes significantly more unique when you find out his "sister" is an elephant. Joshua Schacht, 22, and Ashley Glass, 18, were married last night at Mendon's Southwick Zoo in a wildly entertaining ceremony. Dondi, a female Asian elephant, served as the flower girl in the couple's wedding, but that wasn't her only job. The ceremony began, amidst whispers of amazement from the crowd, when the couple mounted the el...
2008-07-25 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham
Buki is taking full advantage of new privileges accorded the queen of the Buffalo Zoo’s remodeled Elephant House. Last week, during one of her first nights back after two months at the Columbus Zoo, the 50-year-old Asian elephant poked through the bars and snatched a bale of hay keepers believed was beyond her grasp. “I thought there was no way she could reach that far,” said Kelly Amrhein, Elephant House manager.
2008-07-25 - Pittsburgh , United States.
A baby elephant was born at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium at 5:30 this morning. The baby and its 25-yer-old mother, Moja, are healthy and bonding well, zoo officials said. It’s the second successful birth of an elephant at the zoo this month. On July 9, Savannah, another 25-year-old African elephant, gave birth to a female. The zoo has not named that elephant, which weighed more than 200 pounds at birth.
2008-07-25 - Dallas, United States. Andy Hogue
A pachyderm in the public eye in Dallas could possibly be joining the elephant Gainesville never forgot, that is, if animal rights advocates have their way. Jenny the Elephant, a resident of the Dallas Zoo, has been the subject of many news stories following the death of her partner, KeKe, in May. Animal rights groups are concerned that Jenny, age 32 (and near the elephant's life expectancy in captivity of 33), would not be healthy in a zoo, and that she should be transferred to a wilderness pre...
2008-07-24 - Washington, United States. KIMBERLY LAUNIER
Watch the story Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET. There is something startling about an elephant's eyes. Their fiery amber color seems to blaze against the surrounding skin's burlap creases. An ancient face, lined with history, but it is the eyes that convey the generational knowledge of the species. They offer a glimpse into what researchers now say is a surprising level of consciousness. It is one of many reasons why the place elephants hold in our imaginations is both epic, and wondrous.
2008-07-24 - WORCESTER, United States. Jacqueline Reis
Somewhere, an elephant herd is one foot short of a full stampede. Or perhaps someone finally had enough of an elephant foot umbrella holder and tossed it. Wherever it started, a grotesque, hollowed-out elephant foot that appeared to be somewhere between recent kill and finished object ended up on the fifth floor of the CitySquare parking garage at the corner of Commercial and Foster streets. Police bagged it and brought it to the station early this evening.
2008-07-24 - Cleveland, United States. Darren Toms
A $20 million construction contract has been awarded for the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s African Elephant Crossing project. On Thursday, the Cleveland Metroparks’ Board of Park Commissioners approved a $20,795,000 contract with Marous Brothers Construction of Willoughby, Ohio, for construction of the state-of-the-art elephant habitat and conservation center. Construction of African Elephant Crossing is expected to start in the fall.
2008-07-24 - Buffalo, United States. Jane Kwiatkowski
Long time no see, Buki! You, too, Surapa and Jothi! From 10 a. m. to 3:30 p. m. Saturday and Sunday, party with the elephants at The Buffalo Zoo. Practice elephant art, ask a trainer the million-dollar question, and scarf down some Perry’s ice cream. All activities included with admission at the grand house of animals, 300 Parkside Ave.
2008-07-18 - Salem, United States. Kristin Adams
Elephant Encounter, this year’s exotic animal act at the Salem Fair in Salem, Va., was sponsored by Salem Delegate Morgan Griffith. The show featured Shannon, a 27-year-old African elephant, and Cora, a 48-year-old Asian elephant. Owners Bill and Cindy Morris gave educational shows. They showed the differences between Asian elephants and African elephants. African females have tusks while Asian females do not. Africans are also the smaller of the two. Bill Morris also pointed out that both Asi...
2008-07-18 - Portland, United States. KATY MULDOON
Mamas-to-be, you know what the doctor says: Stay fit. Eat right. Don't gain too much weight. Same holds true if you're a 7,660-pound pregnant Asian elephant, which explains why the Oregon Zoo's Rose-Tu was cross training early Thursday: a little jogging, strength training, water aerobics, sit-ups, leg-lifts, stretching and -- wait -- was that a Pilates move? Might have been. Girl's gotta work her core if she's to have a trouble-free labor and delivery, which is what zookeepers hope for Rose-Tu s...
2008-07-17 - Buffalo, United States.
The pachyderms are back from Columbus, Ohio two weeks earlier than expected, and the fans were there to greet them. Buki, Jothi, and Surapa are one of the most popular exhibits at the Buffalo Zoo. Starting Thursday you can see them outside their new home. "They really have the sense of recognition, and they're already using all four of the holding spaces. We only had two before. They're sleeping and eating normally so we think they've just come back home." says Buffalo Zoo President Donna Fernan...
2008-07-17 - Louisville, United States. Kara Bussabarger
Scotty, the Louisville Zoo’s 1-year-old baby African elephant, hit a big milestone today when he went swimming in the elephant yard pool. After he slowly eased down the pool steps behind his mom Mikki, Scotty cut loose, diving down into the deep 6-foot pool and using his trunk as a snorkel. “He really liked it,” Elephant Area Supervisor Dave Campbell smiled. “Scotty is very buoyant and floats like a cork.”
2008-07-09 - Birmingham, United States.
The successful candidate should have the skills needed to lead a professional team of keepers through the daily operation, husbandry, and management that oversees a collection consisting of bull African elephants, white and black rhino, hippo, giraffe and a variety of African hoof stock, all managed in multi mixed species exhibits. This individual should have a proven work history with bull elephants and the ability to develop animal programs that will build on the daily operations within this e...
2008-07-08 - Memphis, United States.
Memphis Zoo officials are making plans for the first birth of an elephant in the zoo's century-old history. African elephant Asali has been pregnant 10 months, but won't deliver for another year. The 21-year-old elephant was impregnated with semen from bulls from zoos in Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, Fla. Memphis Zoo curator Matt Thompson said tests will be done after the calf is born to determine which is the father. Asali lives with a 44-year-old female, who zoo officials expect to act as an au...
2008-07-01 - LAKE BUENA VISTA, United States.
An elephant was born at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom this weekend. African elephant Moyo, 26, gave birth to a 327-pound male elephant on June 28. "African elephants are considered endangered and are challenging to breed," Jackie Ogden, vice president of Disney's Animal Programs, said in a news release. "This elephant birth is significant, not only for the herd and species, but also for the team of dedicated team of professionals who have been working with Moyo attentively for the past two ...
2008-06-28 - Denver, United States.
The Denver Zoo says it will spend $50 million on an Asian Tropics area to house elephants and other endangered species. Construction is to start next year, the Rocky Mountain News reported. When completed, the exhibit will have five habitat areas and room for 12 elephants. The zoo, like others in the United States, is under pressure to improve the living conditions of its elephants or move them elsewhere. Some critics, such as Marc Bekoff, a former biology professor at the University of Colorado...
2008-06-26 - Syracuse, United States.
Will zoo-goers be able to touch the elephants again? That’s a question reps from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo were hoping to get answered during a meeting with DEC officials this week. For decades, people coming to the zoo have been about to touch the Asian elephants, but the DEC recently began enforcing a law prohibiting contact with the public. Representatives from the four New York State zoos that house elephants met with DEC officials. They hope to reach a compromise in the near future.
2008-06-23 - Jinan, United States. Xinhua News
An elephant gets a cold shower at the Jinan Zoo in Jinan, Shandong Province on Sunday, June 22, 2008. The zoo tried to keep its animals cool as the temperature hit 37.2 degrees Celsius (98.9 degrees Fahrenheit).
2008-06-23 - St. Louis , United States.
The St. Louis Zoo serves Anheuser-Busch products, but it's the elephants, penguins and hippopotamuses that really define the relationship between the city's two institutions. The elephant program began in 1955 when the Busch family donated eight of the animals. A $3 million gift in 1996 became the Zoo's Hippo Harbor. The dapper birds at the popular Penguin and Puffin Coast came from Sea World, owned by Anheuser-Busch. The Zoo, like perhaps no other institution, demonstrates the entrenched relati...
2008-06-22 - Oregon, United States. Susan Nielsen
About 284 African and Asian elephants live in about 80 accredited zoos in the United States. These zoos are trending in two directions, after decades of treating elephants as a must-have accessory and ignoring their needs for space, kinship and stimulation. Zoos are either phasing out their elephant exhibits, for ethical and financial reasons, or they're improving them and investing in off-site sanctuaries. The Oregon Zoo wants to join the latter group.
2008-06-21 - RYAN STRONG , United States.
The Tulsa Zoo's 35-year-old Asian elephant provides the majority of semen samples to zoos across the country to help increase the captive elephant population. "Sneezy is the most sought-after male elephant in North America," said Michael Connolly, a zoologist at the Tulsa Zoo. Two factors make Sneezy a sought-after daddy — the lack of inbreeding in his family history and the diversity of his genes. Once semen samples are obtained for artificial insemination, an ultrasound determines the viabil...
2008-06-20 - Seattle, United States.
An elephant at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle may be pregnant. The zoo says it won't know for sure until an ultrasound scheduled this fall. The elephant, named Chai (chy) was artificially inseminated in January. The father is an elephant named Sneezy at the zoo in Tulsa, Okla. It all goes as planned the baby would be born by Thanksgiving of 2009. Some animal rights activists are worried about the health risks. The group Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants says it's unethical to breed Chai b...
2008-06-19 - Knoxville, United States. Amy McRary
Battle lines were drawn Tuesday in the hard-packed red clay of the Knoxville Zoo elephant yard. The pachyderm Edie was challenged to tug-of-war by eight determined if unrealistic humans. Five zoo marketing staff workers, two elephant keepers and one News Sentinel reporter grabbed a 15-foot rope and planted tennis shoes or work boots in the dirt. Edie waited feet away. All 8,700 pounds of her. Edie's back was turned to her competition. She wore a harness fastened to a yoke to which keepers hooked...
2008-06-19 - Oklahoma City, United States. Carrie Coppernoll
Zoo trustees Wednesday approved spending $23 million on the upcoming Asia exhibit — $7 million more than originally expected. The original budget of $16 million was set during the 2001-02 fiscal year, said Brian Aucone, interim executive director. Building and project costs have increased since then, he said. Project funds will largely be spent on an elephant barn and exhibit area. The Asia exhibit will be the largest in zoo history. It's scheduled to open in spring 2011.
2008-06-19 - Philadelphia, United States. GLORIA CAMPISI
Kutenga, a female African elephant, was only 27 when she collapsed in her stall at the Philadelphia Zoo in 1991 and died despite heroic efforts to get her to her feet, including trying to lift her with the hook from a tow truck. Peggy, 52, a female Asian elephant, fell to the concrete floor of the zoo's elephant quarters in 1994 and was euthanized shortly afterward because of debilitating arthritis and dental disease, which made eating difficult.
2008-06-18 - Indianapolis, United States.
Elephant Awareness Week — Indianapolis Zoo. Elephant Awareness Week begins today. 11:30 a.m., elephant bath; 1:30 and 3 p.m., elephant show.
2008-06-16 - Heath, United States. L.B. WHYDE
A discovery made on a cold, wintery day in December 1989 changed a few men's lives, as well as history as it was known at the time. Dec. 12, 1989, was the fateful day the most complete skeleton of a mastodon was discovered on the property of the Burning Tree Golf Course, Heath, owned by Sherman Byers. While excavating for a pond on the back nine of the course, the drag-line operator caught hold of the skull. After two days, the mastodon had been recovered from three separate piles of bones about...
2008-06-16 - Denver, United States.
A special scale was at the Denver Zoo today to weigh elephants Mimi and Dolly. Mimi weighed in at 10,800 pounds and Dolly at 8,200, good weights for such animals, the zoo said. The Colorado Department of Revenue, port of entry, loaned the scales for the weigh-in. A zoo spokeswoman alluded to the zoo's fund-raising event coming up Thursday in a news release about the weigh-in. "Everyone wants to look their best for this event. However, when you attend in your birthday suit, it's exceptionally im...
2008-06-16 - St. Lucie County , United States.
There soon might come a time when western St. Lucie County looks an awful lot like Kenya. Representatives from the National Elephant Center, a coalition of zoos from around the country, had preliminary talks last month with the county about its planned facility in western St. Lucie County. The organization's board of directors will meet this week to discuss the center's progress. The center was announced in February, and it will be on 300 acres owned by Waste Management, which will lease the sit...
2008-06-16 - Baraboo, United States. Brian D. Bridgeford
The audience clapped and cheered Sunday as circus performers swung high above the ring or juggled large barrels with their feet in Circus World Museum's first day open after flooding threatened the museum grounds. With a few exceptions, most of the museum escaped the flooding without being damaged, he said. Museum staff members put up a barrier of sandbags to protect the historic elephant building, and its drains were able to handled any leakage that got in.
2008-06-12 - Oklahoma City, United States. Carrie Coppernoll
The two Asian elephants at the Oklahoma City Zoo were transported to Tulsa on Thursday morning, marking the beginning of a breeding plan that could yield an elephant herd in Oklahoma City. Elephants Asha and Chandra were loaded onto a specialized trailer after several hours of maneuvering Thursday morning, said Tara Henson, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City Zoo. The process went smoothly, she said. The 6,000-pound elephants left Oklahoma City shortly after 10 a.m.
2008-06-12 - Saratoga, United States. Lee Coleman
There will be no elephant rides at the Saratoga County Fair this summer, nor at any fairs or circuses held in the Capital Region. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is enforcing a clause in its endangered and threatened species licenses that forbids the public from riding or touching African or Asian elephants. Most of the elephants exhibited at amusement parks and fairs in the state are Asian elephants. Richard Rowland, general manager of the Saratoga County Fair, said the new D...
2008-06-10 - Salt Lake City, United States. Matthew D. LaPlante
A 48th birthday celebration for Hydari, an African elephant at the Hogle Zoo, will take on added significance this Saturday, following the Monday morning death of The Philadelphia Zoo's Petal. With Petal's passing at 52, Hydari - known affectionately as "Dari" by her keepers - is now the oldest African elephant in a U.S. zoo. Hogle spokeswoman Holly Braithwaite expressed condolences over Petal's death, and praised the example set by the Philadelphia Zoo's staff in keeping her healthy for so long...
2008-06-10 - Pittsburgh, United States. Allison M. Heinrichs
The oldest African elephant in a U.S. zoo won't be coming to Western Pennsylvania for her retirement. Petal, 52, died at the Philadelphia Zoo Monday morning. She was scheduled to come to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's International Conservation Center in Somerset County with two other elephants at the end of the summer. "They called and let us know right away," said Pittsburgh Zoo spokeswoman Tracy Gray. "It doesn't change anything on our end. The plan to relocate the other two elephants is...
2008-06-10 - Philadelphia, United States.
A 52-year old female African elephant at the Philadelphia Zoo died Monday morning, the zoo said. Called Petal, the elephant was one of three African elephants scheduled to be moved to a new preserve outside Pittsburgh. The death will not affect the transfer of the two remaining elephants to the Pittsburgh Zoo's International Conservation Center, which should take place by late summer or early fall, a Philadelphia Zoo spokeswoman said. The zoo said it expects testing to determine Petal's cause of...
2008-06-10 - Pennsylvania, United States.
A large genetic study of the extinct woolly mammoth has revealed that the species was not one large homogenous group, as scientists previously had assumed, and that it did not have much genetic diversity. "The population was split into two groups, then one of the groups died out 45,000 years ago, long before the first humans began to appear in the region," said Stephan C. Schuster, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and a leader of the research team. "This di...
2008-06-08 - Seattle, United States.
Wind, rain and bitter cold could not keep five determined women from sending their message to Woodland Park Zoo: An elephant never forgets. Bruce Bohmke, the deputy director of the zoo, disagreed. "They are not aware of the facts, or not using the facts accurately," he said. "About a month and a half ago, we met with these women and told them all about herpes, and that you can't pass herpes through artificial insemination, but that's not what they're saying today."Instead, Bohmke said that depri...
2008-06-08 - St. Louis, United States. Daniel Durchholz
Circus Flora is named after Flora the elephant, who formerly performed but is now retired at the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennesee. The show still features animal acts. This edition includes a group of large horses used for bareback riding stunts and well as miniature horses trained by Lisa Dufresne. There's also a herd of goats that perform a humorous turn led by trainer Carlos Svenson.
2008-06-08 - St. Louis , United States.
A few years ago, Mahlon B. Wallace III of Ladue, a retired pencil company executive, rancher, wildlife art collector and philanthropist, purchased a small bronze statue by the noted wildlife sculptor Kent Ullberg. "Reaching Elephant," it was called, an African bull elephant browsing in an acacia tree.
2008-06-08 - Oklahoma City , United States. Carrie Coppernoll
The Asian elephants at the Oklahoma City Zoo are moving to Tulsa in the coming days, and zookeepers are busy preparing them for the trip. Elephants Asha and Chandra will breed with the male Sneezy at the Tulsa Zoo. “It’s something that’s very hard as a keeper — to see your animals leave,” said Toni Sibilla, one of the elephant keepers. But, she said, it’s an exciting time. The sister elephants could both become pregnant and give birth in Oklahoma City.
2008-06-08 - Wakeeney, United States. Tim Unruh
Two spooked elephants on the loose capped a day of severe weather here Thursday and led to the cancellation of a circus, said Trego County Sheriff Richard Schneider. The pachyderms were preparing to perform with the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus at the Trego County Fairgrounds when tornado sirens sounded. The sirens are believed to have caused the elephants to bolt from their tethers, Schneider said.
2008-06-07 - Fairhope, United States. KECIA BA
Pittsburgh Zoo administrators are taking advantage of construction-friendly weather to work toward finishing a barn for bull elephants to be brought to a new breeding center in Somerset County this year. “It’s moving along very well,” zoo spokeswoman Tracy Gray said. “Construction is underway.” By August, the center should be complete at a 724-acre former game preserve that the zoo is turning into an International Conservation Center. African elephants are the first on a list of endang...
2008-06-06 - Jackson, United States.
The Jackson Zoological Park is seeking qualified applicants for keeper positions in our African area of the zoo. This area includes hoof stock, rhinos, primates and elephants. Keepers are responsible for the daily husbandry, exhibit upkeep, environmental enrichment and on going conditioning of animals in the area. Requirements: 1 year of elephant experience in a hands on elephant program. Prefer individual with experience in operant conditioning and a degree in related field.
2008-06-05 - Miami, United States.
This position is responsible for the management of animals and staff assigned to the Asian section of the zoo as well as African and Asian elephants. Staff consists of 3 Sr. Zookeepers and approximately 12 Zookeepers. Duties include scheduling, payroll, coordination of procedures with veterinary and maintenance staff, and development and review of animal husbandry procedures including diets and enrichment. The animal collection is primarily mammals (elephant, rhino, hoofstock and large carnivore...
2008-06-05 - New York, United States. Larry Greenemeier
An animal welfare group charges that eBay sales of ivory are brisker than ever a year after the online marketplace promised to restrict the sale of products made from animal teeth and tusks—many of which come from endangered species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), based in Washington, D.C., is urging eBay to ban—not simply restrict—all such sales on its Web market.
2008-06-05 - Wichita, United States.
Two elephants that broke loose from a traveling circus are back in custody in Kansas. The elephants were apparently spooked by severe weather that moved across the state today and got out of their enclosures. They wandered into the town of WaKeeney. One ended up in a resident's backyard less than a mile from the Trego County Fairgrounds. It was blocked off by fire trucks until its trainers could coax it onto a truck. The second elephant was tranquilized in another resident's backyard, coaxed int...
2008-06-05 - Pittsburgh, United States. Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Willie Theison, elephant manager at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, shows some affection to Nan, one of two pregnant elephants at the zoo.Two new elephants will soon be born at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, one maybe this weekend and probably within the next week, and the second also possible at any time. The pachyderm bundles of joy -- each expected to tip the baby scales at more than 200 pounds -- will be born to two 25-year-old females, Moja and Savannah, also known as Nan, impregnate...
2008-05-31 - Vallejo, United States.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is seeking qualified applicants for a full time Senior Level Elephant Trainer. These elephants are managed in a free contact system. Senior Level Elephant Trainer responsibilities include but are not limited to participation in elephant training programs, daily care and feeding of elephants in the collection, maintenence of elephant exhibit and night house, public presentations, elephant rides, assisting veterinary staff, good working knowledge of tools and farm equip...
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is seeking qualified applicants for a full time elephant trainer. These elephants are managed in a free contact system. Trainer responsibilities include but are not limited to participation in animal training programs, daily care and feeding of the elephants in the collection, maintenence of the elephant exhibit and night house, behavioral observations, record keeping, animals enrichment and training, public presentations, elephant rides and operation of farm equipmen...
2008-05-31 - Raleigh, United States. Martha Quillin
The N.C. Zoological Park enjoyed record attendance over Memorial Day weekend, and state tourism officials think the milestone portends a good year for the travel industry. Zoo spokesman Rod Hackney said 32,732 people came to see the elephants, chimpanzees and their neighbors over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. That tops the previous Memorial Day weekend record of 25,806 in 2005. Hackney attributed the turnout to good weather, wide publicity of the zoo's improved elephant and rhino habitat, ...
2008-05-30 - Wichita, United States.
The Sedgwick County Zoo has unveiled its plans for the future, which should mean new animals and a lot of changes at the popular attraction. If the zoo has its way, there could be a multi-million dollar walk-through elephant exhibit, a new events center that could seat 2,000 people and an aquatic complex.
2008-05-27 - Anchorage, United States. Sean Doogan
Alaskans keep asking for updates on Maggie the elephant -- folks just can't seem to get enough. Maggie has joined the herd of four other African elephants at the Performing Animal Welfare Society, or P.A.W.S., Sanctuary in California. Maggie has made friends with a pachyderm named Lulu Bell. But Pat Derby, P.A.W.S. co-founder, says Maggie is fitting in well with all of the elephants and is now a full-fledged member of the herd. "She loves this big habitat, she's learned how to knock down ...
2008-05-22 - Pittsburgh, United States.
2008-05-20 - Polk City, United States. Keith Baker
Firefighters in Polk County scrambled to keep a herd of elephants safe from flames this afternoon. It was just after 2:30 when a wildfire flared up about a quarter-mile east of the Barnum & Bailey Circus Elephant Farm, off Old Grade Road. Fire crews positioned themselves at the elephant farm to protect the animals, while a separate crew fought flames in a nearby wooded area with backhoes and other earth-moving equipment.
2008-05-19 - Beaverton, United States.
The white-haired man rises from morning coffee, pushing hard on his cane, summoning his 90-year-old legs to stand. The time has come to explain his life -- beyond Packy, the beloved elephant he delivered 46 years ago at today's Oregon Zoo. Matthew Maberry has never been much of a talker. A smart farm boy reared in a small Washington town, the Beaverton man would rather be lost in books or outside among animals
2008-05-18 - Washington, United States.
A new WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) study of conflict between humans and wild elephants in Africa and Asia has suggested that governments could save human lives and millions of dollars in crop and income losses for the rural poor through better consideration of the needs of wildlife. According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), the study found the most serious conflict and harm to both human communities and elephants resulted from unplanned and unregulated development.
2008-05-16 - Imperial, United States.
When the standard summer day trips all seem run of the mill, why not do a little time traveling and jump back, oh, 10,000 or 15,000 years? The Mastodon State Historic Site at Imperial boasts one of the most extensive Pleistocene Ice Age deposits in the nation. Known as the Kimmswick bone bed, this important archaeological site was discovered in the early 1800s. It contains bones of mastodons and other now-extinct animals that once roamed the area now known as Jefferson County.
2008-05-16 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is beginning to resemble a maternity ward. Days after the birth of a baby tiger, the zoo is just weeks away from the arrival of not one but two baby elephants. This is the first time that two of the zoo's elephants will deliver within a month of each other. The first one could come as early as May 28. After 22 months gestation, it has been a long wait, zoo officials said.
2008-05-16 - Houma, United States. Mark Bahm
In this book, Adrienne Mayor, a classicist specializing in ancient folklore, contends that the Greeks and Romans had a much more-extensive knowledge of the fossil remains of extinct animals than is usually admitted by modern writers. Though extinct except in Africa by historical times, elephants had once been fairly common in the Mediterranean basin. The ancients are known to have found their remains, and these remains have a couple of peculiarities that may well have given rise to the Cyclops m...
2008-05-15 - Guruvayur, United States.
The Guruvayur Devaswom is all set to launch the first mahout training school in the state. The Devaswom will conduct a two-year certificate course at Punnathur Anakotta to mould professional mahouts. The traditional elephant physician Avanaparambu Maheswaran Namboothiripad, retired veterinary experts KC Panicker, KN Muraleedharan and other expert vets from the wildlife and forest departments will be the guest faculties. Devaswom Minister G Sudhakaran will inaugurate the Devaswom School of Mahout...
2008-05-15 - San Francisco, United States.
No doubt, Ruby--with her fabled elephant's memory--has not forgotten that this is her first anniversary at PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas. One year ago today, the Los Angeles Zoo's female African elephant, Ruby, left behind her solitary off-exhibit barn, and controversy over her fate, for retirement at the bucolic northern California sanctuary. From all reports, the move was a success. "Ruby is the most delightful elephant," said Pat Derby, co-founder of PAWS. "And she's been a catalyst for harmo...
2008-05-15 - Little Rock, United States.
Wild Week continues here at Today's THV. Thursday at 10:00 we're taking you on a safari without ever leaving Arkansas. Scott and Heidi Riddle opened Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in 1990. Now eight elephants call 367 acres home. The goal Scott says is to provide a safe haven for these animals and so much more. The non-profit sanctuary also gives the public a unique opportunity for an "up-close and personal" elephant experience. People from across the U.S. come here for a wild weekend....
2008-05-14 - Ruskin, United States. Dom Yodice
Here is one of the best "Foot in Face" photos I have ever seen. It's Ringling-Barnum 1951 with Arky Scott, the wonderful Jeanne Sleeter and of course "Minyak".
2008-05-14 - Dallas, United States. JOANNA CATTANACH
Dallas Zoo's elephant exhibit re-opened Wednesday, two days after the zoo's oldest elephant died. A necropsy showed that KeKe, 39, had died of a congestive heart failure, zoo officials said. She had been ill for a couple of weeks and was being treated for intestinal colic at the time of her death.
2008-05-14 - Seattle, United States. CLARE HODGSON
A year after Hansa's death, we are still grieving the loss of our beloved baby elephant. From the moment she was born in November 2000, Hansa was a hit, doubling attendance at the Woodland Park Zoo. People were captivated by her toddler-like behavior, running around the elephant barn, trying to fit her whole body into a small plastic tub and dribbling her blue ball like a budding soccer star. What a joyful escape from our busy lives to watch the portly little pachyderm having so much fun.
2008-05-14 - Syracuse, United States.
The state is reminding officials at a Syracuse zoo that regulations prohibit visitors from touching the zoo’s three elephants. Department of Environmental Conservation officials notified the Rosamond Gifford Zoo last month that it can’t allow visitors to pet the elephants during demonstrations with the pachyderms’ trainer. The DEC regulations say holders of endangered and threatened species licenses are required to prevent such contact.
2008-05-14 - Subrahmanya, United States.
Much admired female elephant of Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple, Indumathi, breathed her last on Monday night after a brief illness. Final tributes were paid to the 58-year-old elephant at Nakshatravana on the banks of river Kumaradhara on Tuesday. Indumathi had recovered from a sore on its stomach recently; but she was suffering from indigestion for the past two days. Unable to respond to the treatments of senior doctor Dr Venkatachalapathy, she passed away at 11.40 pm on Monday, leaving thousands...
2008-05-13 - Sault Ste. Marie , United States.
Viola is just one of the main attractions that the Garden Bros Circus will showcase during four Sault Ste. Marie shows Tuesday and Wednesday at the Steelback Centre. Viola and her mates were outback enjoying a meal of hay Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the show. "She's the largest performing female elephant in the world" Ian Garden, President and Ringmaster of Garden Bros. Circus."She tips the scales at 11,000 pounds"
2008-05-13 - St. Paul , United States. PAUL WALSH
The trail of trade in animal parts (including pieces of monkeys and rhinos) from Southeast Asia leads to a Hmong market in St. Paul. In a clash of culture, profit and international law, two east-metro women are accused of smuggling into Minnesota and selling at a Hmong marketplace in St. Paul a host of products derived from various protected wildlife, including elephant, leopard, leaf monkey and weasel.
2008-05-13 - Los Angeles, United States.
There's nothing like an elephant... in a zoo... to get many Angelenos riled up. Should the elephants stay or should they go? And what about that $40-million new elephant habitat under construction? Today, City News Service reports that a lawsuit filed to close the Los Angeles Zoo's current elephant exhibit and stop the construction of a new one was dismissed. In the suit filed last Aug. 2 against the city and zoo director John Lewis, actor Robert Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider maintaine...
2008-05-13 - Dallas, United States. JOANNA CATTANACH
KeKe, a 39-year-old African elephant, was euthanized Monday afternoon at the Dallas Zoo after suffering from intestinal problems. "The circle of life goes on here every day." KeKe's death calls into question the future of the zoo's other elephant, Jenny, 31. Zoo officials said they do not expect to keep her by herself long-term, because elephants are herding animals that seek companionship. They said they do not know yet whether she will be transferred, or whether another elephant will be brough...
2008-05-13 - Dallas, United States.
"Keke," an elephant at the Dallas Zoo, died late Monday afternoon after veterinarians worked throughout the day to treat her. The Dallas Zoo closed the elephant exhibit Monday to treat Keke, who had colic. Zoo officials said the 30-something pachyderm ate some rocks, which led to her stomach problems. Veterinarians were planning to use a crane to lift KeKe to her feet for a more thorough evaluation of her situation.
2008-05-12 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo on Monday closed its elephant exhibit in order to treat ailing KeKe. According to a news release issued by the zoo, the 39-year-old female African elephant has a severe case of intestinal colic. Zoo veterinarians and zookeepers have been treating her symptoms for more than 10 days and have consulted with experts throughout the country for additional methods to help her, according to the release. Zookeepers had recently noticed problems when KeKe refused to eat. Following treatment...
2008-05-06 - Oakland, United States.
Job Requirements: Minimum of six months experience in the care of captive elephants in a zoological setting is a must. Inquiries not meeting minimum requirements will not receive a response. Position Responsibilities: The elephant keeper is responsible for the physical health and psychological well being of the animals directly under his/her care. Work ranges from the physical tasks associated with feeding and maintenance of living areas to more analytical tasks. The elephant keeper is expected ...
2008-05-05 - Seattle, United States. KATHY MULADY
A sick elephant at Woodland Park Zoo has prompted her keepers to close the elephant barn temporarily to give the recuperating animal some peace and quiet. Watoto, a 39-year-old African elephant, apparently has colic, but is on medication and responding well, a spokeswoman for the zoo said. The elephant's appetite and activity level are returning to normal. Two other elephants, Chai and Bamboo, are still making their usual appearances in the yard. Chai, who is close to Watoto, is allowed to retur...
2008-05-02 - Washington, United States.
An upsurge of elephant poaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in the killing of 14 elephants in the past two weeks by militias, the military, and local villagers. Four were felled by an ex-Rwandan Hutu FDLR militia, formerly known as Interahamwe. Three elephants were murdered by the local Mai-Mai militia (PARECO), five by the Congolese military (FARDC), and two by local villagers. From eastern Congo’s Virunga National Park where the slaughter occurred, Emmanuel de Morode,...
2008-05-01 - Columbus, United States. Maria Sisti
Visitors to the Columbus Zoo got their first look on Tuesday at three female Asian elephants from the Buffalo Zoo. Buki, Surapa and Jothi took up temporary quarters earlier this month at the 40,000-square-foot elephant exhibit in Columbus while the Buffalo Zoo's Elephant House undergoes an expansion. Zookeepers had kept them quarantined for two weeks after their long road trip.
2008-04-30 - Montgomery, United States. Montgomery Zoo
The Montgomery Zoo is proud to announce the elephant calf born November 9, 2007 has been named. The elephant calf’s beautiful name is Makena, which means “happy one” in Swahili, an African language. The name was selected through an election held during Zoo Weekend. The names on the ballot were: Tongie submitted by the elephant keepers; Makena submitted by the Montgomery Area Zoological Society; and Sapo and Makuzi submitted by Lowry Park Zoo. The sire elephant is on loan to the Montgomery ...
2008-04-30 - Portland, United States. ERIC MORTENSON
The polar bears are pacing, the elephants need more elbow room and the chimps are treated like chumps, with no running water, no forest canopy and no neighboring wildlife to screech at in their sterile habitat at The Oregon Zoo. That's according to zoo director Tony Vecchio, and so Metro, the regional planning agency that owns the zoo, is likely to ask voters to approve a $117 million bond measure on the November ballot. The money would give major animals more room and more interesting space, in...
2008-04-29 - Oakland , United States. Kristin Bender
Eating, sleeping, mating and showing off for their fans. That's an elephant's life in a nutshell. On Saturday, the Oakland Zoo offers visitors a once-a-year, behind-the-scenes tour of the elephant barn and an opportunity to learn about the zoo's progressive elephant management program. Zoo spokesman Nicky Mora said people will see the daily care and feeding inside the elephant barn, which normally is not visible to the public.
2008-04-28 - Bangor, United States. Anne Ravana
An elephant grazing on hay outside the Bangor Auditorium caused drivers to do a double take as they drove down Buck Street on Friday afternoon. The Anah Temple’s 45th annual Shrine Circus was in town for the weekend and drew thousands of families to its Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances. Ringmaster Charley Van Buskirk, in a red velvet tuxedo with tails, returned to lead his 37th Bangor show, which featured 12 acts and performers from around the world. About 4,000 people attended Saturda...
2008-04-27 - Toledo, United States.
This morning Louie the elephant celebrated his 5th birthday with a morning bath followed by birthday cake, filled with treats any elephant would enjoy. Toledo Zoo is celebrating a special day. Little Louie the elephant is turning 5. This morning Louie got his morning bath followed by birthday cake, filled with treats any elephant would enjoy.
2008-04-26 - Cape Cod, United States. K.C. MYERS
For years, well-known scrimshander Charles Manghis has displayed, sold and demonstrated the art of scrimshaw on the island. But he may have just added a black mark to the historic art form. The 53-year-old was charged Thursday in federal court on several counts of smuggling elephant ivory and sperm whale teeth into Nantucket, where it was sold. The U.S. Department of Justice indictment describes how Manghis worked with a Ukrainian man, Andriy Mikhalyov, to arrange sending elephant ivory and sper...
2008-04-26 - Maryland, United States.
The Zoo's new baby elephant has a name: Sampson! At a press conferance this moring with the Mayor and Governor Maryland Zoo announced that Felix's baby boy had a new name. The calf was born in late March of this year and people all over the state have been voting on the new name. Zoo officials say Sampson and his mom are both doing very well.
2008-04-26 - New Bedford, United States.
Buttonwood Park Zoo invites the public to meet the zoo's new director, Dr. William Langbauer, during a wine and cheese reception on Tuesday. As the first presenter in the zoo's "Creatures Great and Small" spring lecture series, Dr. Langbauer will entertain with stories from Africa as he recounts his research among elephants — captive and wild, sober and drunken. Dr. Langbauer is one of three researchers who discovered that elephants make sounds that humans can't hear (infrasound), which has ma...
2008-04-25 - Guwahati, United States.
The elephant which dislocated its hip joint after falling 30 feet into a pit continued to writhe in agony for the second day today as experts continued to mull the mercy killing option. The principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), M.C. Malakar, said he had instructed his officials to take all necessary steps to save the elephant. “The condition of the elephant is deteriorating. We will take a final decision only after the experts submit the report,” he said.
2008-04-25 - Los Angeles , United States.
Forty-seven-year-old African elephant Ruby, who garnered enormous media attention last year when she left the Los Angeles Zoo for the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Elephant Sanctuary near Sacramento, Calif., will celebrate her one year “retirement” anniversary on May 3, 2008. As part of the celebration, Ruby will receive a visit from Project OneSong and Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan (RFCPP) foster children (sponsored by Project OneSong) who will also present PAWS with an ...
2008-04-25 - New York, United States.
Are elephants your thing? Do you know Echo? Echo is perhaps the most famous elephant in the world. The story of her life, as well as those of her family members (herd) are recorded in the historic three documentaries presented in this fascinating set from BBC. In addition there are five other elephant specials, making this an elephant information source of gigantic proportions. Researcher Cynthia Moss has followed Echo the matriarch of a herd of African elephants and her family for over 30 y...
2008-04-21 - Vallejo, United States. Linda Goldston
Sixty-eight-year-old Taj likes to nap in the pool, resting her nose on the far end. "She's a year younger than my mom, so she's part of my extended family," said Steve Johnson, supervisor of the park's Elephant Encounter, who has worked with Taj for 28 years. Taj, a former circus elephant who has been at the park since 1978, cares for the younger elephants the same way female elephants do in the wild. One of seven elephants at the park, she weighs 9,000 pounds and stands 8 1/2 feet tall but is s...
2008-04-20 - Memphis, United States. Cindy Wolff
Past the towering, white animal sculptures, beyond the totems and the serene sound of water spilling into itself, just there on the left at the Memphis Zoo, Fred sprawls in the grass, sound asleep as the sun warms his golden fur. The 325-pound African lion, who turns 18 in July, is uninterested in the record number of visitors that entered his fiefdom last year. Gone are the concrete cages and metal bars where big cats spent years pacing in the Carnivora building, bored and touching nothing natu...
2008-04-19 - Lima, United States. EDWARD HUSAR
Thousands of years ago, the seed of a mystery was planted when a hulking, furry creature the size of a modern-day elephant keeled over and died along a bluff in the northwest corner of Adams County. The carcass of this giant mastodon, a prehistoric species that roamed Illinois until about 11,000 years ago, eventually disappeared, covered by the erosive forces of nature and the sands of time. Then one day in 1957, a farmer named Arthur Andrew was walking along the bluff, several miles southeast o...
2008-04-19 - , United States.
A hard-hitting public awareness campaign to help protect seals, whales and elephants is being run by The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Animals on the Underground. The campaign will feature ads on 224 sites across the London Underground network from April 21 for two weeks. Members of the public are being asked to send a text message to help protect these threatened or endangered species. Tens of thousands of endangered elephants continue to be threatened by the illegal ivory tr...
2008-04-18 - Powell, United States.
The Columbus Zoo announced Friday that one of its elephants is expecting. Zookeepers said that they paired Phoebe with Coco last spring, hoping for the best. "We had a good feeling about it at the time," said Harry Peachey, the zoo's elephant manager. "That was in June 2007. We kind of had a feeling she was pregnant all of that time." Phoebe is expected to deliver in March 2009, completing the near two-year pregnancy. When she gave birth to Bhodi four years ago, it took a little more than 21 mo...
2008-04-16 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham
There will be no gawking at elephants this summer at the Buffalo Zoo. Two of the three female Asian elephants were transported to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Sunday night to make way for expansion of the Elephant House, and the third followed them to Ohio on Monday night. They won’t be back until summer’s end — at the soonest. Donna M. Fernandes, president and CEO, said the zoo accepted the offer of temporary shelter from the Columbus Zoo, in suburban Powell, Ohio, after deciding agai...
2008-04-15 - Asheboro, United States. AZA
Successful candidate will be assigned to the Watani Grasslands section, working with African Elephants and/or White Rhinoceros, a variety of African Antelope, and some African Birds, including Ostrich. The primary focus of this position will be African Elephants. Must have a basic knowledge of elephant natural history and husbandry to include feeding, nutrition, record-keeping, restraint, and safety. Knowledge of operant conditioning and/or environmental enrichment skills, basic computer knowled...
2008-04-15 - Buffalo, United States. Eileen Buckley
You might say the Buffalo Zoo's three female Asian elephants are on vacation. They were transported to the Columbus Zoo in Ohio so renovation work to the Zoo's elephant house can begin. WBFO'S Eileen Buckley talked to one Zoo official about the elephants move and changes to their living space. Click the "listen" icon above to hear Eileen Buckley's interview now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.
2008-04-15 - New York, United States. Helen Briggs
Moeritherium, an ancient ancestor of the elephant from 37 million years ago lived in water and had a similar lifestyle to a hippo, a fossil study has suggested. The animal was said to be similar to a tapir, a hoofed mammal which looks like a cross between a horse and a rhino.
2008-04-14 - Jacksonville, United States. ASHLEY BELAND
It's a story that those familiar with the game of love can relate to: Moki and Chana are at odds with each other over a guy, but he can't seem to choose between the two of them. This particular love triangle is between three African elephants at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, whose relationships will hopefully yield offspring to help sustain their species.
2008-04-12 - Sacramento, United States. Steve Wiegand
Winky is dead, and I digress today from the usual politics-and-government nonsense in this space to recount her life, mourn her passing and offer her a belated apology. Winky was an Asian elephant. She was euthanized early Monday at the Ark 2000 animal sanctuary operated by the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in the rolling foothills near San Andreas. She was 56, which is old for an elephant in captivity and an age that made her one of the oldest elephants in the United States. For year...
2008-04-11 - Panorama City , United States. Rob Hayes
A circus in Panorama City is missing its elephants, and they are not coming back. They were ordered removed by the city of Los Angeles. But why? It's got the big top, it's got the tigers, but Circus Vazquez no longer has its elephants. A new set of rules in L.A. cracks down on handlers of dangerous animals who have been cited recently for federal animal welfare act violations.
2008-04-10 - Lincoln, United States.
Morrill hall has the largest mounted mammoth in the world and one of the world's premiere collections of fossil elephants. And like those elephants that never forget, folks will remember their visit here. Nebraska was once home to mammoths and a rich natural history. This week's One Tank Trip takes us to Morrill Hall on the campus of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. "We have something amazing around every corner here at Morrill Hall. People will see where we came from and where we're going ...
2008-04-09 - California, United States.
Winky the elephant will be cremated, and her ashes will be scattered over the California sanctuary where she lived for the past three years, a Detroit Zoo official said Tuesday. For years, Winky and an elephant named Wanda were major draws at the zoo. In 2005, they made a controversial move to California after their keepers decided that holding elephants in a small exhibit was inhumane and unhealthy. Winky, 56, was euthanized Monday after her arthritis made her unable to stand. Officials say Wan...
2008-04-09 - Milwaukee, United States. DINESH RAMDE
Brittany wields her paintbrush with confidence, slapping it roughly against the canvas to produce streaks of green or smears of orange. With apparent pride, she steps back, inspects her work — and extends her trunk to receive a freshly loaded paintbrush. Brittany, an African elephant, is doing her small part to pay her way at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Her artwork is sold at the zoo's gift shop to raise funds. This painting pachyderm is far from the only artistic animal in captivity. For years ...
2008-04-09 - Connecticut, United States. Samantha Grasso
The International Elephant Foundation, a nonprofit corporation working to support the long-term survival of elephants, has announced a slew of new conservation initiatives. The IEF uses its resources to fund a variety of national and international research and conservation projects. Each year, through its grant program, the foundation allocates resources to 10 additional projects, chosen from a pool of proposals. This year, 15 projects will be aimed at habitat protection, anti-poaching, ecotouri...
2008-04-08 - Miami, United States.
Miami Metro Zoo is looking for a career minded team player to join our elephant management program. The chosen candidate will be part of a team responsible for all aspects of husbandry for 1.1 Asian and 1.2 African elephants. This position requires 1 year of elephant experience and/or a combination of experience and related coursework. To apply all candidates must apply online at www.miamidade.gov and submit a copy of their resume to Miami Metro Zoo c/o Randall Tucker 12400 sw 152 st Miami FL 33...
2008-04-08 - Honolulu, United States.
It is not a scene from an animal version of the "Biggest Loser," there is a whole other reason our elephants were weighed in Tuesday. With the help of a truck scale, Honolulu Zoo keepers weighed in two Asian elephants named Mari and Vaigai. Mari weighed in at 10,200 pounds while her buddy Vaigai weighed in at 9,750 pounds. Zoo officials said the weigh-in happens twice a year for a couple of reasons.
2008-04-08 - Perris, United States. JULISSA McKINNON
To the delight of 70-plus onlookers, Tai the Perris elephant appears to have helped a bubble artist set a new Guinness world record Tuesday, becoming the largest land mammal to be wrapped in a bubble. Initially bubble artist Fan Yang had scheduled the world record attempt for public view at the Santa Ana Discovery Science Center but science center officials canceled the event after animal-rights advocates criticized the center for treating a critically endangered species in a "trivial and sensat...
2008-04-08 - Baltimore, United States.
He's three weeks old, weighs in at 300 pounds and remains very close to his mother. But he doesn't have a name! So, Maryland Zoo officials are inviting the public to help name the first-ever African elephant born at the zoo. From April 9-13, zoo visitors can place a name suggestion in one of three naming boxes located on zoo grounds. The boxes will be located in Schaefer Plaza near the main entrance, at the Tram Stop near Polar Bear Watch and at the Elephant Overlook. "A male elephant name shoul...
2008-04-07 - San Andreas, United States. Elizabeth Bishop
Winky the elephant who lived at the Sacramento Zoo for nearly 40 years died early this morning at the PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas, according to a PAWS spokeswoman. Winky had been suffering from joint problems. Over the weekend, she had slid to her hind quarters and could not get up. Attempts were made to save her life, but she could not stand so veterinarians decided to euthanize her. Winky was born in 1952 and was one of the oldest elephants in the U.S. She had lived at the Sacramento Zoo unt...
2008-04-06 - Raleigh, United States.
The N.C. Zoo opened the gates Saturday on its first major addition in more than 10 years. It's an expansion of its elephant and rhinoceros exhibit called the Watani Grasslands Reserve, an $8.5 million project paid for mostly with private donations. It will increase the number of elephants from three to seven. The expansion also triples the number of rhinos and will allow for four times the antelopes. What the average visitor to the park will notice is a sudden proximity to the elephants. One hig...
2008-04-06 - San Diego, United States. Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
The elephant show at the Wild Animal Park, an attraction at Tembo Stadium since 1977, the most popular show in park history, will close Sunday. Ranchipur, Sunita, Cookie, Mary and Cha-Cha are set to be transported down the freeway to the San Diego Zoo to join three elephants there in a new exhibit. The combined herd will share 2.5 acres -- part of a $44-million project called Elephant Odyssey that will cover seven acres and include tree sloths, jaguars, lions, birds, tapirs, camels, turtles, pro...
2008-04-06 - Oklahoma City, United States. Carrie Coppernoll
ASHA and Chandra don't know what they're in for. Asha and Chandra will leave the zoo in June to breed with the male Sneezy at the Tulsa Zoo. Their return hinges on two timelines: conception and construction. If they breed quickly, the females could be back within two years and be the first elephants to give birth at the Oklahoma City Zoo. But the date of their return depends on whether their new habitat can be finished while they're away. Their new home will be in the $16 million Asia exhibit, a...
2008-04-05 - Tulsa, United States.
Scientists and zoo officials are pinning their hopes on the virility of the 34-year-old Asian elephant at the Tulsa Zoo. In June, the two female Asian elephants at the Oklahoma City Zoo will be moved to Tulsa to breed with Sneezy and, if all goes well, pass their genes on to the next generation. But beyond the next generation, scientists hope Sneezy will help them solve a puzzle that would improve elephant diversity in the United States. Sneezy and his handlers have been working for years to con...
2008-04-04 - Perris, United States. JULISSA McKINNON
Despite controversy and previous cancellation, an elephant-in-a-bubble show apparently must go on. This time the stunt, which involves encasing a 4-ton Perris elephant in a soap bubble, is scheduled for an undisclosed time and place and requires an invitation to attend. Bubble artist Fan Yang's earlier plan to perform the world-record-setting feat at the Santa Ana Discovery Science Center's Bubblefest fell apart when the science institution came under fire from animal-rights groups for using a c...
2008-04-04 - Asheboro, United States.
It took the North Carolina Zoo 10 years to complete. But this weekend officials are celebrating the grand opening of the brand new Watani Grasslands Reserve. Its an $8.5 million expansion and improvement project for the zoos African Elephant and Southern White Rhinoceros. Friday was more than a ribbon cutting event, and more educational than a few good speeches. It was a new gateway to a bigger-than-life experience. Its the biggest exhibit weve built probably in 15 years, said one zoo official.
2008-04-03 - Portland, United States.
Demolition began today at the site of Portland-based nonprofit Mercy Corps’ new global headquarters in Old Town’s Skidmore Fountain Building (28 SW 1st Avenue, just off West Burnside Street). And when contractors Marsh Construction Co. began taking down the upper sections of the north wall, the first thing to go was a mural, by Portland artist Eric Parsons, of Packy, Portland Zoo’s famous Asian elephant.
2008-04-03 - Greenbrier, United States.
Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary - The sanctuary, located near Greenbrier, is a non-profit home for any elephant that needs one regardless of species, gender or disposition. Established by Scott and Heidi Riddle, it is the only internationally recognized sanctuary and it currently houses Asian and African elephants. Elephant care and management are taught at this haven in the peaceful Arkansas countryside. Programs include Elephant Experience Weekends and an annual International School f...
2008-03-31 - Washington, United States.
Does the human species have mammoth blood on its hands? Scientists have long debated whether climate change or human hunting were primarily responsible for consigning the shaggy elephant relative to history. A new study uses climate models and fossil distribution to conclude that the woolly mammoth went extinct mainly because a warming climate, while hunting was the final straw.
2008-03-30 - Omaha, United States.
Opera Omaha's 1983 production of "Aida" will long be remembered for its elephant "stampede." More than 7,000 people packed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum for the opening night performance that year to see a spectacle that was supposed to include a parade of elephants, leopards and other animals. But one of the elephants, a 6-ton pachyderm named Toto, got a little too close to the audience. Toto was waiting for his cue to walk onstage for the Act 2 triumphal march. A platform was mounted on his back so ...
2008-03-30 - New Delhi, United States. YOJNA GUSAI
Scientists have discovered an unusual elephant repellent, which they claim can save hundreds of acres of paddy farms from the invasion of pachyderms. ARC-11511 will keep away elephant herds from attacking rice plantations in the country. After everything failed to bring down incidents of elephants marauding rice plantations, especially in the north-eastern parts of the country, scientists have come out with just the right thing to keep the pachyderm away from appetite-soaring rice fields. ARC 11...
2008-03-28 - Madera, United States. Jim Steinberg / The Fresno Bee
Trenton A. Parks, 92, of Madera spent his early childhood in Marshall, Ark., with a population of less than 2,000, then grew up to become a merchant mariner and travel the world. Marvin Parks said his father asked him in 1984 whether they could visit the San Diego Wild Animal Park. During his Merchant Marine days, he had brought a baby elephant from India, and remembered exercising it on the deck of the ship. The animal's trainer would allow longshoremen to feed and pet the elephant. Mr. Parks t...
2008-03-27 - Washington, United States. Angela Valdez
Kandula, the National Zoo’s 6-year-old bull elephant, began showing signs of a change a little over a year ago. He started spending more time away from his mother and lashing out at his toys. Keepers could see him flexing his growing muscles, occasionally flashing the whites of his eyes. Kandula was becoming an adolescent jerk. “He’s full of himself, like a teenage boy would be,” says Dr. Don Moore, associate director of animal care. Elephant manager Marie Galloway thinks Moore exaggerat...
2008-03-27 - Tucson, United States.
advertisementThe Randolph Park Zoo's bull elephant, Sabu, was not known for his good disposition. In fact, Sabu had almost been put down because of an earlier incident. But instead of a death sentence, Sabu got a new place to call home. In 1970, the City Council approved a major upgrading of zoo facilities, including a much-improved habitat for Sabu and his partner, Connie. On March 27, 1973, the new $61,000 enclosure was almost finished, and the pair would soon move in. At that time, the zoo, l...
2008-03-25 - Ruskin, United States. Williams Woodcock
This shot reminds me of pictures I took of Gunther and the RBBB parade going through NY'S Central Park in 1993, but it is so much more wonderful; it says so much. God bless the photographer who caught this wonderful moment! //Paul G.
2008-03-25 - Baltimore, United States. Joe Burris
No one knows for certain who's the father of the male elephant calf that was born last Wednesday at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, so any name ending in "Jr." is likely out of the question. But what do you call a 290-pound bundle of joy? That's a question posed to officials at the Druid Hill Park zoo. Amid the excitement, no name's been chosen just yet, and zoo spokeswoman Jane Ballentine said yesterday that officials there will decide soon whether to hold a naming contest for the African savann...
2008-03-24 - Massachusetts, United States. Derrick Perkins
Using satellite technology, a team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts track elephants across regions of conflict across Africa through the newly-founded nonprofit organization Elephants Without Borders. By attaching global positioning units on the African elephants, Curtice Griffin, a professor in the department of natural resources conservation, and his team of graduate students have followed the animals as they move across national borders on the path of their seasonal migrati...
2008-03-21 - Ruskin, United States.
Hello Mister Woodcock, Enclosed some photos. 1. photo forest elephantbull at Duesseldorf Zoo 30ties. -"Despite a full head of hair, I know Herr Hugo Schmitt when I see him." //Buckles -On the photo is Zoo director Rudolf Weber in Duesseldorf Zoo 1937//Filipe von Gilsa
2008-03-20 - Abington, United States. Mikaela Slaney
The show must go on. And now with the recent rejection of a bill last week that would have prohibited the use of elephants in traveling circuses, the Cole Brothers Circus will continue performances in Abington as it always has. If the bill had passed, opponents said it would have effectively banned circuses in the commonwealth after 80 years of performances. Bill supporters claimed elephants that perform in circuses have been beaten, chained and confined to dangerously small living areas. The Co...
2008-03-20 - Baltimore, United States. Karl B. Hille
Maryland Zoo staff were ecstatic and a little tired Thursday as they announced the healthy birth of a 290-pound, 42-inch-tall baby boy to their African elephant Felix Wednesday night. Thats big, even for an elephant, said Mike McClure, curator and elephant manager. Its tall for an elephant baby and he’s heavy, McClure said. Felix is a a petite elephant, and the fact she was able to pass a 290-pound calf is very impressive.Right now, the boy is bonding with his mom and staying warm inside the e...
2008-03-19 - Chongqing, United States.
Among the victims of a long ago era of climate change was the Stegodon Orientalis. It was a saber-toothed elephant that roamed Asia and Africa during the mid-Pleistocene Period. A complete skeleton of this long extinct species has been found in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Soon after the discovery last year, the remains proved to be the largest skeleton of the species ever found.
2008-03-19 - New York, United States.
The elephants and horses of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have invaded Manhattan. The pack of seven pachyderms and about 15 horses paraded through the Queens Midtown Tunnel early Wednesday morning on their way to Madison Square Garden on 34th Street, where they will appear in the "Over The Top" show. The lead elephant wore a "I love New York" blanket as some onlookers along the route watched the nearly 30-year tradition of marching the circus animals through the tunnel.
2008-03-18 - Gainesville, United States. Wellehan JF, Johnson AJ, Childress AL, Harr KE, Isaza R. University of Florida
The Afrotheria represent an early branching of placental mammals. Only two herpesviruses from Afrotheria have been previously identified, and the genus Proboscivirus in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae has been proposed for them. Six novel gammaherpesviruses were identified in four species in the superorder Afrotheria by detection and analysis of their DNA polymerase genes. Elephantid herpesvirus 3 (ElHV3) and Elephantid herpesvirus 4 (ElHV4) were identified from conjunctival swabs from Asian ele...
2008-03-18 - New York, United States.
If it's March, it must be time for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to come to town. And it must mean it's time for the annual Elephant Walk, too! This year's Elephant Walk will take place will be on Tuesday, March 18 into Wednesday March 19th, at midnight. The circus reaches New York City by way of train, stopping in Queens and head into Manhattan through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel for its stand at Madison Square Garden, so anywhere along 34th Street, between the tunnel and Manhatta...
2008-03-17 - Chicago, United States.
Alderman Mary Ann Smith is pushing for a city ordinance that would ban cruelty towards elephants. She came up with the idea last year after three elephants died at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but now it's an issue again because the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is planning its November run at the United Center.
2008-03-16 - Reno, United States. RAY HAGAR
Workers cleared out a warehouse last week in Sparks, where John Ascuaga’s Nugget had stored many relics of its 53-year history. The opening act for the showroom, and a Nugget tradition, was Bertha the elephant. Bertha died in 1999 at age 48 after appearing on stage for 37 consecutive years. Ascuaga bought Bertha in 1962 for $8,000 from a circus museum in Wisconsin and treated her like royalty, building her and her later stage partners, Tina and Angel, the Elephant Palace.
2008-03-16 - Athens, United States. Lauren Ricks
To see animals like elephants, llamas, tigers and camels, you only need to travel to the Henderson County Fair Park Complex on March 18. The Carson Barnes Circus will come to Athens that morning and begin setting up. The circus welcomes visitors to come watch the process and see the animals at no charge. It has 25 species of exotic and domestic animals. The elephants are trained to help the crew lift the 40-foot pole in the air for the 300-foot tent. It is the largest in the United States and ha...
2008-03-15 - New York, United States. Vibhuti Patel
Mohan's collection of black-and-white images, shot over six "very long" years, is now a handsome big-format book, "Vanishing Giants: Elephants of Asia" ( Editions Didier Millet), with a foreword by British environmentalist David Bellamy. In the cover image, a hand reaches out to hold an elephant's extended trunk, embodying the idea of relationship. Inside, most photos similarly focus on the tangled connection between man and beast. Some are loving: one memorable shot depicts an elephant "kissing...
2008-03-15 - Vallejo, United States.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is seeking qualified applicants for a full time Senior Level Elephant Trainer. These elephants are managed in a free contact system. Senior Level Elephant Trainer responsibilities include but are not limited to participation in elephant training programs, daily care and feeding of elephants in the collection, maintenance of elephant exhibit and night house, public presentations, elephant rides, assisting veterinary staff, good working knowledge of tools and farm equip...
2008-03-14 - Los Angeles, United States. Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times
The Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana has canceled a stunt in which an artist planned to surround an Asian elephant with a giant soap bubble after critics threatened to protest it as cruel and frivolous, the center announced Friday. “We wanted it to be good, clean family fun, so we’re taking away the part that seemed negative,” said spokeswoman Julie Smith, adding that the only change in plans is to take the elephant out of Tuesday’s show. The science center began reconsidering the s...
2008-03-14 - Ruskin, United States.
Anonymous said: Is there 36 elephants or are there more? Buckles said: At this point there were 51 elephants in quarters, no reason they wouldn't all be in this picture. The men in blue uniforms were Arky Scott, Smokey Jones, Hugo Schmitt and Louie Reed.
2008-03-14 - Louisville, United States. Ken Neuhauser
For your pachyderm pleasure, pack up your kids and head over to the Louisville Zoo for Scotty the African elephant's first birthday. Thanks to Coca-Cola, admission is only $1 (free for zoo members). The wingding will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow with the elephant staff weighing and measuring Scotty and treating him to a slice, er, a whole elephant-sized cake. Scotty, who weighed 285 pounds at birth and loves playing on logs and in the mud, will show off some of the training and behavior techniques ...
2008-03-14 - Los Angeles, United States.
Horton Hears a Who! is a 2008 CGI animated film based on the 1954 book by Dr. Seuss. It is set to be released on March 14, 2008. One day, Horton the elephant (Jim Carrey) hears a cry for help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can't see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors, who ...
2008-03-13 - Perris, United States.
Thai the elephant is days away from being surrounded by a bubble. Here is raw video of Thai and other elephants having a midday snack.
2008-03-13 - Ruskin, United States.
Buckles, here is another elephant on leash at Circus Knie. The calf tied to the mother is pretty common, but elephant man Ruppert Bemmerl seems to leading both by whip and leash. Thanks. Joey
2008-03-13 - San Diego , United States. Erin McCarthy
Jeffery Zuba, head veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, believes there is a way for African animal parks to preserve the environment without resorting to killing members of their resident herds. Along with colleagues at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Colorado University, Zuba has proposed using laparoscopic surgery—a minimally invasive procedure utilizing fiberoptic instruments—to permanently sterilize free-ranging elephants.
2008-03-13 - Hohenwald, United States. Patricia Feurer
In the early hours of yesterday morning while her sisters and caregivers slept, Delhi made her transition. Her passing was silent and peaceful, she passed without waking. We are all spending the day honoring our last precious hours with her; caregivers are still fussing around her, whispering quiet goodbyes. Misty carefully touched all over Delhi's body and then gently stepped over her, sheltering her dearly departed friend. We are honored to have been Delhi's caregivers, thankful to be loved by...
2008-03-12 - Little Rock, United States.
CURATOR (HOOFSTOCK AND ELEPHANTS) Provides supervision to assigned Zoo personnel, ensuring the proper care of animals and facilities in a designated section of the Zoo; determines dietary, environmental, and psychological needs of animals and species. PREFER: EXPERIENCE WITH ELEPHANTS AND HOOFSTOCK. Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Medicine, or related area, two (2) years of experience in the care of birds, carnivores, elephants, great apes, reptiles o...
2008-03-12 - Ely, United States.
White Pine High School hosted the Kerak Shrine Circus of Reno on Monday for the first time in four years. Two rings on the gym floor offered entertainment for children of all ages. The circus had performed at White Pine Middle School each of the last three years. Sponsored by the Kerak Shrine Center of Reno, the circus comes to Ely nearly every year.
2008-03-12 - Des Moines, United States.
Rosie will return to Des Moines this summer. And this time, she'll bring her baby. The 7,300-pound elephant drew large crowds when she visited Blank Park Zoo in 2000. Zoo officials have tried for three years to bring her back. "I'm amazed at the number of people who come to the zoo and say, 'Is Rosie coming back?' " said Terry Rich, chief executive officer of the zoo at 7401 S.W. Ninth St. Rosie has gained about 900 pounds since her last trip to Iowa. She is just short of 8 feet tall. Her 1,000-...
2008-03-12 - Sequim, United States. Avani Nadkarni
Helen Haller Elementary fifth-graders Austin Allen, Bailey Boyce and Rory Roberts crowded around a giant white mammoth tusk, a piece of ivory that is more than double their height, seven times their weight and about a thousand times their age. “That’s awesome!” Allen exclaimed, petting the fossil. The tusk was found almost exactly four years ago, when Rick and Linda Guenthner were taking a mid-January stroll on Port Williams beach with their Brittany spaniel, Belle. Belle spotted the strip...
2008-03-12 - Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times, United States.
Artist plans to encase Tai the elephant in a soapy sphere. Some call the stunt cruel. Tai the elephant is no stranger to fame. The 39-year-old female has a long resume: TV commercials, corporate parties and 20 movie credits. "She has such a reputation that people ask for her by name," said Kari Johnson, a co-owner of Have Trunk Will Travel. The company operates a ranch in Perris for nine endangered Asian elephants, which often work in show business. Tai is the most famous, she said. But as with ...
2008-03-12 - Carlsbad, United States. MARGA KELLOGG, North County Times
The tusk and molars of a giant prehistoric mastodon that were found in Carlsbad last year, will get new life Wednesday night. The rare finds, which are on display at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center through July, will be the centerpiece of a lecture by Tom Demere, curator of paleontology for the San Diego Natural History Museum. The lecture starts at 7 p.m. at the discovery center, 1580 Cannon Road, Carlsbad. The event is free.
2008-03-11 - Baltimore, United States. Ron Matz
You were not hallucinating Tuesday morning if you saw some elephants walking the streets in Downtown Baltimore. The greatest show on earth is stepping into town and everyone wants a close up look. The animal walk is a Baltimore tradition. The walk is a little over a mile long and it takes about 25 minutes, from the B&O Railroad Museum to the 1st Mariner Arena. "I feel like a little kid today. I'm going to watch the elephants march down the street, it's very unique" said Brad Hungerford, spectato...
2008-03-11 - Sebastopol, United States. Steve Rubenstein
Nancy Fiddler is cleaning out her garage in Sebastopol these days, which is the thing to do if your garage has a mastodon in it. Not just any mastodon, but a full-grown one. It's among the finest examples of a fossilized mastodon in North America, and certainly the finest example of one in a Sebastopol garage. Fiddler wants it gone. It's been in the family for 11 years, and that's long enough for the relationship to have run its course. "This," she said, pointing to the creature that fills half ...
2008-03-11 - Las Vegas, United States.
Popular “bubble scientist” Fan Yang, who has a show in Las Vegas, will attempt to set a world record March 18 by enclosing an 8,800-pound Asian elephant inside a bubble at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. Yang will use a customized wand to create a bubble large enough to enclose Tai, a 7-foot, 6-inch elephant that will be provided by Have Trunk Will Travel, a conservation and education group whose animals have appeared in many movies and TV shows.
2008-03-11 - , United States. Sarah Dobbs
Why do filmmakers spend so long creating scary sets for horror movies? Animals are scary. Horror movies (and books, and TV shows) said so. Here's your handy cut-out-and-keep guide to all the evil animals out there: E = Elephant. Four letters into the alphabet, and already I'm cheating. Elephants are one of the most obviously scary animals - they're huge!! - but there don't seem to have been many films about them killing people. Probably because it's expensive. An elephant did, however, get some ...
2008-03-10 - Asheboro, United States.
Successful candidate will be assigned to the Watani Grasslands section, working with African Elephants and/or White Rhinoceros, a variety of African Antelope, and some African Birds, including Ostrich. Specific animal assignment will depend on the section needs and the skills and experiences of the candidate. Regardless of primary assignment, candidate will be expected to assist working with the care of other species within the work unit.
2008-03-09 - Anchorage, United States. William J. Tobin
Don't know if the folks at the Alaska Zoo noticed, but the government of South Africa says it will start killing elephants because their herds have so increased in size that the land can't support the burgeoning numbers. Well, now. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to save a couple of baby African elephants from slaughter by offering them a home in Anchorage? When Maggie was removed to an animal park in California a few months ago, one of the rallying cries was that she was lonely — the only ...
2008-03-08 - Cambridge, United States. Juliana Rotich
In this issue of Global voices environment, we check in with various blogs around the world. Lets begin with South Africa (SA), where Elephant culling may soon return as a way to control the population of elephants in National parks. This was a banned practice, and it is still banned in other countries like Kenya. Richard Leakey of Wildlife Direct explains his position on the question. Is culling imminent for South African elephants? Reducing elephant populations may therefore, be a necessary pa...
2008-03-08 - San Fransisco, United States.
The ancient fossilized remains of the famous Rustler Ranch Mastodon are currently up for auction. The 1997 discovery in California of the mastodon (a relative of the woolly mammoth as well as the African elephant) was heralded around the country as a rare opportunity for paleontologists to study an early example of this near-complete, pre-historic fossil. So unique was this unearthing that the Oakland Museum of California and its Chief Curator Tom Stellar had it excavated and put on exhibition a...
2008-03-08 - Hamburg, United States.
The best part, is if you come early, you get to get up close and personal with some of the performers, like Mikea here. She's a 3,000 pound African Elephant
2008-03-06 - Allen, United States. KARIN SHAW ANDERSON
That warm October day last year, Allison – then 8 years old – pulled on her bright yellow galoshes and headed off to Waters Creek at the Day Spring Nature Preserve. She was on a mission to find fossils. Mom, Dad and a friend were in tow. "It was two days after a big storm," Allison remembered. The creek was high, and water pooled in gullies around the steep banks. Resting just below the surface was a rock-shaped object with rippled edges. Allison saw it first.
2008-03-06 - Galt, United States. LACEY PETERSON
"I have no Jelly Bellys, I'm so sorry Minn..." Pat Derby said as she nuzzled the 9,500 pound Asian elephant, Minnie. Elephants love Jelly Bellys. That is just one of the million things Pat Derby knows about elephants — things she learned solely from experience. Derby, 65, is the founder of the Performing Animal Welfare Society, which has three sanctuaries — 30 acres in Galt, 100 acres (The Amanda Blake Wildlife Refuge) in Herald, Sacramento County, and 2,300 acres (ARK 2000) in San Andreas.
2008-03-06 - Los Angeles, United States. Jan Westmark, Celebrity News Service
Two new shows make their television debuts Thursday night, giving people who are not fans of "American Idol" or "Lost" something to watch. Animal Planet will begin airing a series called "Elephant Diaries" and A and E is offering "Crime 360." "Elephant Diaries" is set in an elephant nursery in Kenya and focuses on the struggles of a herd of orphaned calves in their first year away from their families. The show shares facts about the elephants, the largest land mammals, along the way. The show ai...
2008-03-06 - Carlsbad, United States.
A mastodon fossil unearthed last year in northern Carlsbad has been allowed to visit home, temporarily. The ancient mammal's tusk and jaw bones are on display at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, at Faraday Avenue and Cannon Road, through July. The fossils are owned by the San Diego Natural History Museum, whose team of paleontologists discovered mastodon bones June 14 when earth movers were grading land for a housing development at El Camino Real and Cannon Road in Carlsbad. “Literal...
2008-03-06 - Allen, United States. Jonathan Betz
A nine-year-old North Texas girl recently made an historic find while outside near her home. Alison Dodd was playing in a creek near her Allen home when she said she stumbled across what she thought was a rock. The item that caught her eye turned out to be something an archeologist would love to happen upon - a fossil. Dating back at least 10,000 years when prehistoric beasts roamed the area, the so-called rock turned out to be a wooly mammoth's tooth. "We've always kind of joked that she has a ...
2008-03-06 - St. Helena, United States. John Waters Jr.
Dr. Maryanne Kraft of Calistoga received sad news last week. A baby she met in 2007 while volunteering at a refuge facility in Thailand was killed. Poisoned. Her kind was unwanted. The baby in this case was a 2-year-old Asian elephant who had just begun to wander away from its mother when it was murdered. “While they’re young elephants never leave their mother’s side,” Kraft explained. “This particular baby was just getting old enough and curious enough to wander around a little. They ...
2008-03-06 - Silver Spring, United States. Debbie Olson
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) today announced their support for 15 new elephant conservation projects for 2008, marking a record level of support. "Elephants all over the world need our help," said IEF President Michael Fouraker. "The grants made today by the International Elephant Foundation support critical elephant conservation programs." "Conservation projects supported by accredited zoos are essential to the survival of elephants," said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. "AZA-ac...
2008-03-05 - Miami, United States.
This is a position within a progressive elephant management program consisting of 2.3 Asian and African elephants in a protected contact system. The position requires one year of related experience and/or a combination of related coursework and experience. Must be able to acquire and maintain a valid FL driver's license and work a varied work schedule in a tropical environment. All applicants must apply online at www.miamidade.gov and forward a copy of your resume to Miami Metro Zoo c/o Zoologic...
2008-03-05 - Honolulu, United States.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann is asking for millions of dollars to finish a new elephant exhibit at the Honolulu Zoo that's been in the works for over a decade. A large portion of the enclosure is finished and sits empty -- waiting for the funding to complete the job. KITV's Keoki Kerr reported that in his budget proposal last week, Hannemann asked for about $7 million to complete an elephant breeding facility here at the zoo
2008-03-04 - Baltimore , United States.
When the circus comes to town, it's an exciting occasion in any city. But Baltimore gets an extra special treat every year: an elephant march and munch from 1st Mariner Arena to Lexington Market. Elephants at Lexington MarketWhen the circus comes to town, it's an exciting occasion in any city. But Baltimore gets an extra special treat every year: an elephant march and munch from 1st Mariner Arena to Lexington Market. The gentle giants of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, accompanied by ...
2008-03-04 - Orlando, United States. Courtney Gilmartin
University of Central Florida students will rebuild homes in New Orleans, make repairs to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee and assist in the rescues of abandoned border collies in Maryland during next week's spring break. More than 80 UCF students and 10 faculty and staff members will volunteer in six states as part of Alternative Spring Break, which allows students to help those in need and learn about important social issues during a time when many of their peers are relaxing on the beach. A...
2008-03-04 - Nashville, United States. William Williams
The Nashville Zoos first attempt to artificially inseminate one of its female African elephants has failed. However, zoo officials say additional efforts to impregnate 21-year-old Kiba will be considered. Kiba is not, by any means, finished with the process, said Jim Bartoo, Nashville Zoo director of marketing and public relations. Any time an AI effort is unsuccessful, it limits the U.S. zoo communitys chances to add to its animal population ranks, Bartoo said. We knew it was going to be a 50-5...
2008-03-03 - Ruskin, United States. Buckles Woodcock
This film appears to have been made very early in the season, if not the opening day. Canvas looks band new and everyone is bundled up as tho in early spring. We were on the show the previous season (1948) and the biggest change I noticed was the panel banner line. The performance had changed from the Cristiani's and Hubert Castle to the Hannefords, Con Colleano and Barbette. My dad always said the Cole Show elephant acts were the worst he was ever associated with and with the exception of the w...
2008-03-03 - Louisville, United States. The Courier-Journal
The Louisville Zoo plans a celebration to honor the first birthday of its baby elephant, Scotty. Although he won’t officially be a year old until March 18, the zoo will celebrate the birthday on the previous Saturday — March 15, when zoo admission will be $1 in a Coca-Cola promotion. Zoo members can enter free.
2008-03-03 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
This is the biggest elephant I ever saw. Jim A. said: I believe his name was Samson at the L.A. Zoo. I visited Scott Riddle and somewhere have a photo with Scott, Samson, and myself. Strange feeling to look up to see an elephant's chin -- he was BIG.
2008-03-03 - Arlington, United States. Michelle Gadd, Program Officer, Africa Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Dear Colleagues, I would like to encourage you to submit proposals for conservation projects to the 2008 USFWS African Elephant Conservation Fund as soon as possible. Proposals received by APRIL 1, 2008 will be fully evaluated for funding before the US Government fiscal year ends in September. Now is an ideal time to apply for any field work taking place in the second half of 2008 or commencing in 2009. This year, the multinational species conservation funds for Africa (Great Ape, African Eleph...
2008-03-03 - Pretoria, United States.
The Elephant Tourism Association (ETA) has welcomed the environmental affairs and tourism minister's terms of the norms and standards of elephant management, it said on Friday. "The ETA applauds the minister and his department on the exhaustive public process they recently completed leading to the issuing of the norms and standards for elephant management in South Africa," the association said in a statement.
2008-03-03 - Washington, United States. Michelle Gadd, Program Officer, Species Survival Network
The February issue of CITES Afrique is now posted on the English version of the Species Survival Network website - the French version will be posted shortly. This issue has as one of its features a story on the creation of the African Elephant Coalition. It can be found at http://ssn.org
2008-03-03 - Baltimore, United States. Melissa Harris
Signs that an elephant is about to go into labor: loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, and a pattern of "lying down, standing up, and lying down," says Colleen Baird of the Maryland Zoo, which is expecting its first elephant birth in its 132-year history any day. Baird, the zoo's assistant elephant manager, says "general agitation" is all she has to go on until Felix's water breaks. And to prepare for that, Baird and her colleagues are keeping a round-the-clock watch, memorizing "elephant birt...
2008-03-02 - Kansas, United States. RON SYLVESTER
In 2006, John Epperly and his wife, Shea, were fourth-year students working at Tenwek Hospital, a 300-bed clinic in the rural village of Bomet in southwestern Kenya. The Maasai man had been out tending his cattle when an elephant pinned him against a river bank and gored him four times. He had several tusk wounds in his arms and a 10-centimeter hole through his thigh. Epperly spent hours just getting his wounds cleaned before treating him.
2008-03-02 - Boston, United States. James Sullivan
Anyone associated with Tufts University is well aware of the tale. The humble contents of an old Peter Pan Crunchy Peanut Butter jar that sits in the office of the university's athletic director represents the remains of one of the 19th century's biggest international celebrities. Jumbo, the prized pachyderm of P. T. Barnum, inspired the nickname of the college's sports program when the famed showman donated the mounted hide of his main attraction to the school in 1889. Stuffed Jumbo stood proud...
2008-03-02 - Baltimore, United States. The Baltimore Sun
Felix the elephant is having a baby, and the newest addition to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore can't arrive soon enough. With new leadership, a strong base of state funding and reduced ticket prices, the zoo in Druid Hill Park is poised for resurgence. An infusion of corporate dollars would greatly help it along, even with a new pachyderm in the house. The zoo, which reopened this weekend for the season, is a 132-year-old institution that's been showing its age for some time; its facilities are m...
2008-03-02 - Quad City, United States. Kay Luna
Scientists also have found fossils from long after the dinosaur era, the early part of what is sometimes referred to as the Age of Mammals — including the skull and tusks of a mastodon, which looked sort of like an elephant, that were found in 1968 in Prophetstown, Ill. That relic, along with fossilized mastodon and wooly mammoth teeth from the same era that were found in Rock Island County, is on display in the Fryxell Geology Museum at Augustana. It wasn’t until long after the age of dinos...
2008-03-01 - Ruskin, United States.
Super Cuts said: For those unaware, the pretty girl standing next to her brother, the one with the bad hair cut, is Kenny's sister, Karen. Karen was once involved with Jack Cassidy, the father of David Cassidy and former husband of Shirley Jones (Partrige Family on tv when it had rabbit ears). For reasons unknown to us, Karen has been banished from KennyFeld Land. Buckles can confirm is the baby elephant Karen, named after the Party Girl herself? Buckles said: The baby elephant was indeed named ...
2008-03-01 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock, Ben Trumble, J Goodall
Ben Trumble said: JRN has that look of somebody who rather have been posed with something other than an elephant.
2008-03-01 - Baltimore, United States. Jewel Edwards-Waldo
Booties for this new baby might take a little more time to knit. The season opening of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore this weekend might be a great time to see their pregnant African elephant, Felix, before she has her baby — expected any day now. “Everybody’s just really excited about the impending birth and being very watchful,” said zoo spokeswoman Jennifer Ludwig. Last December, Felix and Tuffy transferred from Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in Arkansas to join the zoo’s tw...
2008-02-29 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
Here are some photos of Dailey Bros. in Ames, Iowa in 1950. In the fourth picture, is the little bull Tommy? //Joey. "When I showed this picture to Barbara she immediately recognized the second elephant "Myrtle" from the first elephant act she ever performed in, she appeared in Ring 5 with "Myrtle", "Jenny" and "Jap", trained and presented by the celebrated Robert Jones.//Buckles. David said: I never realized that Dailey Bros. Circus was so large as to have 5 rings. I'm curious as to what...
2008-02-28 - Pinellas park, United States. THOMAS MICHALSKI
Betty Jean Beck was 16 years old in 1942 when she ran away with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. She did everything from riding and training elephants to driving chariots. She even did some clowning thanks to her friend and world renown clown, Emmett Kelly who gained fame playing Weary Willie. “Elephants are just big puppy dogs,” Beck said. “They really are very gentle animals.” There are many tricks to riding elephants. When getting off of one, for example, a rider mu...
2008-02-28 - Philadelphia, United States. Marianne Bessey, Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants
Just last month, the Philadelphia Zoo confirmed plans to breed its two younger African elephants as part of continuing "elephant-conservation efforts" and estimated costs of a new elephant exhibit at $27 million. This week, South African officials announced that thousands of African elephants would be killed starting May 1 to reduce an alleged overpopulation of elephants in that country.
2008-02-27 - Los Angeles , United States.
David Hasselhoff is reclaiming an ivory tusk and an antique barber's chair from his ex-wife. The former 'Baywatch' actor has won a court order allowing him back into the family home in Los Angeles to collect possessions from ex-wife Pamela Bach. Among other items the former heartthrob wants to reclaim, are an elephant foot and two elephant stools, a statue of a dolphin, a model elephant and baseball memorabilia.
2008-02-27 - Baltimore, United States. Jessica Kartalija
Felix is a 24-year-old African elephant who left her old digs behind before packing her trunk for Maryland. "We knew she was pregnant when she came. She came from a facility in Arkansas. We felt like she would be a good fit here," said Mike McClure. The pregnant pachyderm has packed on the pounds. Elephants gain a ton of weight, literally, when they're expecting. "The only way to tell [Felix is pregnant] is by looking at her two front legs. She has milk and her breasts are swollen. That's t...
2008-02-27 - Vermont, United States. Joshua E. Brown
For 27 years, civil war battered the African republic of Angola—ravaging not only its people, but also its national parks and wildlife. Combat and bushmeat hunters drove many spectacular species, including elephants, to local extinction. In 1994, South African wildlife scientist Wouter Van Hoven and others started an effort to restore these parks and their animals through the Kissama Foundation.
2008-02-26 - St. Clair Shores, United States. Christy Strawser
Wendt, 37, of St. Clair Shores, is principal zookeeper at the Detroit Zoo's Arctic Ring of Life where two ferocious furry beasts are expected to visit in late winter or early spring. Wendt has plenty of experience dealing with the zoo's largest animals because he started his career 10 years ago in the elephant exhibit at the Detroit Zoo. He cared for popular elephants Wanda and Winky until they were shipped to an elephant sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., to retire in comfort. Wendt said he miss...
2008-02-24 - Stanford, United States. Sam Aola Ooko
The pounding feet of the 15,000 pound African Bush Elephant make protective crevices in the savanna grasslands that help the geckos hide from their predators and the hot, penetrating African sun, according to Robert Pringle, an ecologist and conservation biologist at Stanford University in California, who conducted his research at the Mpala Research Center in Kenya. Significant numbers of geckos have been reported in the aftermath of an elephant’s feeding - the vertebrates often finding breedi...
2008-02-23 - St Andrews, United States. Bates LA, Sayialel KN, Njiraini NW, Poole JH, Moss CJ, Byrne RW. University of St Andrews
Monitoring the location of conspecifics may be important to social mammals. Here, we use an expectancy-violation paradigm to test the ability of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) to keep track of their social companions from olfactory cues. We presented elephants with samples of earth mixed with urine from female conspecifics that were either kin or unrelated to them, and either unexpected or highly predictable at that location.
2008-02-22 - Petrolia, United States. JASON HRIBAL
Janet was a female elephant born in 1965. She had been taken from the jungles of Southeastern Asia. Stripped from her mother and extended family, she was ultimately shipped to the United States. After arrival, she was put to work in the circus, and it was in the circus where she remained for the rest of her life. Her main job was to give rides to children and adults. And it was one day, while providing just such an amusement, that this elephant reached her breaking point.
2008-02-22 - Salt Lake City, United States. Derek P. Jensen, The Salt Lake Tribune
After 20 years of traversing the world in the Navy, Earl Gowin has seen a little bit of everything. But it took retirement on a family ranch near Fillmore for Gowin's grandest discovery. In November 2004, a bulldozer operator hit something hard in Gowin's sand and gravel pit, which he had leased to a contractor. "My first thought was, 'That looks like a mammoth tusk,' " Gowin recalled saying about the six-foot fossil. "I didn't know mammoths were in this part of the world, but evidently they wer...
2008-02-21 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
Two punks collared to big elephants for spec. The African is "Diamond", trained by Hugo Schmitt the following winter in Sarasota and well remembered from his latter days in the Knoxville Zoo.
2008-02-21 - Norwich, United States.
TIME is running out for aspiring artists who want to help create a public art trail across Norwich this summer. Up to 50 baby elephant sculptures will go display across the city from June 23 to August 31 as part of Go Elephants!, billed as Norwich's largest ever outdoor art event. The deadline for submissions is tomorrow. Artists who want to take part should contact The Forum Trust for guidance and submission forms by e-mailing events@theforumnorwich.co.uk or calling 01603 727907. Further inform...
2008-02-19 - Cincinnati, United States.
Big Bone Lick foreshadows a warming Earth filled with condemned species. Bones of numerous Ice Age mammals are entombed at the Kentucky salt lick, which yielded the world's first identified mastodon remains in 1739. President George Washington owned a mastodon tooth from Big Bone Lick. William Henry Harrison, a future U.S. president, gathered 13 large barrels of remains from the lick in 1795. Two hundred years ago, on March 7, 1808, President Jefferson received 300 bones from the lick and had th...
2008-02-19 - Salt City, United States. Rebecca Palmer
Utah's Hogle Zoo announced Monday that its 22-year-old African elephant is expecting a calf, due sometime in summer 2009. Christie was artificially inseminated in October by a team of German scientists, said zoo spokeswoman Holly Braithwaite. It was their third attempt at impregnating Christie, who was chosen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as a good breeding candidate. She has been at Hogle Zoo for most of her life. "I'm ecstatic. I'm even still almost speechless,...
2008-02-18 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
2008-02-17 - Gastonia, United States. Teri Walley
Larry Agenbroad, modern-day woolly mammoth hunter, was part of an international team of scientists who, in 1999, chipped the Jarkov mammoth out of the permafrost, extracting from the ice an elephant-sized popsicle. The Fossil Fair and Agenbroad's talk fit in with the Schiele's featured exhibit, "TUSKS! Ice Age Mammoths and Mastodons," which presents the skulls of American lions, saber-tooth cats, cave bears and 10-million-year-old shoveltuskers. Agenbroad will tell stories about his famous Russi...
2008-02-15 - Los Angeles, United States. Callie Miller
Despite claims from former zoo employees and animal activists that LA zoo elephant handlers have a history of abusing the elepehants, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reginald A. Dunn said the claims were baseless. The Daily News cites Dunn's ruling: "This is a ... public policy dispute between the plaintiffs and the defendants on how to run the L.A. Zoo," Dunn stated. "Moreover, there does not seem to be any illegal activity currently ongoing that an injunction should be imposed to stop."
2008-02-14 - Richmond, United States. Karri Peifer
Ringling Bros.' "Over The Top" circus is going on now at the Richmond Coliseum. The Free All Access Pre-Show is open to all ticket-holders and starts an hour before each show. For 138 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey has brought the exotic attractions of the circus to cities and towns across the country. This week, its "Over The Top" show rolls into Richmond for six days of spectacular, extraordinary, high-flying family fun. Elephants standing on two legs, trapeze artists swinging thr...
2008-02-14 - Los Angeles, United States.
A judge has ruled that work on a new elephant building at the Los Angeles Zoo can continue and that the zoo's lone elephant can remain, thwarting efforts by Robert Culp to close the exhibit and stop another from being built, according to court papers released Thursday. Superior Court Judge Reginald A. Dunn wrote in his four-page ruling that there were no grounds for issuing an injunction sought by the actor while he and another man pursue a lawsuit seeking to keep elephants out of the zoo becaus...
2008-02-13 - Somerset, United States. VICKI ROCK
Chicago has cows. Pittsburgh has dinosaurs. Somerset may soon have elephants. Public sculptures of animals, decorated by artists, can be a draw for tourists, said Somerset Inc. Executive Director Stephanie Williams. “We had been talking about public art for several years and discussed possibly having deer,” she said. “Henry Cook suggested elephants. We sat down and discussed it and have applied for a $13,000 grant.” 20 large fiberglass elephants would be 3 feet high, 4 feet long and 2 fe...
2008-02-12 - Seattle, United States. HECTOR CASTRO
A group opposed to the elephant-breeding program at Woodland Park Zoo has asked the federal government to investigate the death of Hansa, a 6-year-old Asian elephant who died in June. The elephant died from a previously unidentified strain of herpes virus, and it remains a mystery how the virus was transmitted. In a letter sent Monday to the Agriculture Department, the Northwest Animal Rights Network asked the agency to investigate the death and order the zoo to freeze its elephant-breeding prog...
2008-02-12 - Woodland, United States. ROBIN HINDERY
In September 2004, the discovery of a mammoth fossil bone at a Capay mining facility captured the attention of local residents - and Daily Democrat staff. But after an initial flurry of headlines and conversation, the story of the fossil was buried by other news. No more. In January, the Daily Democrat began digging and unearthed the tale of what happened to the bone, what researchers learned about it, and where it is now.
2008-02-11 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
This well known 50 elephant picture appeared in 1933, the Ringling's 50th Anniversary 1884-'33. The only problem was that the show only carried 41 elephants at the time so Roland Butler gets credit for increasing the herd. This came to light some years ago in Bandwagon Magazine when it was proved that an additional row of elephants had been added to this 1932 Grant's Park photo. I always knew this was the case since the male "Sammy" can be seen at right in both rows 1 and 2.
2008-02-11 - Quitman, United States. Christine Fuller Lucas
Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary,located in Quitman, celebrated the birth of Miss Bets ,an African elephant,on December 8, 2007. Lucky for me, I had already planned a January internship there, and the 263 pound baby did not disappoint. In fact, she grew to nearly 400 pounds before I left a month later. While working there I saw how desperately things like rakes,shovels,and new wheel barrows are needed. With nine elephants at the sanctuary, one can understand how quickly such items wear o...
2008-02-11 - Portland, United States. ANDY DWORKIN
Is the average Beaverton homeowner more likely to buy new green space for her kids or for Rose-Tu, the Oregon Zoo's pregnant elephant? Might she splurge for both, despite the struggling economy? These are the multimillion-dollar questions governments are asking across the metro area and the rest of Oregon for a November ballot quickly filling with requests for new taxes to fund schools, streets and public safety.
2008-02-10 - Cleveland, United States. Damian G. Guevara
Art dealer Tania Siyam sits in a Medina jail cell because prosecutors say the woman tapped her African background and contacts to traffic in forbidden ivory tusks taken from endangered elephants. The Canadian citizen was indicted in U.S. District Court in Cleveland in 2004 after she shipped more than 125 pounds of ivory to an Elyria artisan in 2002 and 2003. Siyam didn't know that the Elyria craftsman was working as an informant for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2008-02-10 - Hugo, United States. Bill Hankins
“Our workers are going to have to double up and do triple time on the work load until we can get the exemptions back,” said Traci Cavallini of Carson & Barnes. “We have a good show this year and it is about ready to go on the road.” Carson & Barnes will have many new performers for this year’s show, and a new baby elephant, Val, born in April to show off to the world. Another young elephant born to the 29-member herd a few years ago — 4-year-old Obert — will perform. “He’s alwa...
2008-02-08 - Houston, United States. The National Elephant Center news release
A new model for excellence in elephant care and conservation is a reality today as The National Elephant Center announced plans to create a national elephant conservation center in central Florida made possible, in part, by Waste Management’s involvement. The facility will be under construction for several months with the first elephants expected to arrive in 2009. “Elephants are among our most endangered animals in the world, and their future depends on innovative programs that integrate sc...
2008-02-08 - Okeechobee, United States. Derek Simmonsen
Herds of elephants soon will be replacing cows on an empty expanse of land in the far western part of the county. Construction on the National Elephant Center, an organization formed by zoos from around the country, will begin this summer, and the first elephants should arrive by October 2009, according to Jeff Sabin, a Waste Management spokesman. The center's creation was announced during a press conference at the Houston Zoo on Thursday, during which a female elephant dipped her trunk in ink a...
2008-02-08 - Washington, United States. Alexandra Viets, IGSD/INECE Secretariat
BBC World presents "The Ivory Poaching Wars," an Earth Report documentary that tracks illegally poached elephant ivory on its journey from Africa to Japan and the United States, with the help of an African enforcement agency and DNA analysts from the United States. Treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have been introduced over the years to protect wildlife against illegal poaching, but the elephant ivory trade remains a very...
2008-02-07 - Okeechobee, United States. Jeremy Ashton (Contact), Derek Simmonsen
Chimpanzees and tigers are among the exotic animals that have called St. Lucie County home over the years. Now the elephants are coming. The county is set to become home to the National Elephant Center, an organization formed by zoos around the country to offer assistance to one another in the areas of elephant breeding, research, training and conservation. Officials with the Houston Zoo and Waste Management, which owns the land the center will be on near the Okeechobee County landfill, will ann...
2008-02-06 - Minneapolis, United States. Katherine Kersten
Last Friday, Minneapolis City Council Member Ralph Remington was on his animal rights soapbox, declaring at the council meeting that banning elephant rides was a moral imperative. As inspired orators often do, Remington reached for a prop an elephant guide, or bull hook, and waved the supposed instrument of punishment about. But Remington has an adversary who knows bull hook bull when he hears it. He's the circus cop: Sgt. Tim Davison of the Minneapolis Police Department, a Shriner who has repre...
2008-02-06 - Kampala, United States.
The elephant population in Uganda's wildlife reserves and game parks has been growing steadily to about 5,000 since the near depletion of the gigantic mammals under the regime of late dictator Idi Amin, a top conservation official said Wednesday. Ecologists say during the late 1960s, jungles in the east African country's wilderness were teeming with over 30,000 elephants, in both gazetted areas and elephant migratory corridors.
2008-02-06 - Okeechobee, United States. JIM REEDER
As many as 1,000 acres near the Okeechobee-St. Lucie County line may become a home for elephants brought there for training and rehabilitation, officials in both counties said Tuesday. The plan will be unveiled Thursday by officials with Waste Management, which operates a landfill in Okeechobee County just outside the St. Lucie County line, officials said. "There's a possibility of something like that on the east side of the landfill," said Ray Domer, vice chairman of the Okeechobee County Commi...
2008-02-05 - San Diego, United States.
Three elephant keepers at the San Diego Wild Animal Park have been sickened by the same superbug that killed an Encinitas boy and sent a high school coach to the hospital last month. County public health officials are closely monitoring cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. A 13-year-old Diegueno Middle School seventh-grader died on Jan. 19 from the superbug and a 50-year-old Fallbrook High School wrestling coach was briefly hospitalized with it two weeks ago. The keeper...
A baby elephant was euthanized on Monday at the Wild Animal Park after failing to grow, and officials said the animal had the same superbug infection as at least three park employees. According to Dr. Wilma Wooten, of the Heath and Human Services Agency, three other cases at the park are pending. The three employees infected with the superbug had all helped feed the elephant. County health officials said the baby elephant developed a lesion on its ear but that the latest cases originated from pe...
2008-02-05 - San Diego, United States. COLLEEN MENSCHING
A baby elephant with multiple health problems has been euthanized at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park east of Escondido, park officials said Tuesday. The elephant calf, born in November, recently tested positive for a drug-resistant strain of the staphylococcus skin infection, but park spokeswoman Christina Simmons said that infection was not the reason for Monday's euthanasia. "Our baby elephant ... had (a) compromised immune system," Simmons said. "That calf was suffering from malnourishme...
Health officials are investigating a group of workers at the San Diego Wild Animal Park with confirmed cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a staph infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics. The so-called "Superbug" has apparently made its home for several weeks inside the zoo, health officials said. The elephant exhibit turned into an incubator for the bacteria. Officials said it likely began when a worker transmitted MRSA to a sick baby elephant.
2008-02-05 - San Andreas, United States.
Maggie is ready to join the gang. And the gang is ready for her. Now if it would just stop raining. Mud is the only thing keeping the fence up between Maggie and the four other African elephants at the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in northern California. Pat Derby, founder of the sanctuary, said near-record rainfall in San Andreas has soaked the grounds where Maggie and the other elephants hang out during the day. Generally, that's not bad for the elephants, which according to upd...
2008-02-04 - Santa Clara County, United States.
On February 12, 2008 starting at 9:30 AM, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will hold an advisory hearing considering a ban of rodeos and circuses that use animals in the entire county. A second and final meeting will be held around the end of March. Your attendance is important for the opposition of this ordinance as the number of people will influence the outcome. It is very important to call/fax/email/write to each and all the Supervisors in opposition to the ban at the addresses be...
2008-02-03 - , United States.
Colbecks film gives us a glimpse into the complex world of elephant society. We meet Echo and begin to understand the importance of such a majestic matriarch to her devoted clan. He shows us their language and ways of communication. And he captures remarkable scenes such as the rare birth of a crippled calf that the family desperately and collectively tries to help to its feet. The film causes us to question if this could be about more than simply survival. Is there a deeper emotion we have just...
2008-02-02 - Vallejo, United States. RICH FREEDMAN
Word on the street has it the camel was traded to a zoo to be named later, the giraffe was on the injured reserve list with a muscle twitch in his neck, and the walrus had a dentist appointment. So up stepped Tava, a 9,200-pound African elephant with, apparently, a golden toe. And Six Flags Discovery Kingdom had its kicker to showcase Friday in taking pre-Super Bowl hype to a new level. With two available footballs - each with a logo representing big game foes New England and the New York Giants...
2008-02-01 - Minneapolis, United States.
You once again ride an elephant in Minneapolis after the City Council made last-minute changes to a proposed set of regulations for circus animals. The council considered an outright ban on wild circus animals during its Friday meeting, but opted instead for increased requirements for the animals care. The new requirements were approved 11-2 and require city inspectors to check how a circus treats its animals in another city before it arrives in Minneapolis.
2008-02-01 - Minneapolis, United States. Nicole Muehlhausen
The circus may not come to the Twin Cities for much longer if the Minneapolis City Council votes to place heavy restrictions on the shows. On Friday, the council votes on a plan to increase animal regulations at circuses. The Shriners have threatened to cancel it’s circus show at the Target Center in October. At about eight to 10 dollars each, elephant rides bring in a lot of money for circuses. A new City Council measure could ban those wild animal rides.
2008-02-01 - Clearwater, United States. TERRI BRYCE REEVES
He's the television host with boyish good looks, a vast knowledge of wild animals and apparently no fear of teeth, claws or poisonous stingers. On Saturday, the 2004 Emmy winner will take a break from the cameras and man-eating lions to venture into the Clearwater Main Library, where he'll present a 45-minute talk, "Tales from the Field." Cambodian elephants once numbered in the thousands. Now there are "less than 150 in the wild in that part of the world," he said. Poachers and loss of natural ...
2008-01-30 - Minneapolis, United States. TERRY COLLINS, Star Tribune
Minneapolis' attempt to protect circus animals may run them out of town. A new ordinance would allow elephants in circuses, but kids would no longer be able to ride or touch them. If that happens, the show may not go on. "We'll seriously consider leaving the city if we can't do elephant rides," said Tim Davison, the Minneapolis Shriners' assistant circus chairman. Elephant rides are a highlight and a moneymaker of the annual fall circus shows at Target Center, which are the group's principal fun...
2008-01-30 - Minneapolis, United States. Mike Nizza
A childhood rite of passage may be banned in Minneapolis on Friday, when according to The Minnesota Star Tribune, the city council is expected to vote on an unusual issue: elephant rides. Leading the charge is a council member named Ralph Remington, who failed to push through a tougher measure last year that would’ve banned wild-animal circuses from the city. In both cases, public safety and animal cruelty were cited, two worries brought to him by an advocacy group based in Minnesota called Ci...
2008-01-29 - Washington, United States.
The eating habits of elephants have a strong influence on the habitat choices of lizards, says a researcher. Robert M. Pringle of Stanford University says that his findings are based on an examination of the connections between elephants and lizards, for which he worked at the Mpala Research Center in Kenya between 2004 and 2007. He observed that Kenya dwarf geckos (Lygodactylus keniensis) showed a strong preference for trees that had been damaged by browsing elephants (Loxodonta africana).
2008-01-28 - Washington, United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced it will award $1,277,921 in grants to 15 African countries to assist in the protection of African elephants. Combined with matching contributions from private-sector partners, the total U.S. commitment to elephant conservation will exceed $4 million.
2008-01-28 - Atlanta, United States. Suzanne Fields
Not so long ago, our parents and teachers were forever admonishing us not to act like animals. Now our candidates for president are showing us how they think they can profit by imitating animals, especially the brainy ones. Like the elephants, for example. Hillary can take heart. "Among elephants, it is the females who are the born politicians," writes Natalie Angier, a science writer, in The New York Times. An elephant typically cultivates robust and lifelong social ties with at least 100 other...
2008-01-27 - Knoxville, United States. JANE CARLSON
After spending three weeks in Thailand caring for elephants, Sara Pool isn’t used to sleeping without the sounds of the jungle. It’s the strangest thing to be back here and not hearing random elephant trumpets at night. I really loved it over there and I miss it every single day,” said Pool, a Knoxville native and budding animal rights activist who is studying animal science at the University of Illinois.
2008-01-26 - Gastonia, United States. Bernie Petit
The countdown began at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. That’s when the massive semi-trailer truck containing almost 20 crates filled with 80 fossil specimens, replicas and artifacts for a new exhibition pulled into The Schiele Museum’s loading dock area. It gave the Schiele employees setting up the museum’s latest temporary exhibition, “TUSKS! Ice Age Mammoths and Mastodons,” 72 hours to have everything ready for Saturday’s premiere. Shortly after the exhibition arrived from Gainesville, W...
2008-01-25 - Dallas, United States. JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
A 40-year-old Asian elephant named Babe died Thursday morning from labor-related complications at the Fort Worth Zoo, officials announced Friday. Babe was the oldest female in the zoo's herd of seven Asian elephants. Zoo officials said Babe went into labor Sunday afternoon, but the calf failed to move into the birth canal. Babe died while sleeping about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Zoo officials said the unborn calf also died. "I can't remember a more difficult time for our elephant staff," Ron Surratt, ...
2008-01-24 - Pittsburgh, United States. Gene J. Puskar
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. Moja is one of two elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo expected to deliver in late May after a 24 month gestation.
2008-01-24 - Philadelphia, United States. GLORIA CAMPISI, Philadelphia Daily News
Maybe they can come home again. And the Philadelphia Zoo is hoping its two young African elephants, scheduled to be moved in the spring to a conservation center in southwestern Pennsylvania for breeding, will do just that - accompanied by elephant babies, called calves. The zoo's president and chief executive officer, Vikram Dewan, said yesterday that the idea of a new elephant enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo is still a gleam in the eye of zoo planners.
2008-01-23 - Murchison, United States. John P. Meyer
The title of the two-event series is "Opera Without Elephants," in reference to the familiar Verdi opera, Aida, which includes elephants in the story line (I think). Clearly my metaphor is ridiculous and inappropriate, so let's just stick to the facts. his Friday (Jan. 25) the University of North Texas Opera presents the first of two programs featuring small bite-sized portions of famous operatic works - the theory perhaps being similar to an inoculation that introduces a small portion of the ge...
2008-01-22 - Los Angeles, United States.
An actor and a real estate agent want answers now about the elephants. They may get them in a hearing in three weeks. Actor-and-animal activist Robert Culp and Real Estate Agent Aaron Leider sued Los Angeles and its zoo-director in August, over the conditions for elephants there. They want a preliminary injunction now that would shut down the elephant exhibit. They also want to shut down construction on its expansion, which they say is inadequate. There's one elephant on display now, 21-year old...
2008-01-22 - Ruskin, United States. Buckles Woodcock / Raffaele de Ritis
Awards (maybe too much) of this year's Monte Carlo. And this is just the official jury awards: dozens of special awards have been given too from donors, as usual. GOLD: Pellegrini bros. - handstands, Florian Richter - equestrian acrobat Li Wei - slack wire
2008-01-21 - Houston, United States.
Can a special event for a baby elephant add ingenuity to your next marketing campaign? Here’s the scoop from DMNews’s January 14 edition. As the Houston Zoo prepared to celebrate the Mac the Elephant’s first birthday, they decided to get the public involved through a birthday card contest. The marketing campaign was launched on the zoo’s Web site, on their blog, and through an opt-in Email list. This contest’s components explain how to create a winning campaign, and each step is achiev...
2008-01-20 - Dallas, United States. JOANNA CATTANACH
Lone Star, the world's largest four-tusk mastodon skull discovered in a gravel pit in La Grange, sold for $191,200 at auction Sunday. Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries featured the impressive pre-historic piece at its Natural History Auction along with several hundred other items including a golden nugget from Mexico dubbed the Boot of Cortez. The nearly-foot-long gold deposit sold for $1.6 million. But Lone Star was by far the star of the auction. Including skull and tusks, the mammoth pi...
2008-01-20 - Crosbyton, United States.
The mastodon skull is called the Lonestar Mastodon and it was found in LaGrange, Texas, near San Antonio. As it turns out, this mastodon wasn't alone in the Lone star state when he died. "Why are so many buried in Texas, I don't know. I've been 40 miles that way and 40 miles all around this area and I can tell you that there are a dozen mammoths buried in a half square mile," said Taylor. There's one other unique characteristic about the Lonestar Mastodon. "This particular one has tusks coming o...
2008-01-19 - Washington, United States.
It's a bit early to decorate the nursery, but officials at the National Zoo are hoping that Shanthi the elephant will have another baby in 2009. Veterinarians conducted two artificial insemination procedures on Shanthi this week. Scientists will now monitor her hormones. If the level of progesterone in her blood remains high after 10 weeks, then she's most likely pregnant. An Asian elephant's gestation period ranges from 20 to 22 months. In 2001, Shanthi gave birth to Kandula - the fifth elephan...
2008-01-19 - Muscatine, United States. Jennifer Meyer
A group of local volunteers wants to bring back the elephant, buffalo, monkeys and reptiles, in plant form, that once inhabited Weed Park. Master Gardener Maryrose Peterschmidt initiated plans for a Weed Park Zoo Garden after picking up a fluorescent green brochure at the Iowa State University Extension office in Muscatine. Two honey bears donated in 1921 launched the Weed Park Zoo, which over the years housed Bengal tigers, African antelope, peacocks, monkeys, deer, foxes, raccoons, reptiles, ...
2008-01-18 - Springfield, United States. KSPR News
The Dickerson Park Zoo got off to a good start this year with a surprise. An anonymous donor gave the zoo $10,000 dollars for its elephant program. A local member of Friends of the Zoo gave the donation along with a letter recognizing the zoo’s staff and elephant program. Along with the donation the zoo was also happy to learn that the attendance from last year broke a record. It was the fourth year in a row it had more than 200,000 people.
2008-01-18 - San Diego, United States.
The Wild Animal Park's latest baby elephant is sickly. Born Nov. 28, the African elephant calf is not gaining weight as she should, said officials at the San Diego Zoo, which operates the park near Escondido. Zookeepers are feeding the youngster by bottle and intravenously, but her condition is still considered guarded. Veterinarians and keepers are watching around the clock, the zoo said Friday. The calf's mother, Lungile, is also on sick watch due to complications from the birth.
2008-01-18 - Cincinnati, United States. JIM KNIPPENBERG
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has launched a project that will turn one of its most abundant natural resources into energy. Poop. There are no specific numbers on how much it will save the zoo in energy costs, but the team working on the project says it will be tens of thousands of dollars annually at the outset and more as the program progresses. In about two years, when the plan is fully implemented, the elephant and giraffe houses will be heated, cooled and lit by animal waste convert...
2008-01-18 - Oklahoma City, United States.
When Mayor Mick Cornett announced that the city was going on a diet, he did it in front of the elephant exhibit at the city zoo. Fittingly, The Oklahoman will monitor the city's weight loss by printing the number of elephants that represent the city's weight loss every day on Page 2A beginning Saturday. Zoo officials say a female Asian elephant (like the ones at the zoo) can weigh up to 6,500 pounds. Good luck, Oklahoma City! "Everywhere I go, people are offering me food, and I was gaining over ...
2008-01-18 - Salt Lake City, United States. Alyssa Farley
Visitors to Utah's Hogle Zoo recently got a chance to feast with the beasts. The feeding tour gave visitors a chance to see the animals exhibit some of the foraging, hunting and other feeding behaviors normally seen only by zookeepers. At the Elephant Encounter arena, a 624-pound pumpkin sat propped up against a supporting beam. The crowd fell quiet as the first elephant, Misha, emerged, walked over to the pumpkin, felt it with her tusk, and daintily broke off a piece and placed it in her mouth....
2008-01-18 - New York, United States.
John M. Kistler is the author of War Elephants. That’s right, war elephants. Kistler tells John J. Miller, “I’ve always loved elephants, but I also love ancient history. And when I found out that elephants were used for thousands of years in armies around the world, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one had written a book about it. So I did.”
2008-01-17 - Santa Barbara, United States.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is seeking a keeper for our elephant team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the daily care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and enhancing the guest experience. This position is part of a dynamic and progressive Animal Care team. The position may be filled at the apprentice keeper, keeper, or senior keeper level depending on experience.
2008-01-17 - Dallas, United States.
The skull of a four-tusked mastodon believed to be 1 of the nation's largest is going up for auction Sunday. The 40-inch-long skull was found in 2004 in a La Grange gravel pit. Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas expects the skull to fetch as much as $160,000 during its natural history auction. The skull had been housed at the Mount Blanco Fossil Museum near Lubbock. Museum founder and curator Joe Taylor says he needs the money to pay back investors who financed the excavation of the skull afte...
2008-01-15 - Miami, United States.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is reporting that an elephant named P.T. attacked Ringling Bros. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey trainer Joe Frisco Jr. while the circus was at Miami's America Airlines Arena on January 7. Ringling Bros. issued a statement Wednesday stating the Frisco "received minor injuries after falling while walking with a juvenile elephant in the elephant barn in Miami."
2008-01-11 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham
Zoo President Donna M. Fernandes rejected all charges by In Defense of Elephants, especially noting that “the elephants are never made to lie in their feces and urine. That’s ridiculous.” Less than two months after animal rights activists put the Buffalo Zoo on the defensive over a series of polar bear deaths, it has become the target of charges that its elephants live in cramped, inhumane conditions. The zoo issued a swift denial.
2008-01-09 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
Here's a couple of pictures of Miss Zerbini and Luke from the '07 Gold Unit. Good to see she is back for 2008 but I agree she needs a bigger act for her talents. //Joey. Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen since for one reason or another, of the 50 or so elephants in storage at Williston and Polk City, none are road worthy. That's the reason outside elephants had to be hired in the first place. //Buckles
2008-01-09 - Silver Spring, United States.
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) today announced their support for 15 new elephant conservation projects for 2008, marking a record level of support. Conservation projects supported by accredited zoos are essential to the survival of elephants “Elephants all over the world need our help,” said IEF President Michael Fouraker. “The grants made today by the International Elephant Foundation support critical elephant conservation prog...
2008-01-09 - San Francisco, United States. SAVANNAH BLACKWELL
IN EARLY 1997, the San Francisco Zoo had a serious public-relations problem. The zoo wanted San Francisco voters to approve a $48 million bond measure to overhaul the facilities. But the Asian elephant exhibit was making the zoo look bad. Tinkerbelle the elephant had been living alone since April 1995, when her longtime companion, Pennie, was put to sleep. Animal activists had been complaining that, for an animal that herds and has complex social interactions in the wild, life alone was cruel an...
2008-01-08 - Erwin, United States. Betty B. Chandler
I was checking out our news partner, WEMB’s news headlines recently, only to learn that there have been two more productions dealing with the demise of “Murderous Mary,” the elephant that was hanged on September 13, 1916 at the Second Street railroad crossing in Erwin. According to the news story on WEMB's Web site, one play written in Nashville by Mathew Carleton, sticks to the basics, more or less, in a theatrical setting. The other, according to the WEMB clip, is another story. The Aust...
2008-01-08 - Phoenix, United States.
The Phoenix Zoo is accepting applications for a part-time regular Keeper working in our Elephant Sanctuary. Essential duties involve interaction with both the animals and visiting publics. Keepers will observe assigned animals on a daily basis, reporting any abnormalities; perform routine husbandry and environmental maintenance; feed proscribed diets; perform assigned and approved animal enrichment activities and trainings; assist in the restraint and treatment of animals; participate in non-rou...
2008-01-08 - , United States.
An exhibition of Gothic ivory carvings, none more than 12 inches in length, opens at the Courtauld Gallery in London's Somerset House on Thursday. Though small in size, the exhibition is of momentous interest not only to scholars but to the art world in general. The Dormeuil Diptych from the collection of Lord Thomson. The carvings are part of the little-known collection formed by the publicity-shy Canadian businessman, Kenneth Thomson, the second Lord Thomson of Fleet and Northbridge, who died ...
2008-01-08 - Seattle, United States.
Comforted by buckets of fresh cantaloupe, apples and carrots, the Woodland Park Zoo's 29-year-old Asian elephant, Chai, was artificially inseminated over the weekend. Zoo officials said they performed the 20-minute procedure with the help of a leading expert in elephant reproductive physiology, Dr. Dennis Schmitt, professor of animal science at Missouri State University. The sperm donor was a 36-year-old bull at the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma.
2008-01-08 - Crosbyton, United States.
In something of a no-win situation for science a creationist fossil hunter is selling of a massive – and massively rare – fossil mastodon for tens of thousands of dollars. So either a valuable specimen disappears into private hands or public research money goes to a man whose museum proudly declares it is “Digging up the facts of God’s Creation: One fossil at a time.” The fossil in question is a four-toothed mastodon head of a size never before uncovered - roughly a metre on each side....
2008-01-07 - New York, United States.
Chembio Diagnostic, Inc. (OTC BB:CEMI.OB – News) announces that it has been issued an United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA) license for its ElephantTB STAT-PAK Assay designed to rapidly (<20 minutes) detect tuberculosis (TB) in both Asian and African elephants. Chembio’sother rapid serological TB assay – PrimaTB STAT-PAK received USDA licensure earlierthis year. Both products belong to a larger family of rapid immunochromatographicassays currently under development at Chembio for t...
2008-01-07 - Seattle, United States.
2008-01-06 - GUY, United States. STACY HUDSON
Miss Bets is the newest addition to Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary and probably the most recent baby elephant born in captivity in the United States, said Scott Riddle, the sanctuary’s owner and operator. The calf was named after chemist L. Elizabeth L. “Bets” Rasmussen, a longtime colleague and friend of Riddle who studied chemical communication between elephants at Oregon Health & Science University’s OGI School of Science and Engineering in Beaverton, Ore., (formerly the O...
2008-01-06 - Columbus, United States.
METTLER TOLEDO takes pride in proving their competence in making laboratory balances safer and easier by offering innovations that will provide solutions in both routine and special laboratory practices and needs. So, to prove the durability of their 64 kg precision balance they put it to the test by inviting an elephant to stand on it. As you can see on the video, a 3 ½ ton-elephant did not damage our XP precision balance thanks to Overload Protection, a feature that protects from excess weigh...
2008-01-05 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
Here are a couple of Harry Quillen photos, my dad wrote on the back of this one, "Pasadena, Cal. taken from Suicide Bridge.".
2008-01-04 - Ruskin, United States. William Buckles Woodcock
Wayne Jackson: Somewhere in my library I remember reading about the three bulls and about Fritz being shot in France, most likely because he was just too much to handle (possibly in musth)? That may also be the reason for the second bull’s death, the third bull was dumped over board before they landed back in the U.S., possibly for the same reason? Bob Cline: If this helps any, I have the following information listed. NICK - Stoke on Trent, England Nov.12, 1898, FRITZ - Tours, France June 11, ...
2008-01-04 - Coney Island, United States.
On this very day 105 years ago Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant meant to give rides and carry heavy items on Coney Island...all in the name of science! His science. He came to Coney to prove George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla's alternating current (AC) was dangerous, whereas his competing direct current was completely safe. In fact, Edison was the one who convinced New York to use the dangerous and deadly AC for their electric chair.
2008-01-02 - Tampa, United States.
The Rev. Jerry Hogan, chaplain to the nation's circuses, blessed the Ringling Brothers elephants before the opening of the circus's Tampa run tonight. Hogan, who works under the auspices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, sprinkled the beasts with holy water and said a prayer in the plaza outside the St. Pete Times Forum. The half-dozen elephants were treated to a meatless feast of fruit, bread and vegetables. Circus clowns rolled watermelons to the animals, who made a show of ...
2008-01-01 - Tampa, United States. SHERRI ACKERMAN, The Tampa Tribune
Little Sara, at 5 feet and 3,000 pounds, seemed puny next to her gargantuan wrinkly aunts as they got off the train, locked trunks to tails, and began to march in a straight line down Nuccio Parkway. Children from nearby Tampa Park apartments raced on bikes alongside the pachyderms on parade from Union Station to downtown Tampa, a tradition known as the Elephant Walk, which marks the official start of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. "They're very friendly," said animal handler Gle...
2007-12-27 - St. Louis, United States.
Raja, the St. Louis Zoo's male Asian elephant, turns 15 today, and the zoo is having a special party for him at 11 a.m. The event will take place at the elephant exhibits at River's Edge at the zoo. Raja, the first Asian elephant born at the zoo, will be partying with his daughters, Maliha and Jade.Raja will get special presents and visitors are invited to sing "Happy Birthday" and sign a giant birthday card for him. The Zoo is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with free admission. U.S. Bank Wild Ligh...
2007-12-26 - Baltimore, United States.
The elephants - from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Greenbrier, Ark. - are Tuffy, a 23-year-old male, and Lil' Felix, a 24-year-old female. They join Anna and Dolly, the zoo's two female African elephants. Zoo officials say the elephant exhibit is in the midst of a $1 million renovation, and the four animals are expected to go on public display together in March. The zoo will be closed for January and February, as has been the case in recent years.
2007-12-23 - Bangalore, United States.
More than one thousand wild elephants have been given a right of passage today, with the safeguarding of a wildlife corridor that links two reserves in Karnataka, Southern India. The land was handed over by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to forest officials in a ceremony in Bangalore – the first time land has been bought by a non-profit wildlife organisation and signed over to the government to prootect the habitat of the endangered Asian...
2007-12-22 - Springfield, United States. Michael Crocker, superintendent of Dickerson Park Zoo
Our guests tell us elephants are their favorite animals at Dickerson Park Zoo. Elephants are magnificent, intelligent creatures that form strong bonds among the individuals in the herd and with their human caretakers. Following the death of our Asian elephant calf, 16-month-old Nisha, many of you conveyed your sympathies to our staff. You related how much you enjoyed watching Nisha grow, play and interact with the adults and how she was your child or grandchild's favorite. You recognized the obv...
2007-12-20 - Columbia, United States. Joey Holleman - McClatchy Newspapers
Riverbanks' new elephants must mesh with the old-timers before they go public. The two new African elephants at Riverbanks Zoo didn't appear at the Ndoki Forest exhibit magically, even if they do have Disney heritage. It's been a major undertaking to get the new girls - 37-year-old Robin and 34-year-old Petunia - to Columbia from Disney's Animal Kingdom and get them used to their new situation at Riverbanks, said mammal curator John Davis. "Moving elephants is quite an operation," Davis said. Si...
2007-12-20 - St. Louis, United States. TERI MADDOX
The zoo is inviting the public to celebrate Raja's 15th birthday at 11 a.m. Dec. 27 by singing "Happy Birthday" and watching him pose for pictures and receive gifts. Raja made history in 1992 as the first Asian elephant born at the St. Louis Zoo. Fifteen years later, he's still living up to his name, which means "king" in Hindi. One of his mates recently gave birth to his second daughter. "The situation for Asian elephants is pretty bleak," said Cory Nordin, zoological manager for the River's Ed...
2007-12-19 - ANCHORAGE, United States.
Putting a pachyderm amongst stories about war, corruption and environmental woes may seem crazy. Unless the elephant is named Maggie. Maggie captured the attention and hearts of people throughout the state and the Lower 48 this year when she became ill and collapsed. The event increased the pressure on the Alaska Zoo to find Maggie a new home in a warmer climate. After spending most of her 25 years in Alaska, the zoo decided it would best for the elephant to go some place warmer. Officials chose...
2007-12-19 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall
The elephant researcher stood in the living room of the sleekly modern Pacific Palisades home perched high on a hill. Slides of an African preserve flashed by on a screen. Elephants "are so social, so communicative, so intelligent," said Joyce Poole, who has dedicated her life to documenting and protecting pachyderms. It is a task that takes money, and the admiring audience was ready to help. "I'd like to put up $25,000," businessman Gil Michaels said. His condition: The rest of the room had to ...
2007-12-19 - Riverbanks, United States. JOEY HOLLEMAN
Riverbanks’ new elephants must mesh with the old-timers before they go public. The two new African elephants at Riverbanks Zoo didn’t appear at the Ndoki Forest exhibit magically, even if they do have Disney heritage. It’s been a major undertaking to get the new girls — 37-year-old Robin and 34-year-old Petunia — to Columbia from Disney’s Animal Kingdom and get them used to their new situation at Riverbanks, said mammal curator John Davis. “Moving elephants is quite an operation,...
2007-12-18 - St. Louis, United States.
Raja's daughters Maliha and Jade are throwing their father a birthday party! Their "#1 Dad" will receive special presents at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 27 in River's Edge at the Saint Louis Zoo, weather permitting. Visitors are invited to sing "Happy Birthday" and cheer for Raja who turns 15 this year.
2007-12-17 - , United States. Terry Weber
As I was watching television the other day, the commentator talked about the elephants of Africa. One of things he said was: “Elephants are probably the most intelligent creatures on earth.” As I thought about his statement, it dawned on me that he was probably right. Why? Well, in the first place, have you ever noticed how big an elephant’s ears are? They are huge! Elephantine! Jumbo! Immense! Another thing I’ve noticed is that elephants have a rather limited vocabulary – they don’t...
2007-12-17 - Fresno, United States. Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
Both sides in a dispute over the future of Fresno Chaffee Zoo said Monday that they have worked out their differences and have a plan to proceed with the zoo's $80 million expansion plans at Roeding Park. By 2014, zoo officials want to create an entry plaza, add a predators habitat with lions and hyenas, create a grasslands area with giraffes and pygmy hippos, and expand the elephant exhibit. A cafe would overlook the grasslands.
2007-12-17 - , United States. Timothy Simelane
A Swazi female elephant calf born at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park has been named “Phakamile”. Phakamile was born to a Swazi elephant named Umoya this year, Zoo officials told a San Diedo newspaper on Monday. They said the name ‘Phakamile’ was selected because they understood it to mean ‘noble’. However, the name actually means “the one who has risen high”. The calf was born Sept. 19 this yeat to 17-year-old Umoya, becoming the third pachyderm born at the Wild Animal Par...
2007-12-16 - Tulsa, United States. ALTHEA PETERSON
A statue of the late Maverick, a 7-year-old Asian elephant, remains at the Tulsa Zoo's Elephant Encounter area, 14 years after his 1993 death. One animal protection organization worries that the disease that Maverick died from also remains at the zoo. In Defense of Animals, an organization based in San Rafael, Calif., named the Tulsa Zoo at "high risk" for spreading Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus, or EEHV, this month.
2007-12-16 - Fresno, United States. Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee
An ambitious expansion plan at Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been stalled by City Hall, zoo officials say. By 2014, zoo officials want to create an entry plaza, add a predators habitat with lions and hyenas, create a grasslands area with giraffes and pygmy hippos, and expand the elephant exhibit. A cafe would overlook the grasslands.
2007-12-16 - Arkansas, United States. Scott Riddle
Here is Amy and Miss Bets. She was born Dec.8 at 5:18am, weighed 263lbs. 35 inches tall, she is very sweet and Amy is doing a great job of taking care of her. She is a natural Mother which makes life much easier on everybody.
2007-12-14 - INDIANAPOLIS, United States.
Dan Buesching still remembers the day he stumbled across the bones of a mastodon while working at the family peat bog in northeastern Indiana. When he hit the skull entombed in the soil of an ancient lake in 1998, he thought it was a tree stump. But then he saw the white enamel of the fist-sized teeth. “I was just kind of shocked,” Buesching said.
2007-12-14 - WAUCHULA, United States. Linda Lee
If the thought of spending a holiday slathered in mud conjures images of a spa - well, you probably haven't been fossil hunting in Florida lately. That's how I spent part of a recent visit, and somewhat to my surprise, I found it as relaxing as a massage and a lot more stimulating.
2007-12-14 - Brooklyn, United States. Sabine Heinlein
In my initial investigations I discover that there is indeed an animal clinic and holding facility in the middle of JFK. Michael Jackson’s elephant once spent a night here. Vetport is run by Dr. Weinstein, who leases the building from the Port Authority. It takes in any animal that gets sick on a plane or is found dumped in the airport’s vicinity. It cares for thoroughbred horses that are about to fly around the world to compete in shows and races. Every once in a while, a crate with a tiger...
2007-12-13 - Tacoma, United States.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium of Metro Parks Tacoma is seeking an Animal Care Technician to perform a variety of skilled duties involved in the care, observation, maintenance, propagation and management of assigned animal species. This position will be initially assigned to the Southeast Asia area (e.g. tapirs, anoa, small clawed otters, gibbons, siamangs, tigers, crested porcupines and fill in for elephants) and will be tasked with the care, breeding and operant conditioning/training of the ani...
2007-12-13 - Waco, United States.
Cameron Park Zoo’s new elephant, Tanya, is now on exhibit. Tanya, who is a 28-year-old female African elephant, arrived from the Abilene zoo in late October. She and Tembo are now on exhibit together. Cameron Park Zoo, in conjunction with the Elephant Species Survival Program (SSP), sent one of the zoo’s African elephants, Zoe, to the Kansas City zoo. The Kansas City zoo has the largest herd of African elephants within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Zoe is on breeding loan to the Kan...
2007-12-13 - , United States.
Animal lovers can do their bit for conservation with a virtual gift that will help some charismatic species, including the Asian elephant. The zoo has launched its Wildest Wishes range, offering gift-buyers the chance to pick up a range of gifts that will help animals. From £15 upwards, people can pick from gifts including The Spice of Life or the Purrfect gift for Cat Lovers. To help people who have left their Christmas shopping to the last minute, Wildest Wishes can now be bought through the ...
2007-12-12 - California, United States. Rex Dalton
Bullet-like pieces of what is thought to be an ancient meteorite shower have been found embedded in mammoth tusks and bison bone. The discovery of the 2–5 millimetre holes left by meteorites opens a window into a impact event thought to have happened over Alaska and Russia tens of thousands of years ago. And it could provide a whole new way to chart impacts from space.
2007-12-11 - San Diego, United States.
A female African elephant calf born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park late this summer has been named Phakamile, which means "noble" in the African language of siSwati, zoo officials announced Monday. The calf was born Sept. 19 to 17-year-old Umoya, becoming the third pachyderm born at the Wild Animal Park over the previous 12 months.
2007-12-08 - Goshen, United States. Chris McKenna
Sure, it's December, so you expect to see a manger and menorah amid the bureaucratic humdrum of the Orange County Government Center lobby. But, gee, what's that other exhibit squeezed between the holiday displays? Why, of course: A large brown mastodon skull. Enclosed there in a glass case, pointing its tusks at all the bored homo sapiens waiting at the motor vehicles counter, is a life-sized replica of the noggin of the famous Warren Mastodon, prehistoric pride of Orange County.
2007-12-07 - San Diego, United States. Imperial Valley News
In a year that has already seen the birth of two African elephants at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, the birth of one more of the threatened species is icing on the proverbial cake. And it is sweet, as Lungile (Loon-gee-lee), a 16-year-old elephant, gave birth November 29, to a female calf. "This birth is a culmination of quite a successful year for African elephant births at the Wild Animal Park, with three births in 2007," said Jeff Andrews, San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park animal care ...
2007-12-07 - , United States. Pam Vetter
Tom Rider, a former employee of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is on a mission to save elephants from cruelty. Early next year, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Rider, the Animal Welfare Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Protection Institute, and the Fund for Animals, will get a trial date. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2000, has taken a long path toward trial.
2007-12-07 - San Diego, United States.
In October 2007, construction began on the San Diego Zoo’s newest exhibit, The Harry and Grace Elephant Odyssey, a seven-acre habitat that will house a variety of animals which inhabited Southern California more than 10,000 years ago. The $44-million project, slated to open in spring 2009, will be the Zoo’s largest multi-species habitat in its 91-year history, bringing together a herd of nine Asian elephants, lions, wild horses, California condors, and sloths.
2007-12-06 - Springfield, United States.
Dickerson Park Zoo has suspended elephant breeding for the time being. This week a California group called “In Defense of Animals” called on the Springfield Zoo to stop breeding Asian elephants because of the frequency of the herpes virus. Herpes caused the death of Springfield’s 16 month old elephant calf, Nisha, a few days ago. Zoo Director Mike Crocker said the suspension has nothing to do with the criticism. Instead, the zoo is without a reliable male breeding elephant.
2007-12-06 - San Antonio, United States.
2007-12-06 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Fort Worth Zoo has an open keeper position working with Asian elephants, Asian rhino, and Nile hippopotamus. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing animal care, monitoring animal health, maintaining cleanliness of animal areas, providing enrichment and training, and making minor exhibit modification. The position requires a high school diploma or equivalent, one-year experience working with elephants preferably in a zoo setting, good communication/organizational skills, a...
2007-12-06 - COAL VALLEY, United States. Kristy Mergenthal
An animal rights group is attacking zoos who house Asian elephants, saying they're not taking proper care of them. The group called In Defense of Animals released a report saying zoos with Asian elephants aren't doing enough to protect the endangered species from a virus. It's a form of herpes found in Asian elephants. Niabi zoo says its elephants do have the virus but there's no risk of it spreading.
2007-12-05 - Los Angeles, United States. Pam Wetter
Melya Kaplan is a teacher and an activist. As the Founder and Executive Director of Voice for the Animals Foundation, Kaplan speaks out on behalf of the elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo. “The tide is turning. Elephant exhibits are being phased out all over this country. The Bronx Zoo is phasing out their elephant exhibit.
2007-12-05 - Seattle, United States. Amy Rausch
An animal rights group criticized U.S. zoos for breeding and transferring Asian elephants despite the known risks of a deadly virus, but a local zoo official said facilities are handling the risk appropriately. In Defense of Animals distributed its report Tuesday and claimed U.S. zoos are putting Asian elephants at risk for spreading Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus. This weekend, a young Asian elephant died from the virus at a Missouri zoo.
2007-12-04 - Memphis, United States.
We have an opening for a Keeper in our Elephant area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in exotic animal care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience). Prefer significant experience with operant conditioning. One to two years experience working in a pr...
2007-12-04 - Orlando, United States.
2007-12-04 - Las Vegas, United States.
“In the USA, only one person dies per year as a result of attacks by captive big cats, 1.5 by captive reptiles, 0.81 by captive elephant, 0.125 by captive bear and 0 by captive non-human primate. In comparison, 45,000 people die each year in traffic accidents, 47 by lightning, and 1,600 by falling from stairs. We have detailed information on our website http://www.rexano.org about our ongoing fight against uninformed legislators and animal rights (AR) activists,” says Scott Shoemaker, a co-f...
2007-12-04 - Syracuse, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is ready to make a major upgrade to its Zoo program. Tuesday afternoon, Onondaga County lawmakers okayed a $7.7 million project at the zoo for the elephants. The elephants just need more space and that´s what the project will create. Most importantly a bigger indoor facility also part of the project is a pavilion for people to watch the elephants when they’re in the day yard.
2007-12-04 - New York, United States. C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Q. How keen is an elephant’s sense of smell, and where in the trunk is it handled? A. The sense of smell is very keen indeed, said Pat Thomas, general curator of the Bronx Zoo. “In fact it has been reported that elephants can smell water several miles away,” he said.
2007-12-04 - Indianapolis, United States. Rob Schneider
Six conservationists recognized for their work on behalf of animals have been named finalists for the 2008 Indianapolis Prize and its $100,000 cash award. The 2008 finalists are: Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Rodney Jackson, K. Ullas Karanth, Laurie Marker, Roger Payne, George Schaller. The Indianapolis Zoo, which bestows the award biennially, selected the finalists from 29 nominees. The winner will be announced next summer, and the $100,000 and Lilly Medal will be formally presented at a gala in India...
2007-12-04 - Onondaga County, United States. Meghan Rubado
Major projects in downtown Syracuse, Fayetteville and at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo received a big boost last week from a state grant fund. The Environmental Protection Fund will supply the recently announced zoo enhancement project with $400,000. That will cut to $6.3 million the sum that Onondaga County will need to borrow for the $7.7 million upgrade to expand the zoo's Asian elephant exhibit.
2007-12-03 - SPRINGFIELD, United States. Melinda Arnold, Dickerson Park Zoo News Release
The 16-month-old elephant calf, Nisha, at Dickerson Park Zoo died in the early hours of Saturday morning from elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Animal care staff administered medications last night at 8 p.m. and remained with the elephants throughout the night. Nisha first showed signs of EEHV on Thursday afternoon when elephant keepers recognized initial symptoms: tongue discoloration and a lesion on the roof of Nisha's mouth.
2007-12-02 - Springfield, United States. Michelle Sherwood
Veterinarians at Springfield's Dickerson Park Zoo are studying the death of Nisha, she’s the 16-month old elephant that died yesterday morning at the zoo. Officials say she was treated for a herpes virus that usually kills elephants in just five days. Zoo officials say Nisha received aggressive treatment and good care, but now one California-based animal group called In Defense of Animals, is calling for the zoo to stop breeding. The group claims that the facility is contaminated.
2007-11-30 - Asheboro, United States.
Successful candidate will be assigned to the Watani Grasslands section, working with African elephants and/or white rhinoceros, a variety of African antelope, and some African birds, including ostrich. Specific animal assignment will depend on the section needs and the skills and experiences of the candidate. Regardless of primary assignment, candidate will be expected to assist working with the care of other species within the work unit. Responsibilities include daily assessment and care of exh...
2007-11-29 - New York, United States. Les C. Stutzman
Chembio Diagnostic, Inc. (OTC BB: CEMI.OB – News) announces that it has been issued an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) license for its ElephantTB STAT-PAK Assay designed to rapidly (< 20 minutes) detect tuberculosis (TB) in both Asian and African elephants. Chembio’s other rapid serological TB assay – PrimaTB STAT-PAK received USDA licensure earlier this year. Both products belong to a larger family of rapid immunochromatographic assays currently under development at Chembio...
2007-11-28 - Wendy Edelstein, United States.
Among her colleagues at the Tang Center, primary-care nurse Julie Barnett is known as “elephant girl.” Barnett earned her nickname because she’s committed to aiding Asian elephants, a cause she came to several years ago after visiting a sanctuary for the abused mammals in northern Thailand. Julie Barnett rides Pang Lom, a 4-year-old elephant who was malnourished and frightened before being rescued from the streets and moved to an elephant sanctuary.
2007-11-28 - New York, United States.
Paris Hilton was on "Ellen" today, and Ellen asked her about the rumors circulating a few weeks ago that Paris was embarking on a "Global Elephant Campaign" to save drunk elephants in India. The AP originally published the story, but then they killed it, leaving us very confused. Now, Paris sets the record straight:
2007-11-27 - Washington, United States.
An underwater archaeologist has found what may be an etching of a mastodon at the bottom of Grand Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan. Members of a local tribe believe that there is a spear in the mastodon, which would be hard evidence that humans hunted the prehistoric elephant-like animals. Tom Kramer of Interlochen Public Radio reports.
2007-11-27 - San Andreas, United States. BETH BRAGG
About the only thing keeping Alaska's favorite ex-pat from mixing it up with those elephants on the other side of the fence is a little muscle. With that fitness goal in mind, we bring you Maggie's 10-minute workout video. It's not quite Carmen Electra on a pole. But fans of Maggie will crack a smile, if not break a sweat, watching the latest video from the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., where Alaska's lone elephant took up residency at the beginning of the m...
2007-11-26 - Montgomery, United States.
Tina, an African elephant, stands with her baby, a male elephant weighing 247 pounds, at the Montgomery Zoo in Montgomery, Ala., earlier this month. The baby was born on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.. (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh)
2007-11-26 - Washington, United States. David Chircop
During the most recent Ice Age, this slice of North America was a prime stomping ground for mammoths. The giant elephant-like beasts were heavily concentrated in the central and northern Puget Sound lowlands. Why they became extinct is still a mystery. Molars of the Columbian mammoth are the most common mammoth remains found in Washington. In fact, the Columbian mammoth — which foraged grasses along meadows, bogs and ponds 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago — is the state fossil.
2007-11-24 - CHETOPA, United States. COLLEEN SURRIDGE
Life science teacher Tim Blankenship was elated to find part of a mammoth tooth along the banks of the Neosho River near Chetopa two years ago. His excitement mounted last summer when he discovered a second, larger mammoth tooth within 30 meters of the first. “I found the first one in the summer of 2005,” said Blankenship, who teaches at Chetopa Grade School. “I went to Wyoming looking for dinosaur fossils and mammoth fossils (in 2006). Then I found this tooth this year, and I didn’t eve...
2007-11-23 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: · Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. · Perform night feeds as assigned. · Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down...
2007-11-20 - Atlanta, United States.
Zoo Atlanta may soon hear the stomping of little feet. One of the zoo's three elephants, Dottie, is pregnant. If all goes as expected, the zoo's first newborn Loxodonata african should arrive in April 2009. The baby could weigh up to 300 pounds and measure 3 feet tall at birth. A team of specialists from Berlin artificially inseminated the 25-year-old Dottie in June after plans to mate her with a male elephant at the North Carolina Zoo fell through.
2007-11-19 - Montgomery, United States. Bill Rice
On Friday, November 9, 2007 at approximately 8 p.m., a female African elephant was born at the Montgomery Zoo. The calf weighed in at 247 lbs. This birth marks the first African elephant born in the state of Alabama, ever; and the third known birth this year to U.S. Zoological facilities.
2007-11-17 - San Diego, La Jolla, United States. Moore J., University of California
Perhaps the most important 'decision' made by any animal (or plant) is whether to disperse leave kith and kin, or remain with the familiar and related. The benefits of staying at home are obvious, so dispersal requires an explanation--and the most popular is that dispersal functions to avoid inbreeding depression. Strong support comes from the observation that dispersal is so often sex biased. Simply put, all else being equal members of both sexes should prefer to remain philopatric, but this wo...
2007-11-15 - Washington, United States.
I've heard that one since I was a little kid. So to check it out, we went looking for some elephants. We found them at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where the head clown let me ask the audience. The resounding answer from the audience: "Mice. Mice. Mice." Many people, however, learned about elephants fearing mice from cartoons like "Dumbo." But why would a big animal fear such a small one? Well, it seems logical to us or at least plausible because if you think about it, as adult...
2007-11-15 - Montgomery, United States.
Tina and Studla will be given some time to bond with their newborn - a 247-pound female African elephant - before visitors to the Montgomery Zoo view them outdoors. The newborn arrived Friday and has not yet been given a name, zoo spokeswoman Sarah McKemey said Sunday. She said the community will be involved in naming her.
2007-11-05 - Montgomery, United States.
Zookeeper I (Elephants) provide animal care to the elephants housed in the Montgomery Zoo. Major work functions include observing elephant collections and exhibits, maintaining elephant exhibits, performing building and grounds maintenance, feeding elephants, and communicating with others. The Elephant Zookeeper I may be asked to work with other animals or in other animal areas as deemed necessary by the department. Visit our job website at www.montgomerypersonnel.com for additional information ...
2007-11-03 - Robin Miller, United States.
What was arguably the United States Air Force's largest passenger ever arrived at Travis Air Force Base in the wee hours of Friday morning. Maggie, an 8,000-pound, 25-year-old African elephant, was flown from Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base to Travis on a C-17 cargo aircraft, arriving shortly after midnight. Maggie then was transferred to a flat-bed truck for delivery to her new home - Ark 2000, an elephant sanctuary in San Andreas owned and operated by the Performing Animals Welfare Society (...
2007-11-02 - Central Florida, United States.
The world renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation located in central Florida is pleased to announce a unique training opportunity in Elephant Care. Three training programs will be offered in 2008. Interns will be exposed to the combined talents of some of the worlds’ most capable trainers, handlers and veterinarians in a free contact environment. The curriculum will include twelve (12) weeks of both classroom and hands-on instruction with some 25 Asian ...
2007-11-02 - FAIRFIELD, United States.
After living nearly her whole life in Alaska, Maggie the elephant on Friday made her way to a new home in California. The 25-year-old African elephant arrived at Travis Air Force Base here bound for the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in the northern California town of San Andreas 85 miles away. The Air Force agreed to transport Maggie — for years Alaska's only elephant — as part of a training mission after officials with PAWS and the zoo discovered she was too big for a commercial ...
2007-11-02 - Orlando, Florida, United States.
This important symposium presented by the International Elephant Foundation and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation will concentrate on the research and conservation needs of captive and wild populations of elephants. We invite researchers from around the world to present conservation projects and research results on human-elephant conflict, population management, health, nutrition, reproduction and behavior. Papers specifically addressing in situ and ex situ ...
2007-10-30 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
A judge has ruled that Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis. Robert Culp arrives at NBC's 75th anniversary celebration in this May 5, 2002, file photo in New York. Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn has rejected a...
2007-10-29 - Waco, United States.
The Cameron Park Zoo in Waco has some new residents. The zoo has three new animals, including a brand new baby jaguar. The female cub was recently born at the zoo, and made her first public appearance Monday. There’s also a new elephant, Tanya on-loan from the Abilene Zoo. And zoo keepers are also caring for a 2-month-old East African Kori Bustard, hatched in Waco from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The zoo says new animals are always good for business.
2007-10-29 - Los Angeles, United States.
Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn has rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.
2007-10-29 - Asheboro, United States.
Three African elephants arrived at the North Carolina Zoo this past weekend, bringing the zoo's elephant collection to seven, the largest in its history. Artie, a 24-year-old male, arrived Friday. Tonga, a 29-year-old female, and her 5-year-old female calf, Batir, were delivered Sunday, according to a news release. All three traveled to Asheboro via truck from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Greenbrier, Ark.
2007-10-28 - Anchorage, United States. MARY PEMBERTON
Alaska's only elephant is getting a one-way ticket out of town. After months of a tug of war between those wanting Maggie to stay and those advocating for a warmer climate where she could be in the company of other female elephants, the 25-year-old African elephant at The Alaska Zoo is heading to sunny California on Thursday. Her new home will be at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in San Andreas.
2007-10-23 - BRIDGEPORT, United States. Tracy Deer-Mirek
The circus didn't roll into town this morning, it jogged. Six elephants, some clasped trunk-to-tail to keep up the brisk pace, bounded beneath the railroad underpass at Water Street and Stratford Avenue on the last leg of a two-mile journey from the Union Avenue rail yards to the Arena at Harbor Yard.
2007-10-22 - San Andreas, United States. LENORE RUTHERFORD
More than 500 people paid $100 each to watch elephants play and tour Ark 2000, the 2,300-acre exotic animal sanctuary complex near San Andreas. A silent auction and an outdoor market featuring donated items were also held. The fourth annual Elephant Grape Stomp was a fundraiser for the sanctuary, which is home to more than 100 exotic animals, including elephants, tigers, primates and bears, said Tamara Wilder, organizational development director for Performing Animal Welfare Society.
2007-10-19 - Fairhope, United States.
Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium officials broke ground on Friday on construction of a new 10,000 square-foot building at the International Conservation Center in Somerset County. The building is the first of several that will be the cornerstone of elephant breeding and other conservation management programs. The first building will provide housing for at least four elephants and will be ready in time for the arrival of the Philadelphia Zoo's three elephants: Petal, 51; Kallie, 24; and Bette, 24,...
2007-10-18 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. Perform night feeds as assigned. Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn.
2007-10-18 - Anchorage, United States. Jason Moore
The Alaska Zoo is ready to say goodbye to Maggie the elephant and it's asking you to join in the send off. Maggie is preparing for her trip to an elephant park in California and a two-day going away party happens the weekend after next. The zoo says it doesn't know for sure when she will leave but expects the trip south will happen within the next few weeks. The going away part will feature a banner for signing, a Maggie slide show and an original Maggie painting will be raffled off.
2007-10-18 - Anchorage, United States. Steve Mac Donald
The Alaska Zoo took delivery this morning of a specially-made shipping crate that will house Maggie, Alaskas lone African elephant, during her trip to California. Maggie is being relocated to an elephant sanctuary there after twice being unable to stand up on her own earlier this year. The 10,000-pound steel crate is designed specifically for shipping elephants and contains restraining bars and heaters. The crate is currently attached to Maggie's outdoor pen. Zoo officials hope shell grow accust...
2007-10-17 - Stockton, United States. C. Johnson
There was an unusual discovery Wednesday morning at a downtown Stockton construction site. Workers came across the bones of a mammoth. The remains - tail and femur bones - were unearthed about 80 feet down at the corner of east Weber Street and north San Joaquin Street. Dr. Gregg Anderson, an assistant professor of biology at UOP, said a large auger was drilling at about 8 a.m. when tailings revealed bones. Workers called the county coroners office whose representative came out and said the big ...
2007-10-17 - Mendon, United States. Ira Kantor
Elephant trainer Phil Schacht says his pachyderm Dondi is more child than wild animal. Among her tricks, Dondi can cluck like a chicken, roar like a lion, and play a harmonica. She also enjoys giving spectators rides and posing for photos at Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, according to her handler. But Schacht, 74, says he's endured repeated threats from animal rights groups that claim his Asian elephant is being mistreated. Now that state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, has re-filed legislation ban...
2007-10-17 - Denver, United States.
Halloween came early today at the Denver Zoo. Elephants Mimi and Dolly got their pumpkins this morning. The pachyderms stomped on the giant gourds one 660 pounds and the other 425 pounds — to get at the flesh inside. The elephants are only two of the 3,500 animals to be showcased at the annual Boo at the Zoo event, held this year on Oct. 27 and Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. The trick-or-treat event is free with regular zoo admission.
2007-10-17 - Anchorage, United States. Rich Jordan
Trainers at the Alaska Zoo have been working daily with Alaskas only african elephant tp prepare her for the trip to her new home in California
2007-10-13 - Cincinnati, United States. Val Nastold
The conference will be at Drawbridge Inn Oct 13th-16th, with a pre-trip to the Indianapolis Zoo on Oct 13th and a post-trip to the Louisville Zoo on the 17th. There will be more information about the conference coming soon.
2007-10-11 - San Antonio, United States.
The Oakland Zoo manages a herd of 1.3 African Elephants in a progressive protected contact program. This is an opportunity for a highly motivated, hardworking individual to learn about captive elephant management. Apprentices will learn about elephant behavior, research, reproduction, training, husbandry and enrichment. He/she will participate in daily cleaning, food preparation and delivery.
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian. Minimum qualifications include ability to work weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours assignments
2007-10-09 - Portland, United States. RICHARD L. HILL
Change is uncaged at the Oregon Zoo. Lions will be heard roaring again at the Washington Park facility, joined by speedy cheetahs and African wild dogs. The zoo has broken ground on a 50,000-square-foot "Predators of the Serengeti" exhibit, which will open in 2009. The zoo also has unveiled a strategic master plan that proposes expanding the elephant area, building a three-story parking deck to deal with its chronic parking shortage and increasing summer admission prices.
2007-10-07 - Buffalo, United States.
Lots of money and family fun filled the afternoon Saturday at the Buffalo Zoo, where HSBC Bank held its annual Halloween gathering for bank employees and presented the zoo a $90,000 check that helped it get accredited. Last month, a year after the Buffalo Zoo's five-year accreditation was delayed, the zoo launched a campaign to collect more than $2 million and win its reaccreditation.
2007-10-06 - Portland, United States.
The Metro Council at the Oregon Zoo heard testimony to expand the elephant exhibit. Bottom line, most of the people with the organization In Defense of Animals simply want the exhibit moved out of the Zoo to give the animals more living space. These elephants, because they're the largest land animal, need more space and adding a couple of acres to their already small space is not enough. Deputy Zoo Director Mike Keele disagrees. The sadness is that these armchair extremists don't realize that wh...
2007-10-06 - Melbourne, United States.
LOADS of face paint will be slapped on today as the Melbourne Zoo celebrates its 145th birthday. Elephants Numoi, 6, and Kulab, 8, got right into the spirit of the bash with the anniversary numerals painted on their foreheads. They and another elephant, Dokkoon, are among the zoo's newest residents and are enjoying the extensive Trail of the Elephants area in its Malaysian-themed setting.
2007-10-06 - El Paso, United States.
Pack your Trunks for a positively pachydermic experience! Come visit the El Paso Zoo to support conservation of the world’s largest land mammal. You’ll touch neat bio-facts from elephants or buy your ticket for the opportunity to actually walk into the elephant exhibit area and hide produce to feed our own Conservation Ambassadors – Savannah and Juno the El Paso Zoo’s Asian elephants. RSVP quickly to reserve your space at the special “Breakfast with the Elephants.” Did you know eleph...
2007-10-05 - Leggett, United States. http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou071004_ac_elephants.13a4a2d89.html
Some things, you expect to see in Texas. But in the town of Leggett, about 80 miles north of Houston, there are two things you dont. Tina and Jewel are rare Asian elephants. With fewer than 50,000 and remaining in the wild, they are an endangered species and share the Leggett property with a third elephant named Boo when shes not on the road with handler, Will Davenport.
2007-10-04 - Fairhope, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will announce its plans for an elephant conservation center in Somerset County later this month. Details of the $1.5 million International Conservation Center will be announced at the Oct. 19 groundbreaking. The 724-acre Glen Savage Ranch was once a private hunting preserve. The zoo bought it and is turning it into the first breeding ground for endangered African elephants in North America.
2007-10-01 - Portland, United States.
The Oregon Zoo announced today that its 13-year-old Asian elephant, Rose-Tu, is pregnant and should deliver a calf between Sept. 4 and 24, 2008. Zookeepers figure she conceived between Dec. 4 and 6, 2006, when she was allowed to roam the elephant yard with Tusko, a 36-year-old bull the zoo acquired on a breeding loan in 2005. A baby, said Mike Keele, signifies a major impact on the life of the herd. Its incredibly enriching.
2007-09-30 - Asheboro, United States.
In June, the N.C. Zoo, in Asheboro, struck a deal with the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Alberta, to send Samatha south on a breeding loan. She arrived at the N.C. Zoo shortly after sunrise Sunday after a four-day truck ride. One of her Edmonton zoo keepers, Jackie Buck, accompanied her and will stay for five days to help Samantha acclimate.
2007-09-30 - Dominguez Hills, United States. Shelly Leachman
It was an odd experiment, to be sure: An enormous Asian elephant 5 tons large buried on a southeast section of a college campus, while yards away, near a baseball diamond, a rare black rhinoceros got similar treatment. But it happened right here in the South Bay, at Carson-based California State University, Dominguez Hills, back in 1979. The brainstorm of elephant-obsessed, then-psychology professor Jack Adams, the experiment's goal was retrieval of the beasts' bones for a comparison study aimed...
2007-09-29 - Muskogee, United States. Elizabeth Ridenour
When Hi-Bi the clown waved at Grace Hiseley with both hands, his pants fell down, bringing squeals from Grace and dozens of others Saturday in the Muskogee Civic Center. The three-ring Bedouin Shrine circus, along with cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn and balloons, filled the civic center Saturday afternoon. Spectators clapped in time with a drumming elephant to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Two more shows will be held today.
2007-09-29 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
The San Diego Zoo has started demolishing 7 acres of old exhibits there to make way for Elephant Odyssey, the blockbuster $44 million project that will house elephants, lions and jaguars. In total, 10 percent of the zoo's display area is off limits while bulldozers take out 50-year-old exhibits that once held giraffes, zebras and antelope. Construction will start early next year and last 18 months.
2007-09-29 - Hattiesburg, United States. REUBEN MEES
John Kamper was not a resident of Hattiesburg, but theres still plenty of evidence of the Meridian businessmans influence on the Hub City. In 1902, what is now called the Hattiesburg Zoo at Kamper Park opened with an elephant called Mrs. Hattie, according to a poetic history of the zoo written by Angela Hayes and recorded in the "History of Forrest County, Mississippi."
2007-09-29 - New Orleans, United States.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates wild populations which are scattered throughout India, Nepal, Indonesia, China and a few other countries is between 25,600 to 32,750 individuals. That represents a stark decline over the last few decades and the results of habitat loss due to increased agriculture and related shootings as well as some ivory poaching. Perhaps the single great obstacle facing Asiatic elephant recovery however is a lack of publicity. African elephants are the darlings of the ...
2007-09-28 - Augusta, United States. Emily Sapienza
The tusk of a prehistoric mastodon that a Cushing family donated to the Maine State Museum in August has been officially accepted to the museum's collection. Museum registrar and zoology curator Dr. Paula T. Work sent documents to the Winchenbach family on Sept. 14 that confirm the transfer of legal title for the prehistoric tusk from the family to the museum. Work also included a letter to Michelle and Timothy Winchenbach thanking them for their generous donation.
2007-09-28 - Orlando, United States. Henry Pierson Curtis
Orlando is safe from rampaging pachyderms now that the Orange County Sheriffs Office has bought 14 elephant guns. The newest weapon in Sheriff Kevin Bearys armory fires a half-inch-diameter bullet with sharpshooter accuracy. The sole purpose for this weapon is large or exotic animals, sheriffs spokesman Jim Solomons said Thursday.
2007-09-28 - Los Angeles, United States. Karen Kaplan
Scientists seeking to decode ancient DNA from woolly mammoths and other Ice Age beasts have found an abundant new source of unsullied genetic material: ordinary hair. Using samples of fur from mammoths that roamed Siberia 17,000 to 50,000 years ago, the researchers were able, they say, to reconstruct the complete mitochondrial genomes of 10 animals, even though some of the hair had been stored at room temperature for 200 years.
2007-09-27 - New York, United States.
The artwork above, you're not going to believe this, was painted by elephants. Thats right: The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project, a nonprofit organization, gives elephants paintbrushes, paper, paint, and an easel, and let's them do their thing. Most of the artwork is abstract, but some of the paintings are unbelievable! The AECP is based out of New York City, and its purpose is to raise money and awareness about the plight of the elephants of Southeast Asia.
2007-09-27 - Miami, United States. RACHEL MONAHAN
Shes not the flying elephant with whom the DUMBO neighborhood shares a name. But she is a painting pachyderm. Dondi, 33, will exhibit her artwork at a neighborhood festival tomorrow and Sunday. Its a natural movement of the trunk, explained Zannah Mass, cultural affairs director for developer Two Trees. The real estate company is expected to bring the 8,000-pound artist, originally from Thailand, for an appearance at the 11th annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival this weekend.
2007-09-27 - Keonjhar, United States.
The recent death of two elephants in the rail accident and another one due to electrocution in Keonjhar district has brought to forefront the threat faced by the pachyderms of this area. Sources said that there were 112 elephants in Keonjhar in 2002. In 2005 the number came down to 69. In 2007 the number of elephants in this district is only 51. While there are eight males, 14 females,and six calves in the Keonjhar forest division, in the Anandapur wild division there are 18 elephants, including...
2007-09-27 - Los Angeles, United States. Randolph E. Schmid
Attacking several tons of woolly mammoth with stone-tipped spears must have taken extraordinary courage — and ancient people left paintings to prove they did it. Now, scientists are approaching mammoths in a different way, extracting DNA from their dense coats in an effort to learn more about them. Mammoths are extinct, of course. No one knows if the cause was climate change, hungry Neanderthals or something else — but they left behind remains, often frozen in the tundra.
2007-09-27 - Knoxville, United States. Sam Watson
More shovel-tusked elephant remains have surfaced at the Gray Fossil Site seven years after scientists first identified portions of the fossilized behemoth in the early days of the sites discovery. Having searched in vain in previous digs, East Tennessee State University researchers struck gold this week after getting a better idea of where an elephant pelvis and other fragments were found from some of the original investigators.
2007-09-25 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. Perform night feeds as assigned. Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down and sque...
2007-09-24 - Miami, United States. MONICA HATCHER
You think you've got to deal with a lot of crap at work? You aint got nothin on Tarah Bedrossian. As Miami Metro Zoos elephant manager and enrichment coordinator, Bedrossian and her team of four are responsible for removing hundreds of pounds of elephant dung each day. Its just one of the many daily chores of elephant husbandry. We use rakes, shovels, pitch forks and wheelbarrows. We wheelbarrow it out twice a day, Bedrossian, 31, said. The staff, in fact, once weighed a single elephant's output...
2007-09-24 - Boston, United States. Andy Nelson
A friend of mine in Oregon, Michael Wilhelm, is a nature photographer, and he once told me, I don't want to just take pictures of animals, I want to capture their behavior. His words rang in my head when I was recently in South Africa and encountered a young elephant and his family. I think elephants are amazing and shot plenty of pretty pictures of this animal and of the herd as they were walking.
2007-09-23 - Jackson, United States. Tracie Simer
A fossil skeleton stands at 19 feet, the tusks are 8 feet long and its more than 12,000 years old. Its the only display of its kind in West Tennessee. A woolly mammoth skeleton is on exhibit at the Obion County museum through June. The county has it on loan from Russia.
2007-09-22 - Sacramento, United States. Dixie Reid
The 51-year-old Baby appears to be dozing off while six members of the circus crew shampoo and scrub her with wire brushes. The elephants are bathed daily with a vegetable-based shampoo to keep their hides clean and exfoliated, says Carrie Coleman, a veterinary technician with a degree from Purdue University who travels with the show. While the others wait for Baby to be done with her shower, 46-year-old Siam, who is a little impatient, uses her trunk to snort up soap suds making their way to th...
2007-09-21 - Minneapolis, United States. DAVID HANNERS
With a council chamber packed by zealots, schoolchildren, executives in fezzes and a guy with a sign saying the president should be impeached, the Minneapolis City Council on Friday declined to ban circuses from the city. The council spent two hours debating the proposed ordinance, then decided to send alternative legislation, which would regulate, not ban, circus animals, back to a committee for more tweaking. As debate and time dragged on, discussing motions, amendments, alternative motions, e...
2007-09-21 - Birmingham, United States. Walter Bryant
The Birmingham Zoo unveiled plans for a major new exhibit Thursday night, a $15 million, 14-acre showcase for African beasts and birds that officials hope will transform the 52-year-old zoo as a tourist destination. The Trails of Africa exhibit will also mark the return of elephants to Birmingham, something that has been missing since the zoos beloved Mona died in June. The new exhibit, which will push the zoo into a portion of the wooded property surrounding the current zoo proper, will include...
2007-09-20 - Waco, United States. R.A. DYER
Not far from modest suburban homes in the middle of some thick Texas woods lies a secret boneyard. Surrounded by a tall chain-link fence and covered by what looks like a red-and-white circus tent, the site contains the remains of towering monsters. Remains of at least 25 mammoths, signs of a big saber-toothed cat and a long extinct camel have been found at the site.
2007-09-20 - Agoura, United States. Ian Manning
In June, 1969, I came back to the Luangwa to hunt for Luangwa safaris, first flying up to Fort Jameson where Norman Carr, one of the partners, ran the business. The field operations were run by his partner, Peter Hankin, from a bush headquarters at Chanjusi in the Luangwa. I arrived at Chanjusi, feeling a little like the once successful actor attempting a comeback after a period of absence, for I had left for Canada fully two dry seasons ago. To return again and see the vistas of Cathedral mopan...
2007-09-20 - New Bedford, United States. Pamela Marean
Find out what its like to have a curious elephant reach out to touch you with its powerful trunk. Get up close and personal with New Bedfords resident pachyderms, Emily and Ruth, and help the giant and gentle creatures of their kind around the globe at the same time. Elephant appreciation and fundraising is the focus behind a whole host of exciting activities at Buttonwood Park Zoo on Sunday. Those who come will enjoy behind-the-scenes experiences with these unique endangered animals that are us...
Not far from modest suburban homes in the middle of some thick Texas woods lies a secret boneyard. Surrounded by a tall chain-link fence and covered by what looks like a red-and-white circus tent, the site contains the remains of towering monsters. Remains of at least 25 mammoths, signs of a big saber-toothed cat and a long extinct camel have been found at the site. This is the Waco Mammoth Site, a collection of prehistoric fossils embedded in the dirt not far from the Bosque River. The site cou...
2007-09-19 - Santa Barbara, United States.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is seeking a keeper for our elephant team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the daily care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and enhancing the guest experience. This position is part of a dynamic and progressive Animal Care team. The position may be filled at the apprentice keeper, keeper, or senior keeper level depending on experience, with wages ranging from $11 to $15/hr.
2007-09-19 - Philadelphia, United States.
The Philadelphia Zoo said Wednesday it now plans to say goodbye to its three remaining elephants by early next year. The move had been planned for the fall. The African elephants will be moved to the Pittsburgh Zoos International Conservation Center, which is in Fairhope, Somerset County, Pa. At the earliest, the elephants would be moved late this year. A fourth elephant was moved earlier this year to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn.
2007-09-19 - San Diego, United States.
While the San Diego Zoo still celebrates the recent birth of a baby girl panda, the Wild Animal Park has something to celebrate too. The 17-year-old African elephant, Umoya (oo-MOY-ah), gave birth Wednesday to a healthy bouncing baby girl. The female calf was born at 12:23 a.m. She is the third elephant born at the park in the past 12 months. Umoya, which meansspirit in the SiSwati language, and her calf will be slowly introduced to the rest of the herd. Keepers and researchers are monitoring th...
2007-09-19 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
Scotty, the Louisville Zoo's pride and joy, can raise each of his legs on command and, at least sometimes, can hold on to the tail of his mother, Mikki, with his still-developing trunk. In addition to learning a trick or two, the baby African elephant is learning to be calm around people and to show some patience, said Dave Campbell, the zoo's elephant-area supervisor.
2007-09-18 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoo has received a nearly $1 million state grant to help build a new elephant exhibit. The zoo is weeks away from breaking ground on the $45 million project. AdvertisementThe funds come from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Board, which distributes money from a state infrastructure bond that voters approved in 2002. The exhibit, to be called Elephant Odyssey, qualified for the public money because it will show how modern-day animals, such as elephants and jaguars, a...
2007-09-18 - Virginia, United States. LIA RUSSELL
Cita, a 38-year-old African elephant, displayed her creative talents while Kristen held a board with a painting canvas. "Cita, paint!" was the command. Holding a brush with her trunk, the talented pachyderm alternately swooshed ribbons of pink, green and blue paint (colors specially selected by Kristen) on the canvas. Her reward? Bananas and corn, offered between brush strokes. Note: she also eats the skins and the cobs. And painting isn't Cita's only artistic accomplishment. Before coming to Vi...
2007-09-15 - Seattle, United States. Mailand C, Wasser SK. University of Washington
This protocol describes a method for the extraction of DNA from elephant ivory. These techniques are being used to assign geographic origin to poached ivory by comparing the ivory genotype to a geographic-based gene frequency map, developed separately. The method has three components: ivory pulverization, decalcification and DNA extraction. Pulverization occurs in a freezer mill while the sample is deep frozen in liquid nitrogen, preventing degradation of DNA during the process. Decalcification ...
2007-09-14 - Fairhope, United States. TIFFANY WRIGHT
Residents who will soon be neighbors to African elephants attended an informal gathering to discuss the effect the animals may have on the community. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium officials addressed residents' questions and concerns at Glen Savage Ranch Thursday night regarding the development of the International Conservation Center. The center is located on the 724-acre property and will focus on African elephant breeding. There are also plans to construct shelters, stalls and an indoor arena...
2007-09-13 - Anchorage, United States. Steve Mac Donald
Maggie the elephant will soon be a California girl. The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors chose to send its beloved elephant to a sanctuary run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society, also known as PAWS. The board made the decision during a closed-door meeting last night, but the board didn't make that choice public until this afternoon. For nearly all of her 25 years, Maggie has called a pen at the Alaska Zoo home, but not much longer. After months of research, debate and pressure, the Zoo's boar...
2007-09-13 - Pittsburgh, United States. Kellie B. Gormly
Macys Elephant Day activities at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will make a party of ginormous proportions for elephants Victoria and Callee, who were born on Sept. 12 and 19, respectively. The elephants are a year apart in age: Victoria will be 8, and Callee will be 7.
2007-09-13 - Cleveland, United States. Charles Cassady
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest, celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2007 with “Zoobilee,” a day-long celebration with music and fun on Saturday, with extended Zoo hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We’ve never had a Zoobilee before,” said Tom O’Konowitz of the Zoo’s marketing department. “Because of our 125th anniversary we wanted to have a special party like none we’ve ever had before.”
2007-09-12 - Minneapolis, United States. Brandt Williams
The Minneapolis City Council takes up an issue not usually on its agenda: the safety of circus animals. A proposal before the council would ban wild animal circuses in the city. While some say its the way to prevent animal cruelty, other council members say the move is misguided. The proposed circus animal ban will face opposition on the council. Councilmembers Paul Ostrow and Betsy Hodges are pushing a substitute ordinance that forgoes an all-out ban in favor of tighter restrictions for circus ...
2007-09-11 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoos Wild Animal Park hosted a special birthday celebration for an elephant that turned 1-year-old Tuesday. Khosi was treated with a cake, which she celebrated with family and friends. Most of the time, her mother Umngani was by her side. Khosis mother was one of seven elephants rescued from Swaziland and brought to the park. Zoo officials said Khosi weighs in at almost 850 pounds. When she was a newborn, she tipped the scales at 209 pounds.
2007-09-10 - La Grange, United States. Joe Sinopoli
Hundreds of excited students, teachers, children and parents came to St. Cletus School Wednesday to watch Viola do her stuff. The 35-year-old female Asian elephant was brought out to help raise the Big Top at St. Cletus School for the sold-out Kelly Miller Circus show Wednesday. As a special treat, students at the school were allowed to take time out of class to come and watch as the tent was raised. The tent, made in Italy from a fire-proof material, measures 160-feet by 160-feet and can accomm...
2007-09-10 - Fairbanks, United States. ROBINSON DUFFY
Ten-year-old J.P. Post was walking home from Woodriver Elementary School last week when he came face to face, or rather face to tooth, with a giant woolly mammoth that roamed his neighborhood more than 10,000 years ago. The boy was traveling home on Aug. 22 along a well-worn path through a wooded area off Amherst Drive directly north of the school when he saw what looked like a jagged rock sticking out of the ground.
2007-09-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. Brandon Griggs
In Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, two resourceful keepers of the citys bombed-out zoo rescued Jews by smuggling them into empty animal enclosures. The Zookeepers Wife details how Jan Zabinski helped the Polish resistance by storing explosives in the elephant enclosure, a fact he even kept secret from his wife, and sneaking Jews from the Warsaw ghetto into the zoo, where he gave them animal code names and hid them successfully for years. His wife, Antonina, meanwhile, used her rare cha...
2007-09-07 - Bridgeport, United States. Jack Kelly
In the lobby of the museum theres a stuffed baby elephant named Baby Bridgeport, which was the second elephant ever born in captivity. Its emblematic of another of Barnums passions. Among the many elephants he owned was the six-and-a-half-ton Jumbo, which he imported in 1882 to display in his circus. He generated a Jumbo-mania so widespread that the animals name entered the language.
2007-09-06 - Everett, United States. David Chircop
Last month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied an attempt by Ringling Bros. to throw out a lawsuit accusing trainers of abusing elephants with sharpened bull hooks, inhumanly chaining the animals and separating babies from their mothers in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit was filed in 2000 by the Alexandria, Va., Animal Welfare Institute. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups later joined on. Ringling Bros. says the charges ar...
2007-09-05 - Hamilton, United States. Natalie Miller
Green Meadows Farm had an unusual visitor this past weekend — a live Asian elephant named Minnie. Minnie was brought to Hamilton from Connecticut to carry the weight of tradition during the wedding ceremony of Cambridge couple Rahul Bhargava and Emily Rosenberg. The couple was married on the grassy spread in the middle of the Hamilton farm on Sunday, Sept. 2 with all the traditional fixings of a dual-cultural couple. Bhargava is of Indian decent and his bride is Jewish American.
2007-09-05 - Traverse city, United States.
They arent certain, but underwater archeologists say they may have discovered a boulder with a prehistoric carving in Lake Michigans Grand Traverse Bay. The granite rock has markings that resemble a mastodon, an elephant-like creature that once inhabited parts of North America, with what could be a spear in its side, say divers who have seen it. They came across the boulder at a depth of about 12 metres while searching for shipwrecks in June, said Mark Holley, a scientist with the Grand Traverse...
2007-09-04 - Washington, United States. Archie EA, Hollister-Smith JA, Poole JH, Lee PC, Moss CJ, Maldonado JE, Fleischer RC, Alberts SC. Smithsonian Institution
Here we combine 28 years of behavioural and demographic data on wild elephants with genotypes from 545 adult females, adult males, and calves in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, to test the hypothesis that elephants engage in sexual behaviour and reproduction with relatives less often than expected by chance. We found support for this hypothesis: males engaged in proportionally fewer sexual behaviours and sired proportionally fewer offspring with females that were natal family members or close gen...
2007-09-01 - McMinnville, United States. LAUREN L. DILLARD
A team of archeologists gathered to recover part of a Columbia mammoths upper jawbone from a longtime dig site of his on the South Yamhill River. Ignoring the sound of planes taking off and landing at the adjacent McMinnville Airport, the team carefully uncovered and removed a 34,200-year-old section of maxilla, including one food-grinding molar still in place.
2007-08-31 - San Diego, United States.
A relic of San Diego's prehistoric past was carefully removed from its excavation site Friday. A Columbian Mammoth tusk was found recently during construction at 16th and Market streets, at a depth of 30 feet below sea level. The tusk weighs between 100 and 200 pounds and measures 8 feet long. It was preserved in burlap and plaster prior to Friday's move, and then hoisted by crane and placed in a truck for delivery to the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.
2007-08-30 - San Diego, United States.
Mammoths roaming down Market Street? An ancient fossil unearthed in downtown San Diego has revealed a clue to the city's prehistoric past. A mammoth tusk was found recently during construction at 16th and Market streets. The tusk weighs between 100 and 200 pounds and could be as old as 500,000 years, according to paleontologists. It measures 8 feet long.
2007-08-30 - Williamsburg, United States.
Prince George Art & Frame will exhibit more than two dozen paintings drawn by Asian elephants through Sept 22. Pachyderm Painters: Paintings by Asian Elephants, features the works of 16 elephants from Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. The show features acrylic works on paper in abstracts and fauna designs. All of the artwork is for sale. Fred Miller, who owns the gallery, said he got interested in the art form when he saw a painting done by an elephant that a client brought in to be framed.
2007-08-25 - Meshoppen, United States. JOSH MROZINSKI
Janice and Dutchess, a pair of Asian elephants, will be on hand at the fair, which begins Wednesday and lasts through Sept. 3. In this part of the state you don’t see elephants walking around too much, so this is kind of a unique sight, fair president Charles Pirone said. We’ve had tigers, lions and monkeys but I don’t think we’ve had elephants before. B&C Ranch, of Missouri, is showing the elephants, as well as three camels, three horses and seven ponies. Brett Carden, who owns B&C Ranc...
2007-08-25 - San Francisco, United States.
In North Luangwa National Park there once roamed great herds of elephant making up a population of a hundred thousand – by the end of the 1980s there were virtually none left, except fragmented families, wary inexperienced and young, the majority of the elders of the Elephant families killed for their tusks. In this exclusive Safaritalk interview with Jude Price, Hammer Simwinga opens the window on life in the Luangwa Valley, his work, the people who live in the villages, previously sustained ...
2007-08-25 - Villisca, United States. Tom McMahon
Curtis Blank vacuums the large, stony structure on his living room coffee table. On first look, the hulking figure is the type of thing any mother would order out of their house pronto. But Blank said, and experts confirm, the coffee table centerpiece is the skull of a mastodon. Its at least 10,000 years old. Blanks brother, Kenny, discovered the head while searching for fossils in the Nodaway River. Blank didnt want to disclose the exact location for fear other diggers would descend on the area...
2007-08-25 - Miami, United States.
Florida researchers are studying the remains of an ancient mammoth found on the Seminole Tribes Big Cypress Reservation. The remains were found last month by Willard Steele, the head of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, The Miami Herald said Friday. Workers digging in a canal uncovered the mammoth's teeth. Steele and other archaeologists found nearly 100 more mammoth bones within a few days. Steele estimates the bones are more than 10,000 years old, the newspap...
2007-08-24 - Anchorage, United States. JAMES HALPIN
A proposal is on the table to get Alaskas only elephant out of the state, and for the first time this summer the Alaska Zoo and animal rights groups could have something to agree on. The Performing Animal Welfare Society, located in Galt, Calif., has offered to take Maggie and pay for her relocation costs, including air transportation, veterinary evaluations and professional training to prepare her for crate travel, zoo officials said Friday. The facility would also pay for Maggie's keepers to t...
2007-08-24 - Indianapolis, United States. Julie Patterson
Happy birthday to the city's youngest African elephant. Zahara will be one year old on August 31st. She was about 260 pounds when she was born. The heaviest baby born here at the zoo, said elephant trainer Tim Littig. She weighs 718 pounds as of yesterday morning. In honor of Zaharas first birthday August 31, the zoo is hosting a party. Join them Saturday for elephant bingo, prizes and cupcakes.
2007-08-24 - Buffalo, New York, United States. Eileen Buckley
The Buffalo Zoo will be throwing a big birthday bash this Sunday for one of its long-time residents. The Buffalo Zoo will be throwing a big birthday bash this Sunday for one of its long-time residents. A female elephant is celebrating her 50th. Buki's birthday Bash at the Zoo starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. It begins with a "bath time with Buki". Children can make birthday cards. New Era has made an elephant size ball cap for Buki. At 3 o'clock there will be a Buki Parade.
2007-08-23 - New York, United States.
After seven years of legal fighting, a U.S. judge rejected efforts Thursday by the United States foremost circus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, to derail a lawsuit alleging cruel treatment of its elephants. Its a fantastic result, said attorney Jon Lovvorn of the Humane Society of the United States, one of several animal welfare groups which have pursued the lawsuit. He estimated a trial date would be set for early next year.
2007-08-23 - New York, United States. DAVID CRARY
After seven years of legal wrangling, a federal judge rejected efforts Thursday by Americas foremost circus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, to derail a lawsuit alleging cruel treatment of its elephants. Its a fantastic result, said attorney Jon Lovvorn of the Humane Society of the United States, one of several animal welfare groups which have pressed the suit. He estimated a trial date would be set for early next year. Judge Emmet Sullivan of U.S. District Court in Washington issued a serie...
2007-08-21 - Syracuse, United States. DICK CASE
The last time I was at Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park I stopped at the elephant pen and had a talk with Siri. She's the Asian elephant who had that fine ritual of passage over the weekend: She turned 40, officially. She's also, by age and temperament, "top dog" in the elephant pen, which is inhabited by four females and one bull. I got that from Chuck Doyle, the zoo director, who came of age in that pen back when he was the senior elephant keeper. Chuck admitted Monday Siri being 40 is a gu...
2007-08-20 - Stanford, United States. O'connell-Rodwell CE., Stanford University
This review explores the mechanisms that elephants may use to send and receive seismic signals from a physical, anatomical, behavioral, and physiological perspective. The implications of the use of the vibration sense as a multimodal signal will be discussed in light of the elephant's overall fitness and survival.
2007-08-19 - Nashville, United States.
The Nashville Zoo is accepting applications for the position of elephant keeper. The responsibilities of this position include all aspects involved in the daily care and management of 0.3 African elephants and their facilities in a free contact system. The Nashville Zoo elephant department encourages and supports all of its members to initiate or participate in projects involving research, education, training, conservation and general elephant management.
2007-08-19 - Anchorage, United States.
The controversy over Maggie the elephants health was set aside today as the Alaska Zoos lone pachyderm celebrated her 25th birthday. The zoo threw a little party to allow admirers to see Maggie. The birthday girl munched on treats full of hay, popsicles made with sugar-free Kool-Aid and her favorite fruit. Zoo officials said knowing that Maggie may move away next spring motivated them to make her birthday a special one.
2007-08-16 - Augusta, United States. Rhonda Erskine
Thursday, a Cushing fisherman donated the mastodon tusk he found while dragging for scallops on Georges Bank to the Maine State Museum. Tim Winchenbach uncovered the tusk back in January. The tusk is a very rare find, and likely dates back more than 13,000 years. The museum has to do a lot of work to preserve it. The tusk is dark in color because of all the years it spent in salt water. It will be slowly dried out, so it doesn't fall apart, and then preserved.
2007-08-15 - Stanford, United States. Bouley DM, Alarcón CN, Hildebrandt T, O'connell-Rodwell CE. Stanford University School of Medicine
Both Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants produce low-frequency, high-amplitude rumbles that travel well through the ground as seismic waves, and field studies have shown that elephants may utilize these seismic signals as one form of communication. Unique elephant postures observed in field studies suggest that the elephants use their feet to 'listen' to these seismic signals, but the exact sensory mechanisms used by the elephant have never been characterized.
2007-08-14 - San Fransisco, United States.
Two animal rights activists today won a federal magistrate's recommendation that they be allowed to videotape animals being brought into the Ringling Brothers Circus at the Oakland Coliseum this week. U.S. Magistrate Edward Chen recommended that U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel issue a preliminary injunction allowing the videotaping by Joseph Cuviello and Deniz Bolbol. The circus is holding performances at the Oracle Arena portion of the coliseum Aug. 16 through 19.
2007-08-14 - Polk City, United States. Yi Suli
The Asian elephant is believed to be one of the most intelligent animals on Earth. It is also one of the most endangered. But a sanctuary in the southern state of Florida is hoping to save this large animal and ensure its existence for generations to come. For producer Yi Suli, VOA's Elaine Lu has more on the Center for Elephant Conservation.
2007-08-14 - Pittsburgh, United States. Lillian Thomas
The man in charge of mowing the grass, building elephant breeding stalls and helping to raise a few million dollars for the Pittsburgh Zoo's new Somerset County facility has close ties to top management. Dayton Baker, husband of zoo president Barbara Baker, has been named farm manager for a former hunting ranch that's to become a breeding facility for African elephants, the zoo announced yesterday. The 724-acre International Conservation Center is to become home to up to 20 elephants.
2007-08-13 - Abilene, United States.
A stressed-out elephant that had been treated with the anti-anxiety drug Xanax died Monday morning at age 49 in Abilene Zoo in Texas, according to a media report. Tanzy was believed to have been the second oldest African elephant in North America, the Abilene Reporter-News reported. An elephants average lifespan is 33 years. In 2005 after zookeepers at the Abilene zoo noticed that Tanzy was grumpy and subdued, they started mixing Xanax into her feed twice a day, along with some ibuprofen to ease...
2007-08-13 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Construction workers, ballplayers and postal carriers: Don't complain to Bud about the heat. He lives and works in this weather 24 hours a day. Of course, as an African elephant, Bud is genetically built to handle 100-degree temperatures. Bud resides at Grant's Farm, where four times a day he demonstrates elephant behaviors to cheering kids. His reward: Kool-Aid and fruit frozen in a bucket.
2007-08-09 - Anchorage, United States. Bianca Slota
The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors says financial concerns and weather will likely keep Maggie the elephant in Alaska until spring. The board met last night to hear recommendations from zoo staff about potential new homes for the elephant. The list of homes apparently includes a mix of five zoos, wildlife parks and animal sanctuaries. Zoo officials won't release the names or locations of potential new homes for Maggie, but says more work needs to be done before a move can happen.
2007-08-09 - New Bedford, United States. Lauren Daley
Attention art lovers: the latest Ruth and Emily originals will be released this weekend, and that new artist, Sally, is making her debut. That's Ruth and Emily the elephants and Sally the otter, of course. But the animals paintings are just a few of the items to be auctioned off at the Buttonwood Park Zoos eighth annual fundraiser, the Rock n Roar Gala, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. You'll even be greeted at the door by Ruth and Emily themselves.
2007-08-08 - Louisville, United States. Britney Tabor
Elaney Pickering loves animals so much that she's been known to ask birthday party attendees to bring supplies for the Humane Society instead of gifts for her. She has a big heart for animals, said the 13-year-old's stepfather, John Conrad. Yesterday, that big heart brought Elaney from her home in Eudora, Kan., to the Louisville Zoo, where the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Kentucky and Southern Indiana helped fulfill her wish of taking care of animals and visiting Louisville's new baby African eleph...
2007-08-07 - New York, United States. WILLARD SPIEGELMAN
Good things come in small packages, especially when they are made of ivory. "Incisive Images: Ivory and Boxwood Carvings, 1450-1800" (at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until Nov. 25) gathers about 100 exquisite postmedieval pieces from the museum's holdings, and displays them to advantage in beautifully lighted vitrines. Some of them, like the luxurious ivory, fruitwood and cane chair à la Chippendale, which belonged to Warren Hastings, India's first governor general (c. 1780), or the mid-17th-...
2007-08-07 - ASHEBORO, United States. Amy Guyer
Captive elephants are smart. But they aren't reproducing, and captive elephants are becoming extinct."We've been scratching our heads trying to (figure this out)," said Tom Gillespie, the North Carolina Zoo's public relations specialist. What the elephants needed was family. Six years and $8.5 million later, the plan is finally being realized. The expansion will be ready come spring 2008, and the zoo is in talks to bring in new elephants. If the zoo reaches its carrying capacity of 10 elephants,...
2007-08-06 - New York, United States. Sewell Chan
A sculpture depicting a tearful elephant in chains that was designed in New York and became the center of a federal lawsuit in Washington was put on display in Union Square Park today, with the blessing of New York City officials. The fiberglass sculpture, Ella PhantzPeril, shows a circus elephant with its front left leg in shackles. In 2002, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal welfare group, tried to place the sculpture on view as part of the Party Animals exhibition, a summ...
2007-08-05 - London, United States. Greg Struthers
Indias cricketers were without a victory in England for 39 years when they started their seventh visit in the summer of 1971. Then they brought an elephant to the match and won. Bella, a three-year-old Asian elephant from Chessington Zoo in Surrey, took to the field wearing a white cap with the words “Chessington Zoo XI”. It proved a good omen. India bowled over the home side in the afternoon and went on to record their first victory in England. Bella was born in the wild in 1968. Chessingto...
2007-08-05 - Portsmouth, United States. Ellen Albanese
Green Animals Topiary Garden is remarkable in the degree to which it reflects the vision of the Portuguese immigrant who designed it more than 100 years ago. There are 80 pieces of topiary throughout the gardens, including 21 animals and birds in addition to geometric figures and ornamental designs, all sculpted from California privet, yew, and English boxwood. The oldest part of the garden features an elephant, camel, lion, and giraffe, all planted from 1910 to 1912. Gardener Joseph Carreiro, s...
2007-08-05 - Stanford, United States. O'connell-Rodwell CE, Wood JD, Kinzley C, Rodwell TC, Poole JH, Puria S. Stanford University School of Medicine
In a series of experiments, familiar and unfamiliar alarm calls were transmitted seismically to wild African elephant family groups. Elephants respond significantly to the alarm calls of familiar herds (p=0.004) but not to the unfamiliar calls and two different controls, thus demonstrating the ability of elephants to discriminate subtle differences between seismic calls given in the same context. If elephants use the seismic environment to detect and discriminate between conspecific calls, based...
2007-08-04 - Rebecca O'Halloran, United States.
They are similar in appearance, but mammoths had tusks that grew downward and feasted on plants at ground level, according to experts at Friday's dig. The mastodon, which weighed about four to six tons, had upward tusks and usually found its meals in the trees, said Jessie Dorsz, 17, a senior at Bartlett High School. The extinct relative of the elephant existed from about 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago, according to The Field Museum.
2007-08-03 - Dallas, United States. NANCY CHURNIN
With its new show, Circus of Dreams, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the last bastion of busy-is-better, has reinvented itself as a single-stage Cirque du Soleil for the kiddie channel, complete with a giant circular high-definition screen suspended so audiences can alternately see close-ups of the action, pre-filmed skits including backstage mayhem and elephant commentary on "those cute little humans." And the appreciative crowd of light-twirling kids liked what they saw on opening night at...
2007-08-02 - Dallas, United States.
Nicole, an Asian Elephant from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, enjoyed the pampered life Wednesday in preparation of her Dallas debut. The circus, performing the 136th edition of The Greatest Show on Earth, runs through Aug. 12 at American Airlines Center. An avocado facial, pedicure and bath for an elephant from Bliss Spa: if we could all be so lucky.
2007-08-02 - Los Angeles, United States.
A history of abuse and neglect at the Los Angeles Zoo resulted in the premature death of 13 elephants, actor Robert Culp and another man claimed in a lawsuit filed today seeking to close the facility. In the lawsuit filed against the zoo and city of Los Angeles, Culp and real estate agent Aaron Leider accuse zoo officials of abusing elephants by withholding medical care, keeping the animals confined in a small area and using bull hooks and electric shock to control them.
2007-08-02 - St. Louis, United States.
One of the St. Louis Zoo's most popular occupants celebrates her first birthday today. The Asian elephant Maliha was 341 pounds at birth on August second of last year. Now, she weighs 720 pounds. Keepers will chat with visitors from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in front of the center yard at the River's Edge area of the zoo. The birthday girl herself is expected to be available for viewing during much of the day. Maliha is the second baby born to Ellie and the first to proud papa Raja, who was the...
2007-08-01 - Washington, United States.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved the re-authorization for an additional five years of conservation programs for African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinos and tigers. The Senate Committee adopted H.R. 465 and H.R. 50, which were passed by the House of Representatives on July 23. There were no amendments and the two bills are expected to be adopted by the Senate by unanimous consent and then head to the President’s desk for signature.
2007-07-31 - Vallejo, United States. MATTHIAS GAFNI and J.M. BROWN
City Manager Joe Tanner decided late Monday night that Vallejo cannot afford to exclude four elephants from todays sale of Discovery Kingdom to Six Flags. Tanner met for two hours Monday with animal rights activists, who asked him to remove the elephants, long owned by the city, based on allegations that the park has treated the animals inhumanely.
2007-07-24 - Anchorage, United States. LESLIE ANNE JONES
Alaska Zoo officials say they continue to narrow down possible new homes for Maggie. They won't name the contenders, but one sanctuary run by the PAWS foundation and known to be under consideration has offered to foot the shipping bill for the zoo's only elephant. Zoo director Pat Lampi said he's looking for the best possible place that can care for Maggie for the rest of her life. He's asked the places under consideration for daily-life video footage of their elephants, financial records and th...
2007-07-24 - Cleveland, United States.
Martika, Moshi and Jo were born in the African wilds, but they've grown close to Meghan Sharp, the keeper who welcomed all three to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo 10 years ago. They have even noticed her life milestones. Sharp relates some striking examples. Martika, age 23 You'd think a huge elephant wouldn't be enamored by a teensy diamond ring, but "When I came back from my wedding and honeymoon after two weeks off, Martika went immediately for my ring with her trunk. She was fascinated.
2007-07-22 - Dallas, United States. KATIE MENZER
When the dog won't hunt, the bird won't spread its wings or the elephant won't get on the scale for a weigh-in, the Dallas Zoo calls Barbara Heidenreich. The nationally recognized animal trainer has worked with Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park, Six Flags and the Birds of the World Show at the State Fair of Texas. Now a consultant at the Dallas Zoo, she's helping teach old zoo animals – from the rats to the red-tailed hawks – some new tricks."The science of behavior analysis is the sa...
2007-07-22 - Goshen, United States. Brian Hallenbeck
When they're not on the road, Bob Commerfords exotic animals roam over 40 rolling acres here in Litchfield County, grazing, strutting, plodding, as the case may be, characters in an unfettered menagerie, seemingly at peace with their surroundings and their human handlers. The elephants, Commerford has had as many as four at one time and six altogether, have long been the stars of his R.W. Commerford & Sons Traveling Petting Zoo. He aims to keep it that way, to preserve, he says, the business hes...
2007-07-22 - Springfield, United States. Dirk VanderHart
Dickerson Park Zoo held its first-ever ZooFest on Saturday. The centerpiece of the day was the birthday girl Nisha, who turned 1 on Wednesday. In spite of the festivities, the 1-year-old elephant just meandered near her mother like always, oblivious to the frequent "happy birthday" wishes of young children. Nisha might not have realized the party was in her honor, but she probably did notice a change in diet Saturday. In the elephant pen, the pachyderms roamed with trunks stained red, a memento ...
2007-07-21 - Detroit, United States. TINA LAM
The debate in 2004 over where the Detroit Zoo's aging elephants belonged got zoo Director Ron Kagan who said elephants shouldn't be kept in cold-weather zoos into trouble with a national zoo organization and with a colleague from another zoo who hit him during a professional meeting, according to documents obtained by the Free Press. Kagan was suspended for three months for violating an ethics rule of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association after he issued a news release saying he intended to ...
2007-07-21 - Guwahati, United States. PULLOCK DUTTA
Naga hoodlums are allegedly letting loose herds of wild elephants to scare away Assam villagers from their land and property in the disputed area in Sivasagar district along the Assam-Nagaland border. So much so that the Assam forest department has lodged a formal complaint with the Nagaland government to “stop the hoodlums” from disturbing the wild elephant herds at Geleki reserve forest, which straddles both sides of the border. Amal Sharma, divisional forest officer of Sivasagar, told The...
2007-07-20 - Aiken, United States. TONY BAUGHMAN
The biggest star in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is so big, he won't even fit in the new USC Aiken Convocation Center. Circus handlers have discovered that the Gold Unit's 23-year-old Asian elephant is just too tall for the arena's 10-foot-high service entrances. Thus, when the "Greatest Show on Earth" opened Thursday night, the 11-foot-tall pachyderm found himself standing outside.
2007-07-20 - Oklahoma City, United States. Brian Brus
Oklahoma City Zoo Executive Director Bert Castro believes offering the public the opportunity to perform a little sweaty work is an excellent way for people to appreciate what it takes to keep their zoo operating. Weve got two elephants and they probably generate half a ton of manure a day, said Castro, who began his own zoo career with a shovel in hand. Just to keep the area clean and the exhibit in good working order is a big job. … We try to have fun with it, and as they’re going through ...
2007-07-17 - Houston, United States.
If you’ve ever remodeled your home while you lived in it you’ll have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing with our elephant exhibit at the Houston Zoo. Construction is now underway on the most significant improvement to our elephant exhibit in the 85-year history of the Zoo, the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The expansion will be built in two phases. Phase One, a $5 million project, has just begun and will include an improved viewing area, a new 9,000 square foot elephant barn and addit...
2007-07-17 - Aiken, United States. MEGAN ELLIOTT
A gentle giant will roam through the USC Aiken Convocation Center's main arena with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The elephant is a 23-year-old Asian male. He works closely with his trainer, Patty Zerbini. The elephant is a product of the Ringling Brothers Center for Elephant Conservation, which is located in Polk County, Fla. The center is dedicated to the preservation of the Asian elephant as an endangered species. There are only 35,000 Asian elephants left in the world.
2007-07-17 - ST. CHARLES, United States. GLORIA CARR
Bill Morris inherited Cora from his father, who owned 19 elephants at one time back in the 1960s when he ran a circus. The younger Morris' grandfather had seven elephants in the 1920s. The Morrises provide an educational program aimed at teaching people, among other things, the difference between African and Asian elephants. He also shows people how intelligent Cora and Shannon are. For example, they both play a musical instrument. The fair provides a rare opportunity for people to get close to ...
2007-07-16 - Montgomery, United States. Shaniquah Gabino, Times Herald-Record
Did you know that the first mastodon skeleton was found in Montgomery? The rib bones were found in 1793 and the Montgomery Mastodon excavation took place in 1801. There were two sites where mastodon skeletons were found: on Route 17K across from Valley Central School and in Coldenham. Joseph Devine, author of “The Montgomery Mastodon” (January 2007) knows a lot about this prehistoric mammal. His book has been distributed to fourth-grade students in the Valley Central School District.
2007-07-15 - Birmingham, United States. Stan Diel and Walter Bryant
Mona, the elephant beloved by her fans but pitied by animal rights activists before her death last month, will not be the Birmingham Zoo's last elephant. An ambitious zoo expansion plan to be unveiled in the fall will include a "much bigger" elephant exhibit, said Dr. Bill Foster, the zoo's chief executive officer. Foster declined to disclose specifics about the greater plan, but in broad strokes painted a picture of a zoo that puts animals in larger, more realistic habitats and focuses more on ...
2007-07-14 - Santa Barbara, United States. Gregory W. Griggs
Moorpark officials may have found a final resting place for the skeleton of a fossilized mammoth that roamed the area up to 1 million years ago. If the City Council approves the plan next week, the skeletal pieces will be donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Trevor J. Lindsey, the paleontologist who discovered the mammoth at the housing site, said this is probably the first time such fossils have been discovered in Moorpark.
2007-07-13 - Asheboro, United States.
Years of poaching, a shrinking habitat, and trouble breeding in captivity have landed elephants on the endangered species list according to Rod Hackney at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The 3-year, $8.5 million project includes a new state-of-the-art barn, twice the size of the last and more importantly space to do what comes naturally. The new elephant expansion should be complete by April 2008.
2007-07-13 - Asheboro, United States. Adrianne Flores
The North Carolina Zoo wants to change the future by preserving the present. The number of elephants worldwide has dropped by 50 percent in the last century, and now the animal is on the endangered species list. Officials at the zoo hope a new $8.5 million expansion will save the species.
2007-07-12 - Jefferson, United States. Steve Sharp
It's a laid-back situation here, Bill Morris said with a slight southern drawl Wednesday afternoon while he sat in the shade of his mobile home's awning at the Jefferson County Fair. And Morris' claim would be hard to dispute, because sprawled in front of him, enjoying a cool breeze while taking a nap, was his old friend, 48-year-old Asian elephant, Cora. Nearby, snacking on hay and green grass she yanked diligently from the ground, was her energetic 26-year-old counterpart, African elephant, Sh...
2007-07-11 - Anchorage, United States. Megan Baldino
The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors said it is a little closer to knowing where Maggie the elephant may end up when she leaves the zoo, but they said its going to take time. After their regular monthly meeting tonight, board president Dick Thwaites said the list has been narrowed from about 80 possibilities to six. The board meets again August 8. Thwaites said of the six options, all are located in California, Florida or the Midwest.
2007-07-11 - Anchorage, United States. MEGAN HOLLAND
The next home for Maggie, the Alaska Zoo's lone elephant, may be chosen this week but that's not quick enough for those who want her moved out of Alaska pronto. Zoo director Pat Lampi said he plans to present a list tonight to the Alaska Zoo board of several options picked from eight institutions that have told the zoo they want the African elephant. "We are looking for the best possible situation for Maggie," Lampi said.
2007-07-11 - Louisville, United States.
During its last fiscal year, July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, the zoo had 810,546 visitors, breaking the previous record of 798,282 that was set in 2002-2003, the opening year of the Gorilla Forest exhibit. The Louisville Zoo, a nonprofit organization and state zoo of Kentucky, is accredited by the American Association of Museums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
2007-07-10 - London, United States. Stuart Coles
The World Wildlife Fund estimates up to 80 per cent of wildlife on reclaimed farms has been slaughtered since 2001, with little sign of the desire for bush meat and cash abating. They are killing everything and anything from a squirrel to an elephant, says Karen Paolillo, For food and for money. Karen Paolillo gives a talk to the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday July 12 at the Ondaatje Theatre, London, 7pm.
2007-07-09 - Denver, United States. Sara Gandy
While other zoos have gotten rid of costly elephant exhibits in the face of new regulations, the Denver Zoo is planning a big expansion for its pachyderms. The zoo plans to build a $52 million, 10 acre park complete with a hot tub, scratching trees and running rivers. The zoo only has two elephants right now but the new park would have room for up to eight elephants.
2007-07-08 - New York, United States. MICHAEL FLEMING
Film rights to Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen’s Depression-era circus novel that has climbed atop the paperback bestseller lists, have been optioned by Andrew R. Tennenbaum, a producer of The Bourne Ultimatum. While Water for Elephants sold respectably in hardcover, the novel has become a word of mouth success in paperback, climbing to the top of the New York Times bestseller list the past two weeks.
2007-07-08 - Hampton, United States. Jaya Franklin
Kenny Welch has traveled to 40 different countries and visited about every state in the United States. He used to train African elephants at Lion Country Safari, formerly located in Stockbridge: I almost lost my life when I was attacked by one of the elephants, he said. Moja, a 3,000 pound African elephant became feisty while Welch was bathing the female pachyderm in a pond.
2007-07-08 - Exeter, United States. Barbara Rimkunas
When Teddie Higgins Smith brought in her Aunt Verna's photo album last year, she commented, "Oh, and here's one of the elephant on Water Street," as though everyone in town knew the story. Well, no one at the Historical Society had heard any particular tale about an elephant, but that didn't mean we couldn't uncover something. We copied the photo and the research began.
2007-07-06 - , United States.
Mastodon bones uncovered by the surprised crew of Dan's Excavating exactly one year ago near Adams Road and M-59 are returning home Saturday for a special exhibit. The bones are estimated to be those of a mastodon that roamed Oakland County about 12,360 years ago. Known to the Rochester Hills Museum staff as the Adams Road Mastodon, the now-extinct animal is a distant cousin of the elephant, which existed for at least 3.75 million years before dying off 10,000 to 11,000 years ago.
2007-07-05 - Wheaton, United States. Hank Beckman
The Wheaton Fourth of July parade normally doesn't celebrate royalty. But if the royalty is "Big Queenie," a 10,000 pound Asian elephant, exceptions can be made. Big Queenie, from Barnes and Bailey Circus, was sponsored by the Republican Party of DuPage County and one of 142 entries in "All the World's a Stage," the annual Independence Day celebration sponsored by the Wheaton Jaycees.
2007-07-05 - Seattle, United States. Emma Marris, Nature
Samuel Wasser is a conservation biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, and an outspoken opponent of elephant poaching. He talks to Emma Marris about his genetic methods for tracing poached ivory. The secret is to pulverize the ivory without heating it up, which denatures the DNA. We use a freezer mill. It submerges a tube containing a small piece of ivory and a magnet into liquid nitrogen. This freezes the ivory and makes it brittle. We rapidly switch the magnetic field back and f...
2007-07-04 - Bhubaneswar, United States. Sulochana Das
The issue of man-elephant conflict is all set to come up for debate once again with a documentary film on the life and death of calf elephant Kalinga getting ready. Assimilating the video clips made by the officials of the Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary on Kalinga's 40 day stay under human care and her death inside the sanctuary, Orissa Government's Forest Department has decided to make a 15 minute duration film.
2007-07-03 - Champaign, United States.
With a circus set to come to Champaign on Friday and Saturday, an animal rights organization is urging city council members to enact an ordinance banning the use of devices that can cause pain or injury to elephants. But the mayor of Champaign says he doesn't plan to take up the issue. And the circus denies it harms its animals. Elephants born to the circus don't start performing until age 2, and when it's time for an elephant to retire, they "spend their 'golden years' with our herd in Choctaw ...
2007-07-03 - Seattle, United States.
A previously unknown elephant herpes virus killed the Woodland Park Zoo's youngest Asian elephant in Seattle. Hansa, 6, who died last month, was one of 12 elephants fathered by a bull at a zoo in Missouri. Three of the others exhibited herpes symptoms in the past decade. Two of them died, while the third, Chandra, was successfully treated in 1997.
2007-07-02 - Salinas, United States. SUNITA VIJAYAN
Although surrounded by gleaming classic cars and hot rods, “Butch,” a five-ton, 27-year-old African elephant retired from a circus, was undoubtedly the highlight of today’s fourth annual “Ears and Gears Car Show and Family Day.” More than 450 people showed up today the Elephants of Africa Rescue Society’s fundraiser held at Vision Quest Ranch, 400 River Road in Salinas.
2007-06-30 - Corvallis, United States. Bechert U, Christensen JM. Oregon State University
The pharmacokinetic parameters of S(+) and R(-) ibuprofen were determined in 20 elephants after oral administration of preliminary 4-, 5-, and 6-mg/kg doses of racemic ibuprofen. Racemic ibuprofen administered at 6 mg/kg/12 hr for Asian elephants and at 7 mg/kg/12 hr for African elephants results in therapeutic serum concentrations of this antiinflammatory agent.
2007-06-27 - Phoenix, United States. John Faherty
There is something particularly weird about the sight of 10 elephants making their way through downtown Phoenix. To see an animal whose natural habitat in Southeast Asia taking a right from First Street onto Jackson Street is jarring. The short walk from the train tracks to US Airways Center on Tuesday was part marketing ploy to announce that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town and begins performing tonight.
2007-06-26 - Topsham, United States.
Margaret Mast was watching the local news when she saw an upcoming story about a 90-year-old woman riding an elephant. "Oh my God," she thought. "I think it's my mother. Sure enough, there was my sister and my mother on an elephant." Yvonne Turcotte, 90, always wanted to ride one, a wish that came true Thursday at York's Wild Kingdom. But it wasn't her first stunt. In September 2006, Turcotte took a ride in a hot-air balloon to celebrate her birthday. And she taught water aerobics until last yea...
2007-06-26 - Ruskin, United States. Buckles Woodcock
While on the subject of the Beatty Show, Jim Elliot took these pictures 10 or 12 years ago of Fred Logan reorganizing the elephants for the one-ring format they were going to. Who would have thought that this would later become the benchmark the Ken & Nicole units are trying so unsuccessfully to accomplish?
2007-06-24 - Hot Springs, United States.
Welcome to an "elite" club: Mammoth Hunters of North America. You will be welcomed by the community and have a chance to learn more about mammoths and mammoth fauna than you probably ever cared to know. You will become a part of the "dig," and if you are lucky, you may find a specimen that will be on public display. You can help Larry Agenbroad's continued investigation of the world's largest natural deposit of Columbian mammoth remains.
2007-06-23 - San Diego, United States. Michael Stetz
San Diego Zoo staff euthanized Carol, a 40-year-old elephant, Tuesday at the Wild Animal Park near Escondido because of severe and chronic foot and joint problems. In most cases, deceased zoo animals are put through a machine that uses enzymes to break down carcasses relatively quickly, expediting natural decomposition. But that wasn't the case with Carol. The machine, called a “tissue digester,” is 30 miles away at the zoo in Balboa Park. At about 3 tons, she was too big to transport. So Ca...
2007-06-22 - Seattle, United States.
Test results have eliminated some possible causes for the death of Hansa, a 6-year-old Asian elephant at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, but officials said Friday they still don't know the reason she died. Scientists in Washington and across the country have been studying tissue, organ and blood samples to discover why Hansa died June 8 after reduced activity and appetite. Conclusive results could take a few more weeks, the zoo said in a news release.
2007-06-21 - Orlando, United States.
2007-06-21 - Birmingham, United States. Walter Bryant
A necropsy was to begin late this afternoon on Mona, the Birmingham Zoo's elderly elephant who was euthanized this morning. The nearly 60-year-old Asian elephant had been under 24-hour watch by her keepers since Monday, when she was unable to get up from lying on her side in her exhibit. A crane was brought in Monday to help her back to her feet, and the elephant seemed to have made a rally and she had been eating well.
2007-06-20 - Berlin, United States.
Archeologists have found a 35,000-year-old carving of a woolly mammoth in southwestern Germany. It is believed to be the oldest ivory carving every found, the newspaper der Spiegel said Wednesday. An archeology team from the University of Tubingen found the figurine in the Swabian Jura, a 722-foot-long plateau in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. Five mammoth-ivory figurines from the Ice Age have been found at Vogelherd Cave in southwestern Germany. The new finds include well-preserved remains of ...
2007-06-20 - Barton-Le-Clay, United States.
A British man has been arrested in Bedfordshire in connection with the illegal sale of ivory to the USA. Customs officers assisted by police detained a 43-year-old man at a property in Barton-Le-Clay on Wednesday morning. Items seized from one property included two raw elephant tusks, whale and hippopotamus teeth, and carved ivory.
2007-06-20 - Western Plains, United States. Jeremy Scott
Western Plains Zoo has again been forced to defend its record of animal welfare following allegations from a former keeper that neglect of the zoo's elephants is rife. Jason Kauntze-Cockburn, an American "elephant-care specialist" who resigned from Western Plains after only one year's service, yesterday alleged the elephant accommodation had been "neglected for years" and was cold and dirty.
2007-06-19 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
A 40-year-old Asian elephant at the Wild Animal Park was euthanized this morning because of foot and joint disease, San Diego Zoo officials said. Carol has been an icon of the zoo and Wild Animal Park since 1968, when she arrived from Thailand. She appeared with Joan Embery on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, in addition to performing in shows at the Wild Animal Park.
2007-06-19 - Sukhothai, United States. Megan Reynolds
Katherine Connor, 26, started helping elephants after her first trip to Thailand around four years ago. She started fundraising, and set up Boon Lott's Animal Sanctuary with her new husband, Anon, who has been her partner for three years. The couple celebrated their wedding at the sanctuary, each riding their elephants towards each other from opposite ends of the park.
2007-06-19 - Des Moines, United States. Tom Alex
Bill Marnin of Stuart was looking for peace and quiet, not a piece of history, when he launched his kayak for a trip on the Middle Raccoon River. Instead, he stumbled on a tooth from an elephant-like creature that disappeared from North America about 10,000 years ago. Bill Johnson, curator of the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines, said Marnin's discovery, made last month on a sandbar near Redfield, is a very good example of a molar from a young to middle-age adult mastodon that lived...
2007-06-19 - Abardeen, United States. Jennifer Sullivan
Hansa, Woodland Park Zoo's beloved elephant, shares a final resting place with an unknown number of dogs, cats and other creatures behind one of the state's busiest animal crematoriums. The 6 ½-year-old Asian elephant was cremated there after her death June 8, and her remains were buried in an unmarked mass grave behind Petland Cemetery in a residential neighborhood in Aberdeen.
2007-06-18 - New York, United States.
This could represent the biggest migration of large mammals on Earth, said conservationist J. Michael Fay in amazement while flying over Southern Sudan earlier this year. The scientists report seeing an estimated 8,000 elephants, mainly in the Sudd, the largest freshwater wetland in Africa. They found evidence of even larger numbers of elephants in Boma and in the Jonglei landscape. According to IUCN-World Conservation Union's African elephant database, there were no reliable records of elephant...
2007-06-18 - Birmingham, United States.
Staff and vets used slings this morning to help raise the Birmingham Zoo's remaining elephant to her feet. Mona, a nearly 60-year-old, 8,000-pound elephant, was found off her feet and unable to stand this morning, said Katrina Cade, vice president of marketing. The elephant is now standing, eating and drinking, Cade said.
2007-06-18 - Washington, United States. www.worldbank.org/lao
The Wildlife Conservation Society just finished a report on the elephant population size and distribution in the Nakai Plateau. The approach to count the elusive giants included the first-ever simultaneous use of DNA-based and conventional dung count surveys for an Asian elephant population. + Report - 6.2mb pdf
2007-06-17 - Pittsburgh, United States. Allison M. Heinrichs
Fathering offspring he's never met in multiple states probably won't earn Jackson a "world's best dad" coffee mug anytime soon. But he is getting recognition as one of the nation's biggest fathers. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's bull elephant holds the record for fathering the most calves at U.S. zoos. Just in time for Father's Day, the Louisville Zoo announced that paternity tests revealed Jackson, 28, to be the father of Scotty, a male elephant born at the Kentucky zoo in March.
2007-06-15 - Washington, United States. Librarylove.net
When 17-year-old Jade sees a curly-haired boy on a zoo Web camera a boy with a baby on his back she gets that “little feeling of knowing, this fuzzy, gnawing sense that someone will become a major something in your life.” After she volunteers to work with the elephants, she meets and falls in love with Sebastian, and is quickly drawn into his complicated life including his dangerous secret.
2007-06-15 - Seattle, United States. William Foster and James McGraw
When an elephant roams free, it gets shot; not just its tusks, but its whole face gets cut off to supply the illicit ivory trade; its feet are removed and made into ashtrays; its flesh is smoked and sold at market as a delicacy. Elephants are dying in the wild at the rate of 100 every day. What does the loss of one elephant in Seattle, Hansa, have to do with the wild elephants? Everything, because Woodland Park Zoo and accredited zoos everywhere are making the life of every elephant count in sup...
2007-06-15 - Carlsbad, United States.
Fossilized mastodon tusks and other fragments believed to be as much as 220,000 years old were discovered at a construction site, according to the developer. Officials at Corky McMillin Cos. said Wednesday that two tusks, an upper jaw fragment with three teeth and vertebrae from a single animal were uncovered during grading for a new housing development. "This is the first mastodon to be found in Carlsbad, and we're excited to have uncovered two nearly complete tusks," said San Diego Natural His...
2007-06-14 - Tampa, United States. AZA
Operant conditioning, utilizing creative, positive reinforcement in one of the world's most behaviorally progressive, protected contact environments • Provide physical stimulation and mental challenges for our animals as a member of our elite team of elephant professionals • Daily cleaning and maintenance of rolling display area, state-of-the-art husbandry facilities, and multi-million-dollar barn • Husbandry training for veterinary and breeding program procedures
2007-06-14 - Longmont, United States. Pierrette J. Shields
An animal rights group’s claim that a traveling circus’s elephants were quarantined because of potential exposure to tuberculosis are false, say the circus’s owners and federal health officials. Barbara Byrd, co-owner of the Carson & Barnes Circus, said the elephants do not have tuberculosis and are not quarantined. The circus’s 28 elephants are tested for tuberculosis every year per federal regulations, and the elephants have never had a positive test, Byrd said.
2007-06-14 - New York, United States. ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD
The hydraulic lift lurched up, bringing the back of an African elephant into full view. To Mike Peter Smith, who was cleaning the elephant yesterday, its spine took the form of a gently sloping mountain range with peaks behind the head and near the rear legs. That stuffed elephant and seven others at the American Museum of Natural History were getting their annual cleaning, a ritual that is repeated at least once a year for every bird, dinosaur, mammal and fish that is not behind glass in the mu...
2007-06-11 - Knoxville, United States.
MUST HAVE PREVIOUS ELEPHANT HANDLER/KEEPER EXPERIENCE. This is a Zoo Keeper II position. It differs from the next lower level of Zoo Keeper (Keeper I) in that the lower level does not have the responsibility of training staff, team leading as requested, or serving on Zoo committees. A Zoo Keeper II is also demonstrating increasing knowledge and experience in the area species and related programs. It differs from the next higher level of Zoo Keeper in that a Keeper III has developed considerable ...
2007-06-10 - Sukhothai, United States. Megan Reynolds
2007-06-09 - Litte Rock, United States.
A group negotiating a $3.6 million deal with an elephant sanctuary in Arkansas to turn the refuge into a National Elephant Center says talks have fallen apart and the group is looking elsewhere. The zoo group was close to a deal with Scott and Heidi Riddle to turn their 330-acre Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Quitman into a national research, breeding and home for elephants.
2007-06-08 - Jacksonville, United States. AZA
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently seeking an experienced elephant keeper. Preferred qualifications include a degree in biology or related field, a minimum of 2 years experience in an AZA accredited zoo with previous experience working protected contact. Must be familiar with the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care. Duties to include general animal husbandry, elephant training, and exhibit maintenance.
2007-06-08 - Seattle, United States.
Hansa, a 6-year-old Asian elephant who delighted visitors to the Woodland Park Zoo, was found dead Friday, about a week after she began displaying colic-like symptoms, the zoo said Friday. Hansa was born in 2000 after another of the zoo's elephants, Chai, was sent to the Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri, where natural breeding resulted in a pregnancy. Hansa was the first elephant born at the 100-year-old Woodland Park Zoo, which has no male elephants.
2007-06-07 - Longmont, United States. John Fryar and Rachel Carter
Randy Peterson, Carson & Barnes head elephant handler for the circus performing here, says he wishes people concerned about the welfare of the three elephants under his care would see for themselves how the animals are treated. Peterson said it’s unfortunate protesters don’t see what we do 24 hours a day. He has a three-person crew working with him to tend to the three female Asian elephants — Isla, Opal and Ila — that are part of the Carson & Barnes animal menagerie.
2007-06-07 - Anchorage, United States.
Following an impassioned public outcry, the Alaska Zoo board has decided to relocate the state's only elephant to another state under certain conditions, the board president said Wednesday. Every effort will be made to expedite a move if and when all the factors for a successful move are favorably addressed, board president Dick Thwaites said in a prepared statement.
2007-06-06 - Davis, United States. Hart BL, Hart LA, Pinter-Wollman N. University of California
Among terrestrial mammals, elephants share the unique status, along with humans and great apes, of having large brains, being long-lived and having offspring that require long periods of dependency. Although focused neural cytoarchitecture studies on the elephant are needed, this comparative perspective on the cortical neural cytoarchitecture appears to relate to differences in behavior between elephants and their primate counterparts.
2007-06-05 - Stanford, United States.
Elephants can distinguish between friendly calls and those of strangers reports a new study covered in ScienceNOW Daily News. In 2004 Caitlin OConnell-Rodwell of Stanford University discovered that elephants use low-frequency, partially infrasonic ground vibrations to communicate with each other from miles away. The pachyderms press their trunks against the ground to detect the calls.
2007-06-05 - Anchorage, United States.
The Anchorage Zoo board of directors are meeting Tuesday night to decide what to do with Maggie, the elephant. Many of you know, board members are trying to decide if the elephant should stay at the zoo or be shipped to a more suitable facility Outside. Board members are also wrestling with how Maggie would make the move if she were to go. They need to determine if it would even be possible to fly her and if there is a plane that is big enough to hold her.
2007-06-05 - Hartford, United States.
A bill that would have drastically changed the way circuses control elephants has failed in the General Assembly, but the chief proponent said Tuesday she'll revive the controversial issue again next year. Rep. Diana S. Urban, D-North Stonington, said she had 55 votes — all Democrats — in the 151-member House, so she will abandon the bill that would have banned the use of stainless steel bars called bullhooks.
2007-06-04 - Santa Barbara, United States.
Part-time Seasonal, Up to 32 hours per week Great oppoturnity for a person who loves elephants and enjoys engaging an audience. You will promote the Zoo and its mission as an educator, serving as Ambassador to our natural world. Knowledge of current methods, principles, procedures and practices utilized in environmental education preferred (AZA/CEC conservation messaging and NAI interpretive methods). Considerable knowledge of biology and zoology necessary as well as ability to organize and impl...
2007-06-04 - McMinnvile, United States. NICK BRADSHAW
A pair of McMinnville boys made a mammoth discovery along the Yamhill River last week, literally. According to the McMinnville News Register, the two 10-year-olds were out exploring when they stumbled upon a strange looking stone. The newspaper reports Charlie Gilpin and Bryant Ashton took their find to Geologist Bill Orr who recognized the specimen as a rear molar of the ancient elephant-like mammoth.
2007-06-04 - Highlands Ranch, United States.
The Carson and Barnes Circus rolled into Highlands Ranch on June 1 through June 3, erecting their big top tent filled with with a three-ring stage, acrobat wires and enough seats to pack in the anxious crowds toting hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and children clutching light-up toys. Before the show, children could feed the numerous goats and llamas, take a ride on a camel or elephant or jump around an inflatable castle.
2007-06-04 - St. Louis, United States.
Jade, the youngest elephant at the St. Louis Zoo, will make her public debut this evening from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the River's Edge. The three-month old Asian elephant has been rejected by her mother Rani, but recently started to nurse from her grandmother Ellie, who also nurses daughter, Maliha. Jade will appear with a keeper, but no other elephants.
2007-06-03 - Anchorage, United States. GEORGE BRYSON
Right now I feel very torn, said Seawell, speaking by telephone from her home in Anchorage. I'm not sure which way is right. And I don't want to be adamant on either side until I make up my own mind. But when she contemplates the danger of trying to truck an adult elephant such a long distance, she tends to change her mind. She knows of three instances in which elephants have died from panic and injury in the process of being transported far shorter distances. Unless they agree to ship her by a...
2007-06-03 - Anchorage, United States. ANTARA DAS
Dhritikanto Lahiri Chowdhury’s book on elephants throws light on these giants of the wild. The story of Harjit is one of the numerous poignant tales in Hatir Boi (The Book of Elephants) by Dhritikanto Lahiri Chowdhury, an academic who has had a lifetime association with elephants spanning more than seven decades. Engaging as well as endearing, they chronicle the traits of this gigantic creature of the wild, so fascinatingly simple yet one that obstinately refuses to submit to well defined cate...
2007-06-02 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
Scotty is the name chosen for the Louisville Zoo's baby African elephant, zoo officials said yesterday. People who voted throughout May at the zoo preferred the name Scotty over Jonesy and Angus, the other names that were chosen as finalists by the zoo's elephant caretakers. About 7,000 names were suggested in the contest sponsored by Norton Healthcare.
2007-06-01 - Fresno, United States.
Responsibilities of this class include the care, feeding, maintenance and observation for the health, and reproduction of elephants and a variety of additional zoo animals; record keeping, assisting in the movement of animals as directed, interacting with zoo docents, and assisting zoo visitors with questions and their needs.
2007-05-31 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Rejected by her mother, the youngest elephant at the St. Louis Zoo has found a new source of milk: her grandmother. Three-month old Jade gets about 10 bottles of elephant formula a day but recently started to nurse from grandmother Ellie, who also nurses her own 10-month-old daughter, Maliha.
2007-05-30 - Mount Shasta, United States. Sibyl Walski
Holland Stafford wasnt sure what she wanted to explore for her Weed High School senior project and spent much of the summer pondering choices. Then she happened to see a documentary on Animal Planet about the Elephant Nature Park 60 kilometers north of Chiang Mai, Thailand and her childhood fascination with elephants surfaced, as well as a desire to go to Africa or Asia to help them. Accompanied by her father, Robert, the WHS senior flew halfway around the planet to spend a week at the nature pa...
2007-05-23 - Anchorage, United States.
The Anchorage Assembly wants the Alaska Zoo to make a decision on the future of Maggie the elephant. Assembly members Tuesday night approved a resolution telling the zoo board it should consider moving the elephant and making the decision soon. The resolution adds to the growing number of voices calling for the animal to be moved to a warmer climate where it could be with other elephants.
2007-05-22 - Baltimore, United States. Ron Matz
How do you give an elephant a pedicure? The answer is very carefully. "Everything we do with the elephants is preventative maintenance. We want to make sure they stay healthy. We don't really have a lot of foot problems. We've been very fortunate," said Mike McClure, elephant collections manager at the Maryland Zoo.
2007-05-22 - Providence, United States. Karen Lee Ziner
A well-publicized attempt in February to artificially inseminate Alice, one of the Roger Williams Park Zoos three African elephants, did not succeed. Tests have confirmed that Alice is not pregnant. Zoo staff gave it another try on Sunday, and time, specifically three months time will tell. Sperm collected on Sunday morning from a bull elephant at the Pittsburgh Zoo was flown to Providence in a special cooler, examined under a microscope, and deemed viable.
2007-05-21 - Mesa, United States. Jon Johnson
A 1,000 pound, 2.5-million-year-old Rhynchotherium skull has joined the rest of its bones at the Mesa Southwest Museum on May 9 and is now one of the museum’s largest pieces. A Rhynchotherium is an extinct mastodont relative of the elephant with four tusks. The rhynchotherium died out during the Pleistocene Epoch at the beginning of the most recent Ice Age.
2007-05-20 - San Andreas, United States. TINA LAM
Patti Miles stood in the sharp California sunshine next to the enormous, deeply wrinkled creature towering over her. I miss her more than anyone can imagine," Miles said. Miles was one of the keepers of the much-loved Detroit Zoo elephants Wanda and Winky, working with them for more than six years before the animals moved from Royal Oak to the hills of northern California. At the Detroit Zoo, white rhinos have taken Wanda and Winky's place, but the elephants are not forgotten. "Every weekend, we...
2007-05-18 - Anchorage, United States.
Zookeepers have put Alaska's only elephant in a sling until they find out why she's having trouble getting back on her feet after lying down. The sling is providing Maggie the elephant relief from her 8,000-pound bulk if she wants to get off her feet, said zoo director Pat Lampi. Zoo officials were awaiting results of a second round of blood work. The initial round, taken after the elephant was found lying on her side the first time, showed nothing abnormal, Lampi said.
2007-05-17 - Norfolk, United States.
The city has bestowed one of its highest tourism honors upon three of its biggest residents. Cita, Monica and Lisa, a trio of elephants at the Virginia Zoo who weigh in at 7,800, 8,600 and 10,000 pounds respectively became the first nonhumans to be named Norfolks ambassador of the year on Wednesday. The popular pachyderms represent the big picture when it comes to hospitality and customer service as they happily go about their day performing their various crowd-pleasing assignments, including pu...
2007-05-16 - Jacksonville, United States. Grayson Kamm
Our Hidden Places series takes you to off-limits spots at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, including animal hurricane shelters, their high-tech hospital and feeding time with the lions. "You gotta get wet! Lean in!" called out animal keeper Jami Fletcher. And the massive elephant standing just feet away did exactly what she asked. Another keeper opened the nozzle on a spray hose and started treating Ali to a refreshing shower.
2007-05-15 - Los Angeles, United States.
Animal rights activists plan to gather outside the L-A zoo today to see Ruby the African elephant trudge off into retirement. The 46-year-old animal will spend her twilight years in a 70-acre enclosure that she'll share with three other elephants at a Northern California sanctuary.
2007-05-14 - Milwaukee, United States. Cheryl Sherry
Next time you're at the Milwaukee County Zoo, say hello to Ruth, a 28-year-old transplant from Brownsville, Texas. Ruth is an African elephant that came to Milwaukee from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville at year's end to make friends with zoo resident Brittany, also an African elephant, which lost its companion, Lucy, in September. They've become fast friends.
2007-05-13 - Los Angeles, United States. DANA BARTHOLOMEW
Keepers at the Los Angeles Zoo will say goodbye to Ruby on Tuesday, when one of their dearest friends heads off to retirement at a Northern California elephant sanctuary. Jeff Briscoe, the zoo's principal elephant keeper, had welcomed Ruby to the L.A. Zoo in 1987, when she arrived from Circus Vargas. At dawn Tuesday, she will be loaded into a temperature-controlled truck and hauled 350 miles to join three African elephants at the PAWS elephant sanctuary in the Sierra Foothills east of St...
2007-05-13 - Anchorage, United States.
Firefighters perform all sorts of heroics, from putting out blazes, to helping the injured, to dealing with car wrecks. Maggie, the Anchorage Zoo’s beloved African elephant, had lain down inside her indoor enclosure, and she wouldn’t get up. Zoo employees asked firefighters from Station 8 on O’Malley Road to help. All told, the pachyderm was down for some 12 hours, said Young Suenram, an Anchorage Fire Department battalion chief. Firefighters worked with urgency to raise her up, he said.
2007-05-08 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
The Louisville Zoo's new baby elephant will be named Jonesy, Angus or Scotty. Zoo staff members chose those finalists from the more than 7,000 entries in the zoo's name-the-baby-elephant contest sponsored by Norton Healthcare. "There were a ton of Jumbos and Dumbos, and even a Horton," said Dave Campbell, the zoo's elephant-area supervisor. A winning name will be announced June 1 after a vote by zoo visitors. Votes can be cast by donating coins through May 24 at a kiosk on the zoo's front plaza....
2007-05-04 - Atlanta, United States.
Zoo Atlanta is currently seeking an individual who is highly motivated, enthusiastic, and organized to fill the open Lead Keeper of Elephants position within the Large Mammal department. This full-time salaried position requires an applicant with the knowledge and experience of an advanced Animal Keeper including the interest and ability to handle additional team leader and supervisor responsibilities. A degree in a Life Science or related field is required in conjunction with a minimum of five ...
2007-05-04 - Hugo, United States.
An 8,300-pound elephant and her newborn, who was 280 pounds at birth, are doing well at a breeding compound and retirement center for elephants in Hugo. Val was born to Whimpy after nearly 12 hours of labor on April 27 at the Endangered Ark Foundation. This is the third birth at the center, which was founded by D.R. Miller, whose family started the first Hugo-based circus.
2007-05-03 - Tulsa, United States. EAZA
The Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum is seeking qualified applicants for a Large Mammal zookeeper position specifically working with our facilities elephants, rhinos, and sea lions. Qualifications include: graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate’s degree in biology, zoology, wildlife management or related field & two (2) years of experience in the care of large mammals; preferably experience with elephants, rhinos and sea lions.
2007-05-03 - Hohenwald, United States. JENNIFER BROOKS
From the minute she arrived Tuesday afternoon, Dularys life changed. Three members of her new herd — Delhi, Tarra and Misty — were waiting impatiently to welcome her, trunks poking through the barn stalls. They drifted over as soon as they spotted her trailer pulling up the drive and remained nearby, calling out to her until she finally left the trailer, said sanctuary spokeswoman Kate Elliott.
2007-05-03 - Buffalo, United States.
Local indie-rock outfits Ice Cream Social, La Cacahouette, and the Grade Grubbers are herding forces on Friday (May 4) in an effort to “SAVE THE ELEPHANTS!” at the Buffalo Zoo... or at least to make them more comfortable. Proceeds from this concert event at Broadway Joe’s will be put toward the renovation of the Zoo’s Elephant House, current home to three gigantic mammals named Buki, Jothi, and Surapa.
2007-05-02 - Hohenwald, United States. JENNIFER BROOKS
Dulary the elephant slept under the stars on her first night at her new home. Initially leery of leaving the comfort of the trailer that carried her from the Philadelphia Zoo, Dulary finally ventured out Tuesday evening to explore The Elephant Sanctuary, a 2,700-acre preserve for retired zoo and circus elephants in Hohenwald. Dulary arrived at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, accompanied by her zoo caretakers and sanctuary staff. Since then, she’s had a hose bath and is playing with the hoses.
2007-05-02 - Rochester, United States. Victoria E. Freile
Monroe County and Seneca Park Zoo officials today will break ground to build a wading pool at the zoo for African elephants Lilac and Genny C. A new 50,000-gallon pool will be at the south end of the elephant yard, about 15 feet away from zoo visitors at the zoo, 2222 St. Paul St., said zoo Director Larry Sorel. It will feature a sloping entrance that resembles a watering hole in the elephants’ native environment.
2007-05-01 - Tennessee, United States. Kim Lengal, Philadelphia Zoo
Elephant keeper Jen Robertson called to report that Dulary had an excellent night. The elephant "caravan" stopped to give everyone a rest right across the Tennessee border. The trailer pulled over in a convenient parking lot where Scott, the driver, and Dulary camped out for the night. Before she settled in, Dulary had a full meal of elephant pellets, carrots, beets, potatoes, apples, hay, and lots of fresh water.
2007-05-01 - Highlands Ranch, United States. Valerie Miller
The Carson & Barnes Circus and the Miller-Byrd families have established the Endangered Ark Foundation to provide for endangered species, and operate a breeding program for the extremely endangered Asian elephant. This facility had its grand opening and dedication in 2003. Three and half year old baby elephant, Obert, is very special to the circus family, as one of the highlights of this breeding program.
2007-05-01 - Buffalo, United States. Tom Buckham, Buffalo News
During a 2006 review, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums said the landmark 1912 Elephant House and the hospital needed to be expanded to meet current zoo guidelines. Meanwhile, the “I Love Elephants” campaign, which seeks to raise $1 million to boost the Elephant House interior from 1,050 to 1,800 square feet, has generated considerable community support, the zoo said.
2007-05-01 - Grahamstown, United States.
CAPTURED in the wild and trained for 18 months to cart wealthy tourists around an Eastern Cape game reserve, it is not just the future of five young elephants that hangs in the balance following SPCA objections to a permit application to use the animals for mounted game safaris. Ten Zimbabwean elephant trainers, who boast more than 50 years’ collective experience, could also face a bleak future if the permit is denied.
2007-05-01 - Baltimore, United States. M. Hirsh Goldberg
When the circus was in town earlier this year, I began to think back to my early days in public relations. I remembered the day, in pursuit of publicity for a client, I experienced one of the most potentially embarrassing occasions in my career, the time when I lost a circus elephant in downtown Baltimore.
2007-04-30 - Hohenwald, United States. Kate Elliott, The Elephant Sanctuary
On Tuesday May 1, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee welcomes Dulary, an Asian elephant who is being retired from The Philadelphia Zoo. Forty-three years old, Dulary has spent her entire captive life at the zoo. She will be joining the Sanctuary’s ‘founding herd’ in the newly expanded Asian habitat. They will be the first Asian elephants Dulary has seen in many years. This brings the sanctuary's population to 19 elephants, all retired from circuses or zoos.
2007-04-30 - Mesa, United States. Jon Johnson
An Ice Age fossilized skull discovered 20 miles southeast of Safford has, after several efforts, been removed from its home for the past 2.5 million years. The skull belongs to a rhynchotherium, an extinct mastodont relative of the elephant with four tusks. The rhychotherium died out during the Pleistocene Epoch at the beginning of the most recent Ice Age.
2007-04-30 - Philadelphia, United States. Kim Lengal, Vice President of Conservation
Dulary is on her way to Tennessee! This morning after stretching her legs in her exhibit and taking a nice long morning drink, Dulary sauntered over to the open trailer and after a little hesitation, calmly walked up and into the trailer. Upon entering the trailer, she stood calmly eating her greens while her keepers said their good-byes and the rest of the staff bustled about getting everything in readiness for her departure.
2007-04-30 - New Delhi, United States.
After tigers and lions, it's the turn of elephants now. In the last three years at least 244 elephants were killed in the country, with around half of them falling to poachers. In 2003-04, poachers killed 53 elephants, they killed 25 the following year and 39 in 2005-06. Similarly, 52 jumbos were electrocuted in 2003-04, 54 in 2004-05 and 12 in 2005-06. Man-elephant conflict claimed seven elephants in the last three years and two were killed due to mining related activities in 2005-06. Orissa to...
2007-04-30 - PHILADELPHIA, United States.
After 41 years at the Philadelphia Aoo, Dulary the elephant will be leaving Monday. Friends came to sign a going away card for Dulary, who is headed for retirement, because the zoo is closing its elephant exhibit, reacting in part to pressure from animal rights groups who believe they suffer in cramped enclosures. The departure of Dulary, after 41 years, is symbolic. Philadelphia's zoo is the nation's oldest, and when it opened in 1874 its first exhibit was an elephant.
2007-04-30 - Henrico County, United States. Tammie Smith
With outdoor seating, colorful balloons, a menagerie of animals and the smell of food grilling, it was more like a carnival than a church service at Discovery United Methodist Church yesterday. And when the Rev. Jim Lavender and associate pastor Raymond Rowley, dressed in their clergy robes, rode in on an elephant to start the morning service, it seemed like a ringmaster was about to start the show.
2007-04-29 - Washington, United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award more than $861,000 in international conservation grants that will help protect more than 15 species of animals in 18 countries, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced Friday. Species that will benefit include African elephants and rhinoceros, chimpanzees and Cross River gorillas, five species of sea turtles, the quetzal, puma, jaguar, and the maned wolf.
2007-04-27 - Peoria, United States. Rachel Stein
Elephants, pythons, motorbikes, trapeze, it took three semis to get them here. The day starts with a bath for the elephants. Susie the elephant is listening to her trainer and following his signals. Garden Brother's President and Producer of Ian Garden said, "These three old girls that we have they're Asian females. They understand probably over a hundred different English words, commands."
2007-04-26 - Philadelphia, United States.
Three African elephants from the Philadelphia Zoo will be moved to the Pittsburgh Zoo's new conservation center. The elephants: Petal, 51; Kallie, 24; and Bette, 23 -- will be sent to the International Conservation Center in the Somerset County town of Fairhope in the fall, the zoos announced Thursday. The two younger elephants are still able to breed, and officials hope that's what will happen after the move. The Pittsburgh Zoo houses an adult bull, who is one of only four breeding African bull...
2007-04-26 - Falls Church, United States. Nate Taylor
During a routine Google search for horse polo equipment in September 2005, Kimberly Zenz came across something entirely different: elephant polo. The future team captain called Falls Church resident Courtney Zenz, her younger sister and soon-to-be teammate, and informed her that they were starting an elephant polo team. In September 2006 the DC Pachyderms were playing their first tournament in Thailand. They placed second to last, beating the only other rookie team.
2007-04-25 - Philadelphia, United States.
The Philadelphia Zoo said Wednesday it will announce the new home for its three African elephants on Thursday. The fate of its four elephants has been hanging for more than six months since the zoo said it did not have the money to upgrade its pachyderm house. The African elephants were originally supposed to go to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, but last month Maryland officials said plans to build a new elephant exhibit had been delayed. The fourth, an Asian elephant, will go to a sanctuary in ...
2007-04-25 - Cologne, United States. Louisa Schaefer
Cologne's ego-centrism has won out. The "mini-phant" (as the city's Express readers had dubbed their little darling for the short term) is due to be christened "Ming Jung" on Wednesday, April 25. "Ming Jung," one might add, is the Cologne dialect expression for mein Junge, or "my boy." Only the people of Cologne could detect the symmetries between their city and the Orient.
Dulary, the Philadelphia Zoo's Asian elephant, is almost ready to leave for her new home. This weekend (April 28 and 29) will likely be her last weekend in Philadelphia, so your family may want to visit her one more time to say good-bye. The Zoo staff will blog about her travels. Check out the first blog!
2007-04-24 - Thiruvananthapuram, United States.
The third synchronised census of elephants roaming the forests of four southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will be carried out from May 7 to 9. According to sources, there were about 21,300 elephants in India during the 2005 survey. Karnataka topped the list with about 4,500 elephants, followed by Tamil Nadu with around 4,000 and Kerala with 3,500.
2007-04-24 - HARTFORD, United States.
A bill aimed at protecting circus elephants from abuse is continuing to lumber through the legislature. Today, the Judiciary Committee voted 22-17 in favor of the legislation, which makes it a crime to use any "implement or device" on an elephant that "may reasonably be expected" to harm the animal.
2007-04-24 - Tulsa, United States. MIRANDA ENZOR
After nine long months of construction, the Tulsa Zoo opened its Elephant Demonstration Yard April 13. The Demonstration Yard was dedicated to Larry Nunley for his 32 years of service with the Tulsa Zoo. Besides giving the zoo a place to show off their Asian elephants, the Demonstration Yard also enhances compliance with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) standards, the governing body for Tulsa Zoo, as it allows the zoo to provide its elephants with additional reserve areas to roam.
2007-04-24 - Boulder, United States. Marc Bekof, University of Colorado
One of the hottest questions in the study of animal behavior is, Do animals have emotions? The simple answer is, Of course they do. Marc Bekoff is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado in Boulder. All of this material is discussed in his book The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy—and Why They Matter (New World Library, California, 2007).
2007-04-23 - Baltimore, United States. Danielle Ulman
Even elephants need to pay attention to grooming now and then. That’s why Dolly and Anna, the African elephants at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, received pedicures last week. “Because they’re so big, their feet are more delicate. They hold so much weight that it’s important to maintain the health of their feet,” said Mike McClure, elephant collection manager at the zoo.
2007-04-23 - Tucson, United States. BENJIE SANDERS
On April 23, 1982, Tucson got its first look at the Reid Park Zoo's new baby African elephant, a 585-pound, two-and-a-half-year-old female. Her name, chosen from over 400 entries submitted in a naming contest, was to be Shaba, the Swahili word for copper. Shaba, shown here with keeper Gale London, was replacing Sabu, who had to be put to sleep the previous year. After she got used to all her new surroundings, Shaba joined the zoo's other elephant, Connie, who is an Asian elephant.
2007-04-23 - South Beach, Oregon, United States. Opa's Antiques
4 bids; current bid: US $529.99. All pieces are damage free with no repairs. All original paint present except two tiny spots on boy's arms. Elephant has red eyes; Keepers left arm moves. Children fit into saddle. Not original box.
2007-04-22 - Denver, United States. Ann Schrader
An unusual first-ever project aims to recycle Denver Zoo's waste into energy. Inspiration came from the 75 tons of manure produced annually by elephants Dolly and Mimi. A gasification plant to superheat waste to generate electricity may cost $1.5 million. But it would cut the zoos overall electric use by 15 percent and heating bill by 17 percent, for an annual savings of $85,000 while reducing whats hauled to the dump by 450 tons.
2007-04-21 - West Palm Beach, United States.
Hilary Duff wearing a cute red dress and beige Christian Louboutins attended the "Night with the Raj" Polo Ball at International Polo Club Palm Beach, held on April 20, 2007 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hilary seemes like she was having a lot of fun as she posed for photos with the elephants. One elephant reportedly even got a little frisky with her.
2007-04-20 - Cheyenne Mountain, United States. Stephanie Ross
They are known as extremely intelligent animals. It is also said that an elephant never forgets. That's because they have better memories than we do. Kimba lives at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and she is amazing, very curious, very smart and very talented. Every girl loves a pedicure, and Kimba is no exception. A daily pedicure is just part of Kimba's beauty regimen, she also gets a daily scrub. And in order to keep her girlish 5 ton figure, she is exercised daily by her trainers.
2007-04-20 - New York, United States. www.hoax-slayer.com
The story claims that, when she appeared on the quiz show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", Kathy Evans of Idaho "set a new standard for stupidity" when she could not answer a question that asked her to identify the largest item from a list comprising an elephant, the moon and a peanut. However, the incident described never happened. The article originates from BSNews.org, a satirical website that features fake news items on a variety of subjects.
2007-04-20 - Altoona, United States. Jessica VanderKolk
Thad Graham and his girlfriend, Adrienne Ray, climbed the metal steps and onto an elephant’s back Thursday night in the Jaffa Shrine Circus ring, where Graham produced another, shinier ring. As the elephant circled the ring, circus administrator Bill Troxell handed Graham a microphone. “We’ve been together a long time now,” Graham, 19, began, turning around to look at Ray. “Our first date ever was at the circus.”
2007-04-19 - Charleston, United States.
The elephant wash has become a tradition on opening day of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which runs through Sunday at the Charleston Civic Center.
2007-04-17 - San Diego, United States.
ESCONDIDO, Calif.- An African elephant born last month at the San Diego Zoo has been named Impunga, zoo officials said Tuesday. His name (pronounced im-POON-gah) means "experienced adviser" in Swati, the official language of Swaziland. Impunga was born March 11, marking the third birth for a herd of seven African elephants rescued from culling in Swaziland and brought to the zoo's Wild Animal Park in 2003.
2007-04-17 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
Entries are open to name the baby male African elephant born on March 18 at the Louisville Zoo. "People stop me all the time bubbling with excitement and say they have a name for the baby elephant," zoo director John Walczak said. "Well, now is the chance to name our big bundle of joy."
2007-04-15 - Front Royal, United States. Brown JL, Somerville M, Riddle HS, Keele M, Duer CK, Freeman EW., Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park
Concentrations of serum testosterone, cortisol, thyroxine (free and total T4), triiodothyronine (free and total T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured to assess adrenal and thyroid function as they relate to testicular activity and musth in captive elephants. Data were generally inconclusive as to a role for thyroid hormones in male reproduction, but the finding of discrete patterns in bulls showing clear testosterone cycles suggests they may facilitate expression or control of ...
2007-04-14 - Oregon, United States.
The Oregon Zoo is busy getting ready for a big event this weekend, its Packy the elephants 45th birthday. On Friday morning the zoos executive chef Paul Warner had lots of help from kids preparing the cake. It will be served Saturday afternoon at two. View a 1962 film of Packys birth
2007-04-14 - Tulsa, United States. ALTHEA PETERSON
Gunda, Sneezy and Sooky, the zoo's resident Asian elephants, will now roam the Elephant Encounters Demonstration Yard, as well as an expanded reserve. Jodi Koch, the zoo's public relations manager, said the the new yard gives the elephants 3,500 square feet more to explore. The reserve had 13,000 square feet added to accommodate the bull elephant, Sneezy. Overall, the project cost $550,000.
2007-04-13 - Atlanta, United States. EAZA
Zoo Atlanta is currently looking for an experienced, knowledgeable and enthusiastic individual who will compliment the current Elephant keeper staff. Keeper responsibilities include providing comprehensive animal care, animal training, enrichment, monitoring animal health, facilities and exhibit maintenance. Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to, formal and informal public presentations, special event programming, and assisting with behavioral research or conservation initiative...
2007-04-13 - KENOSHA, United States.
Somewhere under John Hebior's 36 acres of cornfields rest the ancient bones of at least one woolly mammoth. But the 76-year-old retiree doesn't plan to excavate the fossils quite yet. "I'd like to sell this one first,'' he said, gesturing to about 20 boxes containing the carefully packed bones of a second mammoth unearthed from those fields 13 years ago.
2007-04-13 - Portland, United States.
Children gathered at the Oregon Zoo Friday to help make and decorate a cake for Packy the elephant, who is turning 45 years old. The celebration continues with Packy's son, Rama, getting a turn in the spotlight. Rama will receive his own cake in the indoor gallery at 1 p.m. to mark his 24th birthday. Earlier in the morning, visitors have a chance to learn more about Rama during an elephant feeding and training demonstration focusing on his painting activities.
2007-04-13 - Mesa, United States.
One of Mesa's newest residents is a 2.4 million-year-old prehistoric mammoth. The huge beast has been transported from Safford to the Mesa Southwest Museum. Once paleontologists haul its giant skull to Mesa, the skeleton will become one of the largest pieces to date at the museum. The Rhynchotherium is an extinct elephant relative with four tusks that died out around the start of the Ice Age.
2007-04-12 - Jacksonville, United States.
2007-04-12 - Beverly Hills, United States. Lourdes Salvador
Most people agree that human beings experience various emotions. Perhaps one of the most amazing expressions of emotion is that of an elephant remembering a deceased mother. Susan McCarthy (1995) stated in her book "When elephants weep":Elephants are indifferent to the bones of other species, but will stop and even detour to examine the bones of elephants, which they handle and look at carefully.
2007-04-12 - Philadelphia, United States. josh cornfield
Marianne Bessey claims it was only a poor attempt at satire when she made threats toward the director of the Philadelphia Zoo, saying in an Internet message board post that Alexander “Pete” Hoskins could die very soon. The zoo, however, wasn’t amused, banning the animal-rights activist from the premises and filing a police report against her. The leader of the Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants, which has campaigned for the relocation of the zoo’s elephants to a sanctuary in Tennessee, Bess...
2007-04-12 - Philadelphia, United States. Marianne Bessey, spokeswoman for Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants
IN HIS column "Save the Elephants!", Michael Smerconish expressed great concern about the animals' departure from the Philadelphia Zoo. Unfortunately, his concern is not about saving elephants, but about preserving his family's opportunity to view an elephant in a zoo. Mr. Smerconish is obviously a zoo-goer, and zoos like to claim they are educational, but Mr. Smerconish clearly hasn't been educated about elephants, or he'd know that elephants are very social and that family is everything to the...
2007-04-12 - Guadalupe, United States.
Paleontologists on the Central Coast unveil a rare pre-historic find. For the next three months, people can visit the Guadalupe Museum to view the fossil of a mastodon. The preserved remains were found in Arroyo Grande. Right now, a team of scientists continue to search for more remains.
2007-04-12 - Wilmington, United States.
The Cole Brothers Circus is in Wilmington for the Azalea Festival. One of the circus's feature attractions is Tina and Jule, two elephants that have performed with the circus for years. Elephant trainer William Jacobs says the twin giants have been a target for animal rights groups, who say the exotic animals do not belong in the circus. But Jacobs disagrees, saying, "You cannot judge people because of someone's misfortune.
2007-04-12 - Arlington, United States. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Press Release 07-038
Scientists have confirmed the existence of protein in soft tissue recovered from the fossil bones of a 68 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) and a half-million-year-old mastodon. Their results may change the way people think about fossil preservation and present a new method for studying diseases in which identification of proteins is important, such as cancer.
2007-04-12 - Denver, United States. Todd Hartman
Zookeepers at the Denver Zoo have sustained 45 animal-inflicted injuries in the past five years, according to records provided Wednesday to the Rocky Mountain News. The injuries were delivered by an array of species, including an elephant, hogs, several types of birds, an otter, a bighorn sheep, a mongoose - even a small anteater. The injuries range from cuts, bruises and scratches to bites on fingers, hands and legs, to cases where animals struck keepers with horns or elbows.
2007-04-12 - Salinas, United States. MEGHA SATYANARAYANA
Charlie Sammut own Vision Quest Ranch in Salinas, a 51-acre facility that houses everything from a pet kennel to an exotic animal sanctuary to a horse stable. Sammut's pride and joy are his four elephants, Buffy, Butch, Christy and Paula. They sleep in a barn at night, and after their morning bath, roam a large field. Christy and Paula are new additions from an East Coast circus, and Sammut is busy trying to raise money to keep them. He needs at least $250,000 for all four to live comfortably, a...
2007-04-11 - Atlanta, United States. MARK DAVIS
No one knows that better than the people who greet each morning, shovel in hand, as they scoop up ...Call them the poop patrol, those bold souls who trail behind the three elephants at Zoo Atlanta, scraping up those smelly mounds that invariably trail a pachyderm's path. Three or more times daily, they shovel hundreds of pounds of elephant dung — nearly a ton a day, about 600 pounds per beast, an Everest of excrement. It winds up as compost, courtesy of a Carroll County businessman who recycle...
2007-04-10 - Philadelphia, United States. Carolyn Davis
The Philadelphia Zoo should keep two of its elephants, even if they are bored, even if they cannot roam the savannas, woodlands and forests of Africa or Asia, even if captivity means a shortened life. It's worth the trade-off if Kallie, Bette or Petal stay to fire the imagination of children and educate young and old about wildlife and the importance of conservation.
2007-04-09 - Manhattan, United States. Brooklyn Eagle
Crowds of New Yorkers were at the docks on April 9, 1882 when a transatlantic steamer arrived from England. They were there to welcome P.T. Barnum’s newest “oddity” to the U.S. From the ship’s hold came Jumbo, probably the largest bush elephant ever held in captivity. At the age of 16, his height at the shoulder was estimated at 11'6'. He weighed 6½ tons. As Jumbo made his way from the New York docks to his new quarters at Madison Square Garden a large crowd of spectators joined the par...
2007-04-07 - Galt, United States. Janice Clark, PAWS
Nicholas and Gypsy arrived on April 2nd, to their new home. Galt, California is noted for a unique adobe clay terrain which makes a mud that elephants love. PAWS photographer, Janice Clark, has been racing out of her office, camera in hand, when the elephant bath routine begins, trying to capture the grunts, trumpets and acrobatics as the two elephants tumble in the mud.
2007-04-06 - Arlington, United States. Dr. Michelle Gadd, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Dear Colleagues, I would like to encourage you to submit proposals for elephant conservation projects to the 2007 USFWS African Elephant Conservation Fund as soon as possible. Proposals received by MAY 31, 2007 will be fully evaluated for funding before the US Government fiscal year ends in September. Now is an ideal time to apply for any field work taking place in the second half of 2007 or any time in 2008. While we will continue to accept proposals on a rolling basis, we cannot guarantee tha...
2007-04-06 - Los Angeles, United States. Jennifer Steinhauer
Somewhere amid the rolling suitcases, plastic baggies filled with lip gloss, laptops, skis and other sundry items streaming through Los Angeles International Airport, there are, occasionally, rare butterflies, elephant tusks, sea turtle eggs and, in one case, a pair of pygmy monkeys, stuffed down the pants of an incoming passenger. Wildlife smuggling is the nation’s second-largest black market, just behind narcotics, accounting for $8 billion to $10 billion a year in sales, said Joseph O. John...
2007-04-04 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
When a 285-pound elephant calf breaks into a trot, his four legs look like they are going in four different directions. “He’s still trying to figure out how to use all his parts, including his trunk,” said Dave Campbell, the Louisville Zoo’s elephant area supervisor. Zoo Director John Walczak said the baby, who will get a name in a public contest to be announced soon, “will be a wonderful ambassador.”
2007-04-04 - Santa Barbara, United States. Mary Vanderpool
Dr. Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell (pictured), a research associate from Stanford University and elephant enthusiast, presents groundbreaking new evidence that earth’s largest land animal uses its feet to detect soundwaves that travel through the ground at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Fleischmann Auditorium tomorrow night, Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m..
2007-04-04 - Bahamas, United States. Juan McCartney
Circus Maximus elephant trainer Francine Schact is the keeper of a 33-year-old female elephant named Ghandi. "My father worked for the San Diego zoo, and loved animals and taught me to love them as well," Mrs. Schact said. "We got Ghandi from Thailand. Her parents were used for labour in a lumberyard. The yard had a surplus of offspring and if they did not sell her she would have been destroyed. She was nine months old."
2007-04-02 - GALT, United States.
The Performing Animal Welfare Society, also known as “PAWS” is welcoming 3 big new animals to their facilities. 2 of the new elephants arrived in Galt on Monday and one more is on the way. Now these former big performing animals will have a big place to run free. It was a quick 3 day drive from Chicago to Galt for 13-year-old Nicklaus and 40-year-old Gypsy.
2007-04-02 - Bronx, United States. Natalie Bouaravong
A new study from Stephen Blake, Samantha Strindberg, Fiona Maisels, and colleagues warns that while savannah elephants may indeed be rebounding—in part because they live in countries with long histories of wildlife management, where protection is facilitated by open plains habitats and usually good infrastructure—their forest relatives, hidden in the Congo Basin rainforests, still face intense poaching pressure.
2007-04-02 - Washington, United States.
Officials at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park are hoping that the artificial insemination of an Asian elephant is successful. Scientists from the Smithsonian's Zoo and from Germany artificially inseminated one of the zoo's Asian elephants this weekend. They've performed two of three attempts.
2007-04-01 - Portland, United States. Katy Muldoon
The veterinarian drilled. The dentist chiseled. They both pried and pulled. Finally, after more than 3½ hours of surgery today on a beloved Oregon Zoo elephant, the two men rose to their feet and slapped their right hands in a bloody high five. Theyd just removed the final piece of a difficult puzzle: a 10-inch-long chunk of rock-hard tusk and dentin from high inside the pachyderms skull. At last, Tusko was tusk-free.
2007-03-31 - Chicago, United States. Lacasse C, Terio K, Kinsel MJ, Farina LL, Travis DA, Greenwald R, Lyashchenko KP, Miller M, Gamble KC. , Lincoln Park Zoo
Mycobacterium szulgai was associated with mortality in two captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) housed at Lincoln Park Zoo. The first elephant presented with severe, acute lameness of the left rear limb. Despite extensive treatments, the animal collapsed and died 13 mo after initial presentation. Necropsy revealed osteomyelitis with loss of the femoral head and acetabulum and pulmonary granulomas with intralesional M. szulgai. The second elephant collapsed during transport to another i...
2007-03-30 - Portland, United States.
The 6.75-ton, 35-year-old bull elephant spent 14 years with a broken tusk. Nearly all of the left tusk was removed during a February operation, but the team was unable to remove a chunk of compacted, hard dentin tissue in the deep part of the tusk cavity. Sunday, the last few inches of tusk will be removed. While the operation is risky, Finnegan says the risks are outweighed by Tusko's discomfort and the overall threat the chronic infection poses to his long-term health.
2007-03-30 - San Antonio, United States. EAZA
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian.
2007-03-29 - Portland, United States. JIM DEVER
Northwest photographer Gerry Ellis has documented the rescue and rehabilitation of numerous baby elephants in his book, Wild Orphans. Its an extraordinary story that takes Gerry from the basement of his Portland, Oregon home to a remote wildlife orphanage in Nairobi, Africa, where he meets a group of motherless elephants he calls the Orphan Eight.
2007-03-29 - Little Rock, United States. Leslie Newell Peacock
The plans, which Little Rock Zoo Director Michael Blakely notes are only a draft, call for buying 320 acres of the 330 acres Scott and Heidi Riddle own, their buildings and equipment and the 13 elephants now kept there. The group would pay $800,000 immediately and the rest over seven years. The Riddles, who have operated the elephant refuge since 1990, would work with the Elephant Center for five months after the sale under contract. The continued involvement of Scott Riddle, a controversial fig...
2007-03-29 - Philadelphia, United States. Michael Smerconish
THERES an elephant in the room, and if we dont hurry up and talk about her, shell likely end up in the Volunteer State. Her name is Dulary. These must be her final days in Philadelphia because last week I received an invite to her Farewell Celebration at the Philadelphia Zoo. When I mentioned Dularys celebration to one of my sons, he said, Its not a zoo unless it has elephants. Hes right. We should exhaust every option before allowing the elephants to leave town.
2007-03-29 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Seing a pregnant elephant is one thhing. Seing inside an elephants womb is something completely different.
2007-03-28 - New York, United States.
It was a circus in the streets of New York City early Wednesday morning: Elephants from Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus marched through the Queens Midtown Tunnel to Madison Square Garden. The elephants were taken on their cross-city walk for the circus, which begins performances this weekend.
2007-03-28 - Oregon, United States. KATY MULDOON
Veterinarians expect to take another crack at removing what's left of the elephant's infected tusk in an operation Sunday at the Oregon Zoo. About six weeks ago, they sawed, drilled and chiseled out perhaps 95 percent of his left tusk during an elaborate procedure lasting nearly five hours.
2007-03-28 - El Paso, United States. Monica Balderrama
Tuesday, the elephants Juno and Savannah slept in a barn at the zoo, where it seems they'll stay permanently. El Paso City Council voted 6-2 to keep them in the El Paso Zoo. On Tuesday, the new zoo director, Steve Marshall, told city council the zoo is fit to have two Asian elephants in its collection and it should continue to be involved with elephants in the future. He even said he's working on getting a third elephant.
2007-03-27 - Pittsburgh, United States. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is looking for a Relief Keeper for the Elephant/Ungulates section of our Mammal department. This position is full-time and eligible for full employee benefits after a 90-day probationary period. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is seeking an experience elephant keeper that would be interested in joining a progressive elephant management team, utilizing both free and protected contact.
2007-03-27 - Miami, United States. Miami MetroZoo
Responsible for the daily husbandry needs of 1.1 Asian and 1.2 African Elephants in a protected management system. Requires 1 year paid elephant experience in a protected or free contact system. Prefer experience with operant conditioning, a degree in animal technology or biology, and experience with bull elephants.
2007-03-27 - Washington, United States. Samantha L. Quigley
The general’s backstage experience wouldnt have been complete without photos with Army Sgt. Tom Davis and his family and, of course, Karen the elephant. Karen showed her patriotic appreciation by sporting an elephant-sized America Supports You dog tag. Kenneth Feld, chairman and chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said supporting the troops is a part of the circuss culture now.
2007-03-26 - Santa Barbara, United States. Santa Barbara Zoo
The Santa Barbara Zoo is seeking a keeper for our elephant team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the daily care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and enhancing the guest experience. Experience with Elephants in Protected Contact is preferred, but we are willing to train an enthusiastic individual.
2007-03-26 - El Paso, United States.
The Asian elephants Juno and Savannah are the reasons why a lot of people visit the El Paso Zoo. The elephants are one of the main attractions but one thats been controversial for the last two years. The last briefing we got in 2006 told us to increase the size of the enclosure to make it a humane enclosure for those elephants, it's going to cost us $15-$20 million, said Rep. Beto ORourke.
2007-03-26 - Philadelphia, United States. Julie Stoiber
Caught by surprise last week when the Maryland Zoo backed out of a deal to adopt its three African elephants, the Philadelphia Zoo is now searching for a home for the animals at institutions within a day's drive of here. The Pittsburgh Zoo and the North Carolina Zoo, which had been considered and are poised to open expanded African elephant habitats, seemed likely prospects.
2007-03-26 - El Paso, United States. David Crowder
A long-awaited report on recommendations about the El Paso Zoos two elephants is on City Councils Tuesday agenda along with a discussion about new safety measures in the area around North Mesa and Cincinnati Avenue. Also at Tuesday's council meeting, the new zoo director, Steve Marshall, is scheduled to deliver his report and recommendations on the fate of the zoo's elephant exhibit and elephants Juno and Savannah.
2007-03-25 - NEW YORK, United States. MARCUS FRANKLIN
The skull of a large carnivorous dinosaur and the tusk of a shaggy-coated mammoth from the Ice Age sold for a combined $372,000 at a natural history auction Sunday, auction officials said. The 10-foot tusk of a woolly mammoth found on the Siberian tundra was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $96,000, the most such an item has commanded at auction, Pitt said. The auction, which also featured a meteorite and other items, brought in a total of $1.55 million.
2007-03-25 - Salt Lake City, United States. John Hollenhorst
Getting pregnant doesnt usually require the help of Delta Air Lines, Federal Express and a team of experts from Germany. But thats exactly whats unfolding in Salt Lake City tonight. But the means to the end are distinctly unnatural. Experts from Germany flew in Sunday night, after a stop in Pittsburgh to visit a male elephant. He supplied a crucial ingredient. His contribution was carry-on baggage for the pros from Berlin.
2007-03-24 - Davis, CA, United States. Yon L, Chen J, Moran P, Lasley B. University of California
During musth in bull elephants, the androgens testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and androstenedione all increase significantly. Given the unusual endocrine physiology that has been discovered in female elephants, it is also possible that bull elephants produce some unusual androgens. A cell-based androgen receptor assay was used to explore this possibility using two different methods.
2007-03-23 - Louisville, United States.
The African elephant born Sunday at the Louisville Zoo continues to bond well with his mother, Mikki, zoo officials said today. The baby is nursing every two hours and exploring his new surroundings more and more each day, they said, adding that he appears to be a quick learner. A naming contest will be announced when details are finalized.
2007-03-22 - Philadelphia, United States. TOM SCHMIDT
The Philadelphia Zoos three African elephants may eventually wind up in California. Pat Derby, director of PAWS, the Performing Animal Welfare Society, yesterday practically welcomed the elephants to the societys spacious sanctuary with open arms. Andrew Baker, vice president for animal programs at the zoo, said no one had approached him with a proposal that the elephants be placed at the PAWS sanctuary.
2007-03-22 - VALLEJO, United States.
Beginning Saturday, animal aficionados over age 12 who have $400 can live out the fantasy of being an animal trainer for a day, according to officials at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to work closely with a group of extraordinary animals, this program is for you, Martin Lathrop, park president of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom said in a statement Wednesday.
2007-03-21 - ANNAPOLIS, United States.
The Cole Bros. Circus is moving to Crownsville after the Naval Academy Athletic Association decided damage at the stadium grounds from the decades-long tradition was too expensive, circus sponsors said. Annapolis Optimist Club President Diann Turner said the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds - which are six miles away - will now host the circus May 2 and 3. Were just thrilled we were able to find a place and we can continue to bring it to town, said Turner.
2007-03-20 - Baltimore, United States.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore said Tuesday it will delay a planned expansion of its elephant exhibit, scuttling plans to move three pachyderms from their Philadelphia home. Maryland Zoo officials made the decision after determining that they should pour $5.5 million in state funds into repairs that are needed at the 131-year-old zoo rather than the expansion.
2007-03-19 - Louisville, United States.
Louisville Zoo's 21-year-old African elephant Mikki gave birth to her first calf at 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. It is the first elephant born in the Zoo's 38-year history. The calf weighed in at a healthy 285 pounds and measures 37.5 inches tall. He will start gaining about 2 pounds a day. Mikki is the second African elephant this year in North America to give birth. Since April 2003, 12 of the last 14 elephant conceptions have been successful.
2007-03-19 - Washington, United States. Catherine Andrews
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Pachyderm Parade is in town today, starting up at 32nd and D Streets at 12:30 pm and finishing up at the Verizon Center this afternoon. You can expect crowds lining the street to catch the spectacle, as well as PETA protesters out in full force, protesting the circus's treatment of elephants and other animals they use in their show.
2007-03-15 - Kansas City, United States. Kansas City Zoo
The Kansas City Zoo is seeking a qualified elephant keeper. The qualified individual will have elephant experience and be a team player. The elephant team currently manages 6 African elephants in protected contact. The Kansas City Zoo offers excellent benefits. To apply, please send resume and cover letter to Liz Harmon, General Curator, lizharmon@fotzkc.org
2007-03-15 - Bethlehem, United States. George Hrab
Faithful Elephants is a beautifully illustrated (via watercolor) picture book that apparently is based on a true story. During World War II, a zoo in Japan was forced to kill off all of their animals, because they were unable to care for them- and they were worried that allied bombs could destroy some holding areas and release these animals into the city, causing havoc. The staff painfully realized that their only option was to kill these creatures by starving them.
2007-03-15 - GRAND RAPIDS, United States. Rachael Recker
And as Nicholas Sal, 5 1/2, noticed, there's not only plenty to see and do but plenty to smell. It smells like elephant here, he blurted out near the third ring, where attendees could ride atop an elephant named Janice. Nicholas, with his 3-year-old sister, Kaitlynn, and 32-year-old mother, Sandra, of Allendale, were among the first audience members to settle into Janices red harness. Not a bit nervous and all smiles, they swayed around the ring. It's the one thing I always remembered (from chil...
2007-03-15 - Milwaukee, United States.
A 76-year-old Kenosha County man in whose cornfield the skeleton of a mammoth believed to be about 12,500 years old was dug up in 1994 is interested in selling it, and officials of the Milwaukee Public Museum are interested in it. "I'm just looking for some funds for my grandkids' college," John Hebior said the possible sale of the skeleton now in 15 large wooden crates and four plastic tubs in the basement of his farmhouse five miles west of Somers.
2007-03-14 - BALTIMORE, United States. Richard Sher
The Greatest Show on Earth brought its seven magnificent elephants to the Lexington Market in Downtown Baltimore at noon Wednesday. As Richard Sher reports, hundreds of children brought their moms and dads to see the animals. Adam Murdoch, senior animal handler for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus told Richard Sher, Forming a relationship with an animal, then having the public watch as you interact with it is impossible to describe to people.
2007-03-14 - SEATTLE, United States.
Once again, two German scientists have artificially inseminated a Woodland Park Zoo elephant in hopes of producing a second offspring from Chai, now 28. It's the fourth time over the past two years that Chai, an Asian elephant, has undergone insemination. She became pregnant last year, but lost the pregnancy at an early stage, the zoo said. The sperm sample used Tuesday night was collected from Rex, a 39-year-old bull elephant at African Lion Safari, in Cambridge, Ontario. He has sired three off...
2007-03-14 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
After recently celebrating a new elephant birth, the St. Louis Zoo will say goodbye to Clara, matriarch of its Asian elephant herd. Zoo veterinarians plan to euthanize her this morning. Clara is 54 and has been suffering from arthritis for several years. "She is not responding to any of her pain medications the way she used to," said Dr. Eric Miller, director of the Zoo's WildCare Institute. We have tried everything we can think of, but she is not comfortable. At some point, you have to say good...
2007-03-13 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
What do you do to pamper someone who is pregnant? Pretty much anything she wants when the patient is an 8,500-pound African elephant. The 21-year-old elephant, who was impregnated by artificial insemination, could give birth any day and is under 24-hour watch by zoo staff. Zoo officials say they don’t know the gender of Mikki’s calf. It probably will weigh about 300 pounds at birth and stay close to its mother for several years
2007-03-13 - ESCONDIDO, United States.
San Diego's Wild Animal Park has a new elephant in its herd. A 17-year-old African elephant The mother, Litsemba, gave birth at 9:14 p.m. to a male calf Sunday. View Images: Elephant Hours After Birth. Raw Video: Elephant Stumbles After Birth. Images taken by park staff Monday morning show the calf is healthy, but not too steady on his feet yet.
2007-03-12 - Los Angeles, United States. Fiona Hutton, Los Angeles Zoo Press release
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Zoo Director John Lewis today jointly announced that, after years of helping to educate the Southern California community about elephants, Ruby the elephant will be moved to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Northern California (PAWS). The 46-year old African elephant has led a fulfilling life at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (LA Zoo) where she has lived for nearly 10 active and healthy years.
2007-03-11 - Minneapolis, United States. John Reinan
Lions and tigers and bears, no way. And no elephants, either, if Minneapolis joins about two dozen cities nationwide in banning wild circus animals. Bans on circus animals have been enacted in a number of North American cities, including Stamford, Conn.; Boulder, Colo., and Burlington, Vt. But proposed bans have failed in several larger cities, including Seattle, Denver, Winnipeg and Edmonton, Alberta. It's unthinkable to have a circus without wild animals, said Tom Albert, a spokesman for Feld ...
2007-03-11 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall
The Los Angeles Zoo is expected to announce today that it is retiring its female African elephant, Ruby, to an animal sanctuary in Central California. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has expressed concern about the conditions for elephants at the L.A. Zoo, plans to discuss the decision to relocate Ruby at a news conference today.
2007-03-09 - Greeley, United States.
The Jordan World Circus will give away free elephant rides to the first 100 people who show up Saturday at Big R, 310 8th St., in Greeley. The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon, where 94.3 MAX FM radio will broadcast live; free popcorn will be available. Elephant rides start at 10 a.m. The event is in anticipation of the Jordan World Circus to be held at the Colorado State University Equine Center in Fort Collins.
2007-03-08 - Greenbrier, United States.
A group of 10 zoos, including the Little Rock Zoo, has expressed an interest in turning 330 acres in Arkansas Scott and Heidi Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary into a national research, breeding and home for elephants. The Riddles have 13 elephants and have been looking at ways to keep the sanctuary open, says Scott Riddle.
2007-03-08 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Grandmother Pearl must be so proud: Voters have chosen Jade as the name for the St. Louis Zoo's new elephant calf. "This baby is this beautiful little jewel," said St. Louis Zoo President Jeffrey Bonner. "So Jade is a pretty nice name for a gem of a baby." Jade's father, Raja, was the only elephant present Wednesday as zookeepers unfurled a banner with the calf's name at the River's Edge. Jade and her mother, Rani, remain inside the elephant barn, where they continue to bond. After showing early...
2007-03-07 - Cape Town, United States.
The government's proposed elephant-management regulations could hobble South Africa's "notorious" elephant-back tourism industry, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) said on Wednesday. "Ifaw has long been calling for better legislation to manage the elephant-safari industry, and it seems that government is finally going to get tough on this awful blight on South Africa's tourism landscape.
2007-03-07 - Kochi, United States.
Elephants in the Ernakulam district will wear microchips from today as part of an initiative by the State Forest Department. The microchips would be embedded in the skin behind the left ear of the elephants. Each elephant will be given a 10-digit code, which will serve as the e-ID of the animal. Elephant Care, an organisation engaged in `providing a decent environment and congenial life to the domesticated elephants,' is the facilitator. Forest Department veterinary surgeon E.K. Easwaran is lea...
2007-03-07 - Nashville, United States.
Some pudgy pachyderms have been packing on the pounds over at the Nashville Zoo. On Tuesday, the elephants weighed in with the help of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The Nashville Zoo used portable truck scales from the Department of Safety to weigh their three large African elephants. The three elephants Sukari, Hadari, and Kiba weighed 9,500, 9,800 and 10,000 pounds, respectively.
2007-03-06 - Seattle, United States. Wasser SK, Mailand C, Booth R, Mutayoba B, Kisamo E, Clark B, Stephens M. University of Washington,
We extend an innovative DNA assignment method to determine the geographic origin(s) of large elephant ivory seizures. A Voronoi tessellation method is used that utilizes genetic similarities across tusks to simultaneously infer the origin of multiple samples that could have one or more common origin(s).
2007-03-06 - Washington, United States. LEE DYE
Scientists have turned to crime labs, Interpol, genetic testing, and even energetic dogs in a somewhat desperate attempt to curtail illegal poaching of endangered animals ranging from Africas elephants to baleen whales. These are urgent problems, says Samuel K. Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, and leader of a multi-national research project that is fighting an explosive growth in the number of elephants slaughtered in Africa every year.
2007-03-05 - Philadelphia, United States. Julie Stoiber
The Philadelphia Zoo has begun a send-off celebration for some of its best-loved stars as it prepares to close the elephant exhibit this spring and send Petal, Dulary, Bette and Kallie to new homes, leaving the Philadelphia Zoo without elephants for the first time in its 133-year history. The zoo also has issued elephant trading cards, and plans to fete the sociable pachyderms with Elephun Days the last two weekends in March , offering photo ops and other farewell activities.
2007-03-04 - Erwin, United States. FIONA SOLTES, The TENNESSEAN
Mary, the circus elephant who was notoriously hanged for murder in 1916 after trampling her caretaker Red Eldridge of St. Paul, became a black eye for the Sparks Traveling Circus and the town of Erwin, Tenn. But now, there's more to her story. In the hands of playwright Matthew Carlton, her hanging represents injustice, cruelty and discrimination of all sorts the kind that the thousands who stood and watched might not have considered.
2007-03-03 - Johannesburg, United States. Chris Van Gass
Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk is expected to face a rocky ride over his decision to place back on the table the controversial issue of culling elephants to control their numbers. Van Schalkwyk announced yesterday that culling would be one of the five options, including the other contentious issue of contraception, in proposals to curb the population explosion of the mammals. The other options include range extension and translocation of SA's 20000 elephant population, 14000 which ...
2007-03-03 - OLEAN, United States.
Haley Mott, age 5, of Olean, and her mom Joy, are selling baked goods at the Olean Center Mall today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. to raise money to save the elephant house at the Buffalo Zoo. According to a Feb. 2 WGRZ Channel 2 report, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has said the Buffalo Zoo could lose its accreditation because its elephant house enclosure is too small.
2007-03-02 - BALTIMORE, United States. Billie Grieb, President and CEO of The Maryland Zoo
You’ve probably heard that The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will welcome three more African elephants to its grounds this year. Petal, Kallie and Bette will come to us from the Philadelphia Zoo. They will join Dolly and Anna, who’ve been long-time favorites of our guests. At the same time, we are beginning an exciting expansion of our elephant exhibit. It will eventually grow to six acres and include a number of features designed to give our elephants even more variety and stimulation in their ...
2007-03-02 - KAUFMAN, Texas, United States.
After a tiger mauling and the discovery of dead and mangled livestock, this East Texas gateway is reconsidering its historically relaxed approach to regulating exotic, and some say dangerous animals. Such a ban would force Doug Terranova and dozens of exotic animals off his ranch, where his elephants and camels are visible from the road winding in front of his property. The menagerie includes the University of Houston's official cougar mascot, an elderly timberwolf that appeared in "Walker, Texa...
2007-03-01 - Vallejo, United States. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Perform night feeds as assigned. Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down and squeegee pathways and barn floor as directed, Rake log show and ride trail as directed.
2007-03-01 - Houston, United States.
Visitors to the Houston Zoo were treated to an unusual sight Thursday morning. They saw a 6-month-old playing basketball! The youngster stands nearly four feet tall and weighs almost 700 pounds. The fun and games were all part of Mac the elephant’s half-year birthday celebration. Mac was the elephant that the public got to name.
2007-03-01 - Cromwell, United States. Bob Gagen
Unearthed in Noble County during the winter of 1930-31, the remains of a 10,000-year-old mastodon were trucked to Buffalo, N.Y., where they remained wrapped in plaster and plastic for seven years before being reassembled and placed in a display at that city’s Museum of Natural Science.
2007-03-01 - San Francisco, United States. PRWEB
New York Times best-selling author of When Elephants Weep: Emotional Lives of Animals, Jeffrey Masson, Ph.D., talks in-depth with Internet radio host Ilene Dillon on Full Power Living (worldtalkradio dot com) Thursday, March 1 at 9 a.m. PT, discussing how animals show emotions and what animal emotions can teach us about being more powerfully human. Listen Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 9 a.m. PT, Dr. Jeffrey Masson reveals incredible tales of animals showing emotion, including an elephant working to...
2007-02-28 - Miami, United States. Miami Metrozoo
Entry level zoo keeper position available working with 1.1 Asian and 1.2 African elephants in a protected management system. Responsible for daily husbandry, exhibit maintenance, operant conditioning, environmental enrichment, and minor medical procedures. Requires 1 year of paid elephant experience in either protected or free contact management systems.
2007-02-28 - Washington, United States. afrol News
While Southern African countries are seeking to re-legalise the ivory trade due to an abundance of elephants, researchers have conducted a study that reveals the source of illegal ivory in Africa. While elephants may face protection in the south of Africa, other African nations fear the legalisation of the tusk trade. African countries are divided over banning or controlling international ivory trading, but need to reach a common position if they are to ensure the survival of the continent's ele...
2007-02-28 - San Andreas, United States. Vanessa Turner
Well known game show host Bob Barker has pledged $500,000 for a new elephant habitat at a San Andreas sanctuary. Recently the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) made a deal to receive two new elephants from the Hawthorn Corporation in Illinois. The habitat will consist of a new barn and open space area featuring a lake, trees, grass and vegetation.
2007-02-28 - ST. LOUIS, United States.
St. Louis Zoos new Asian elephant mother, Rani, is experiencing difficulty adjusting to the role, according to a news release Tuesday. This kind of behavior is not uncommon with first-time mothers, said Martha Fischer, the zoos curator of animals. This is also similar to the situation we had when our male elephant Raja was born 14 years ago. His mother Pearl did not allow him to nurse for five days but became an excellent mother after he began nursing on a regular basis.
2007-02-28 - SEMINOLE, United States. BOB McCLURE
The first fossil artifact was discovered at the park in early February by Seminole High School student Sierra Sarti-Sweeney of North Redington Beach, who was photographing nature when she noticed an object sticking up out of a creek bed. It was later identified as the tooth and a portion of a jaw from a Columbian mammoth, an extinct species of elephant that inhabited North America between 9,000 and 100,000 years ago.
2007-02-27 - St. Louis, United States.
St. Louis Zoo's new Asian elephant mother, Rani, is experiencing difficulty adjusting to the role, according to a news release today, on Monday evening Rani appeared less comfortable around the baby elephant than she had been on Sunday. She The mother and calf were temporarily separated. This kind of behavior is not uncommon with first-time mothers, said Martha Fischer, the zoo's curator of animals.
2007-02-27 - Chicago, United States. Jeff Long
Left behind at a circus training facility after all their elephant pals departed, two pachyderms named Nicholas and Gypsy are heading to a new, sunny home in California, officials said Monday. More than a year after eight female elephants were shipped to Tennessee, Nicholas and Gypsy remained at the controversial farm near Richmond in McHenry County. No zoo or wildlife sanctuary, it seemed, wanted a potentially boisterous male.
2007-02-27 - Washington, United States. Roger Highfield
African elephants could eventually become extinct because they are being killed at a rate not seen since an international convention banning ivory trade almost two decades ago. The problem is now so acute, with more than 23,000 slaughtered in a single year, that conservationists are urging Western nations to renew their efforts which all but halted the black market trade of ivory after the ban was first enacted in 1989.
2007-02-26 - , United States. Robin Lloyd
The illegal trade in elephant ivory is growing again at an alarming pace due to organized crime, but new research estimating the geographic origin of "the Singapore seizure," 6.5 tons of contraband tusks, points to a plan to prevent African pachyderm extinction. Up to 5 percent of Africa's population of elephants [image] was killed by poachers for the year ending in August 2006, said University of Washington biologist Samuel Wasser. That amounted to more than 23,000 elephants, which yielded an e...
2007-02-26 - WASHINGTON, United States. RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
The complex science of DNA analysis is now helping protect elephants by showing police and conservationists the source of black-market ivory according to a report by Samuel K. Wasser of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Wasser and colleagues took samples of the confiscated ivory and compared it with baseline DNA collected from elephants across the continent over several year...
2007-02-26 - St. Louis, United States.
The 236-pound elephant was born to Rani, the zoo's 10-year-old asian elephant.Advertisement. This is Rani's first baby and the second for the baby's father, Raja. Raja is also the father of little Maliha, who was born in August. It's the second baby elephant in a year at the zoo. Rani's mother, Ellie, had a baby last year that was named Maliha. That baby was also fathered by Raja.
2007-02-25 - LEWISTOWN, United States.
Artifact Identification Day is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 25 at Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown. At 3 p.m. Lincoln College student Judd McCullum and his zoology professor G. Dennis Campbell will give a presentation on their recent discovery of mammoth remains on a school field-trip. Colleague Dr. Jeffrey Saunders, curator of geology for the Illinois State Museum, will follow them with a presentation, "Tales Told by Elephants Found in Illinois," which will review scientific debate over mammoth speci...
2007-02-22 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Like her mother, Ellie, Asian elephant Rani appears in no rush to deliver her calf. At the St. Louis Zoo, Rani is in the 23rd month of her pregnancy. While many elephants deliver after 22 months, Ellie waited almost two years before she delivered daughter Maliha on Aug. 2. She is expecting a female calf. Rani has gained about 1,000 pounds during her pregnancy and now weighs 6,500 pounds. Zookeepers check daily for a drop in her progesterone levels, the telltale sign that labor will commence soon...
2007-02-22 - Stillwater, United States. Duer C, Carden M, Tomasi T. , Oklahoma State University
Previous studies have analyzed total testosterone concentrations in maternal serum for a reliable method of fetal gender determination in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The present study investigated the possibility that progesterone concentrations in maternal serum may reflect these testosterone patterns. Mean progesterone concentrations in maternal serum of elephants carrying male calves were greater than in those carrying female calves (P<0.01).
2007-02-21 - LOS ANGELES, United States. Associated Press
Animal welfare activists called on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to retire the city zoo's 46-year-old elephant to a sanctuary. In two letters to the mayor Tuesday, humane groups and former zoo workers demanded that Ruby the elephant be sent from "solitary confinement" at the Los Angeles Zoo to a 150-acre sanctuary in Northern California. Zoo officials are weighing whether to send Ruby to the refuge or to another zoo.
2007-02-21 - San Andreas, United States. Vanessa Turner, Calaveras Bureau
A deal has been reached to bring two elephants from the Hawthorn Corporation in Illinois to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in San Andreas. The society maintains a 2,300-acre animal sanctuary just off Pool Station Road in San Andreas. Nicholas, an adolescent Asian elephant and his companion Gypsy are the last elephants to live at the Illinois facility. The Hawthorn Corporation is donating the elephants along with a financial contribution for the animals' initial care.
2007-02-21 - HARTFORD, United States.
State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, and State Rep. Stephen Fontana, D-North Haven, will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. today in Room 1B of the Legislative Office Building to talk about a bill they've introduced to eliminate the mistreatment of captive elephants. Specifically, the bill would outlaw using bullhooks or chains on elephants. Joining the lawmakers will be former Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus animal provider Archele Hundley and other animal rights groups repr...
2007-02-20 - Pittsburgh, United States. Allison M. Heinrichs
They already have trunks. The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium revealed a first glimpse of its elephant babies, more than a year before the new arrivals are expected to get their first view of the world. The zoo showed off ultrasound videos of the approximately 4-month-old elephant fetuses carried by its two pregnant elephants at a media event Tuesday morning.
2007-02-17 - PORTLAND, United States. Craig Edwards
Tusko the elephant was said to be doing fine after veterinarians at the Oregon Zoo wrapped up surgery to remove an infected tusk. However, they weren’t able to finish the job. So we left a little fragment of his tusk, said lead veterinarian Mitch Finnegan. It’s still up inside his head…we’re going to have to come back at a later date to remove it.
2007-02-16 - SEMINOLE, United States. LORRIE LYKINS
Sierra Sarti-Sweeney was practicing nature photography in a heavily wooded area of Boca Ciega Millennium Park in Seminole last month when a shiny black rock caught her eye. She took it home to show it to her 22-year-old brother, Sean, a geology student at the University of South Florida. After some Internet research, the siblings came to two conclusions: the football-sized rock was actually the tooth of a long extinct mammoth, and they were in over their heads. The family contacted area paleonto...
2007-02-16 - PITTSBURGH, United States.
The elephant population at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is about to get a little larger. On Friday, zoo officials confirmed that two of the zoo's elephants are pregnant. Nan and Moja are expected to give birth in May or June of 2008. Officials said the zoo's bull elephant, Jackson, is the father to both.
2007-02-15 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
Very soon one of the zoo's beloved elephants could leave Los Angeles according to an NBC4 report. The question of where Ruby the elephant should go is an issue even Mayor Villaraigosa admits has divided the city. Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Mayor: Two very strong centers of influence in our community. One believes, like I do, that elephants belong in sanctuaries and not zoos. The others support a zoo and the elephants in our zoo.
2007-02-15 - Buffalo, New York, United States. TOM BUCKHAM
The elephants played leapfrog Wednesday in the Buffalo Zoo. That is, the expansion of their historic building hopped over other projects to the top of the to-do list in the zoo's $75 million reconstruction program. If $1 million can be secured over the next few months, the internal expansion of the Elephant House will be done this summer, Donna M. Fernandes, zoo president, said at a news conference kicking off fundraising. If not, the work will be done in the summer of 2008.
2007-02-15 - Portland, Oregon, United States. Vince Patton, kgw.com
The patient is Tusko, a 37-year-old Asian elephant with a broken and chronically infected tusk. The infections have persisted so long, zoo officials have decided they must remove it in a risky surgery. An elephant cage will serve as the operating room and a giant waterbed as the surgical table.
2007-02-15 - Buffalo, New York, United States.
News 4 is teaming up with the Buffalo Zoo to help keep the three precious pachyderms at the zoo. The elephants need a bigger home, and the public is being asked to help raise the funds. The playful pachyderms are making a plea to animal lovers on Valentine's Day - they need help turning their elephant house into an elephant mansion. Buffalo Zoo President Dr. Donna Fernandes said, "If we were not to do the expansion, we would have two choices: we would either lose our professional accreditation o...
2007-02-14 - Hampton roads, Virginia, United States. Lori Crouch
-"Its not just one bad trainers or handler its ringling's culture," says two former Ringling Bros. circus employees are joining forces with PETA to speak out about. Crystal Drake, public relations manager for the circus had this to say about the PETA's latest campaign: "This comes as no surprise to me that PETA is misrepresenting and malnipulating our dismissal of them for there own publicity."
2007-02-12 - Guy, Arkansas, United States. Heather Crawford
Across the United States, there are only about 600 elephants. But just 45 minutes outside of Little Rock, you can find a herd of endangered and threatened species and they don’t live at a zoo. (Scott Riddle, Riddle’s Elephant Sanctuary) "Our mission is to make sure elephants don’t disappear basically because they’re highly endangered all over the world."
2007-02-09 - Springfield, United States. STAN FREEMAN
Evolution can be a long, strange road. For that symbol of the ice age, the woolly mammoth, it was stranger than for most. It was part of an order of animals, Proboscidea, that began small - about the size of pigs - then grew large. Some woolly mammoths, in fact, stood as high as 13 feet at the shoulder. But in the end, these cold-loving mammoths grew small again, belying their name. Like dinosaurs, woolly mammoths are creatures of myth. Both are huge, extinct and fascinating to kids.
2007-02-08 - Washington, United States. BRETT ZONGKER
The 59-year-old elephant lost her appetite last month and showed signs of lethargy, and tests revealed a low red blood cell count. Veterinarians performed an ultrasound exam Wednesday and found excessive blood and a clot in Ambika's reproductive tract, likely caused by a ruptured vessel. The blood clot did not pose an immediate danger and could be serving as a "bandage" for the ruptured vessel, zoo officials said.
2007-02-08 - Washington, United States.
Veterinarians performed tests on one of the National Zoo's Asian elephants yesterday in hopes of figuring out why she lost her appetite and grew lethargic last month. Zoo officials expressed concern about Ambika, one of three elephants at the animal park and, at 59, one of the oldest Asian elephants in the country. The symptoms appeared in late January, along with a low red blood cell count. Although Ambika has shown signs of improvement, the zoo wants to pinpoint what was wrong.
2007-02-06 - El Paso, United States.
There have been continuous concerns about the elephants living in inhumane conditions. Today, the zoo's new director, Steve Marshal, asked the council for more time to review the issue. He says he wants to research two other zoos that have elephants and two that do not. Marshal promises to have a recommendation by late March.
2007-02-06 - PROVIDENCE, United States. Karen Lee Ziner
Under Schmitt’s direction, this weekend marked the Roger Williams Park Zoo’s first attempt at artificially inseminating an elephant, a method that in 2002 produced the first two elephant calves born in captivity in the world, at the Toledo Zoo. The team assembled, including Schmitt; his assistant, graduate student Kristy Marson; lead elephant keeper Jennifer Warmbold; and keepers Brett Haskins, Lisa Ruggiero and Tom Troy. In the wings stood French and chief veterinarian Cheryl Cullion.
2007-02-05 - El Paso, United States. David Crowder, El Paso Times
What to do about the El Paso Zoo's two elephants, Savannah and Juno, is back on the City Council's agenda Tuesday. The question is whether the zoo's elephant habitat is so inadequate that the aging elephants would be better off at a sanctuary in Tennessee and whether subjecting them to the journey and the stress would put them in greater danger than they are now, South-West city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said.
2007-02-05 - Wheeling, West Virginia, United States.
Trains students to be competent elephant managers. Course content focuses on the foundation necessary for developing comprehensive and proactive elephant management programs. Students will take away skills for creating self-sustaining elephant management programs. For elephant managers, zoo curators who oversee elephant programs and elephant handlers. Class size limited to 30.
2007-02-02 - New York, United States. Mike O'Brian
There's been a discovery in Ithaca, New York, a place where people are discovering the history of the earth. The Museum of the Earth has a big attraction here is the Hyde Park Mastodon. Found in someone's back yard, it is one of the most complete skeletons ever found! The 40 foot Right Whale skeleton suspended in the lobby is also a favorite.
2007-01-31 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo Blog
That’s right; Mac’s new teeth continue to grow—along with his weight (he is now 644 pounds!) and his height - he now stands at 44 inches tall! Did you even know that elephants have teeth? Well, most elephants actually have six teeth—including their two tusks (which are actually teeth). They will go through six sets of the inside four teeth in their lifetime. (Mac will probably get his second set of teeth before he turns one.)
2007-01-30 - San Diego, United States. EAZA
Essential job functions for this position include the day to day management of animals, including cleaning, feeding and observing animals, administering medication and treatment as directed, providing training, enrichment, and participating in education programs. Animal husbandry knowledge as well as the ability to communicate observations orally and on written reports is required.
2007-01-29 - Boston, United States. Andrew Ryan
State Senator Robert L. Hedlund insists that he is not a crusader. Nor, the Weymouth Republican hastens to add, is he a "vegetarian or anything." "It's just the further I got into this thing, the more appalled I became," Hedlund said today in a telephone interview. Hedlund is talking about elephants. Since late 2004, he has been pushing a bill on Beacon Hill to toughen the training and cruelty standards for circuses that bring elephants to Massachusetts.
2007-01-29 - Colchester, United States.
It was on January 17 that Colchester Zoo discovered Zola was pregnant after tests were carried out by the German Primate Research Centre in Goettingen. A zoo spokeswoman said: “Keepers at Colchester Zoo were confident that she was indeed pregnant as she had not been in oestrus for some months. “A birth date is not yet known, however from several observed matings keepers at Colchester Zoo expect it to be around February or March 2008.”
2007-01-28 - Davis, United States. Yon L, Kanchanapangka S, Chaiyabutr N, Stanczyk F, Meepan S, Lasley B. University of California
The phenomenon of musth is a very stressful event, both behaviorally and physiologically. An ACTH stimulation test was conducted in four adult Asian bull elephants to investigate the possibility that the classical hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is active during musth, resulting in an increase in adrenally produced steroids. The pattern of results suggests that the adrenal steroid increase which occurs during musth results from some mechanism other than the classical HPA axis.
2007-01-28 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
Houston Zoo officials had their hopes dashed this week when an ultrasound determined the middle-aged elephant was not pregnant. For weeks now, some zoo officials suspected Methai was in a family way after she was bred with the zoo's lone adult male, Thai, last summer. "We wanted to find out: Is she is, or is she ain't? And we know she ain't," zoo spokesman Brian Hill said Friday.
2007-01-27 - ROYAL OAK, United States.
Katherine Perlman believes the Detroit Zoo needs elephants and on Saturday she did her part to bring back pachyderms by drawing and painting a picture of an elephant on a ceramic tile. "I was very upset when the elephants left," the 9-year-old West Bloomfield youth said, referring to the elephants that left the zoo for a bigger home at a California sanctuary in 2004. "I like elephants. They are big."
2007-01-26 - St. Louis, United States. EAZA
Daily elephant care including but not limited to feeding, stall cleaning, foot and skin care and training of 1.1 African Elephants within a protected Contact Management System. Performs daily educational demonstrations. Position opening: Seasonal; starts as early as April 1st – position terminates 10/31/2007
2007-01-26 - Dallas, United States. DAVID SCHECHTER / WFAA-TV
The elephant barn at the Dallas Zoo was built almost 50 years ago, and it is not quite big enough to meet recently upgraded guidelines. Is it time to close the elephant exhibit? The Dallas Zoo may find out if it follows a national trend. New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco have already eliminated their pachyderm programs. The main reason is because elephants are expensive. It can cost about $65,000 a year to care for them, and they need a lot of space to roam. "I think the...
2007-01-25 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. Perform night feeds as assigned.
2007-01-25 - Nashville, United States.
The Nashville Zoo is accepting applications for the position of elephant keeper. The responsibilities of this position include all aspects involved in the daily care and management of 0.3 African elephants and their facilities in a free contact system. The Nashville Zoo elephant department encourages and supports all its members to initiate or participate in projects involving research, education, training, conservation and general elephant management.
2007-01-25 - HOHENWALD, United States. Kate Elliott, The Elephant Sanctuary,
One year ago, eight elephant veterans of the circus, Minnie, Lottie, Queenie, Debbie, Ronnie, Frieda, Billie and Liz were chained in a dark windowless barn. They had been that way for nearly two years. Today they spend their days roaming over 200 acres in middle Tennessee at The Elephant Sanctuary, enjoying the best life a captive elephant can have.
2007-01-24 - Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Matthew Williams, The Birmingham News
Nikolai Illie, an animal handler, waits with an elephant at the train yard Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007, before the walk through downtown Birmingham, Alabama, to the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center arena. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus will perform its show through Saturday.
2007-01-24 - Orlando, United States. EAZA
2007-01-24 - Santa Barbara, United States. Sheyla Molho
Thanks to their love for film, four Santa Barbara 17-year-olds—Freddie Weston Smith, Freddy Meyer, Bradley Lonson, and Spencer Spottiswoode—and one 18-year-old university student from Pasadena named Toby Eversole went to South Africa along with the Disney Studios vet team. Once there, they helped tackle the overpopulation of elephants problem in Africa in a somewhat controversial manner: they captured the first vasectomy ever performed on a male elephant!
2007-01-24 - San Andreas, United States. Mike Taylor
Good Samaritans have popped out of the woodwork to help people at the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas provide sweet treats for jumbo-sized retirees. African and Asian elephants that roam fortified compounds at Ark 2000 are thumping their trunks as volunteers have donated mulberry branches to the facility. The tree limbs are a popular and healthy snack for the animals.
2007-01-23 - Miami, United States. EAZA
Entry level elephant keeper position available working with 1.1 Asian and 1.2 African elephants in a protected contact system. 1 year of paid elephant experience required. Prefer experience with operant conditioning and environmental enrichment.
2007-01-23 - Florida, United States. Kellogg ME, Burkett S, Dennis TR, Stone G, Gray BA, McGuire PM, Zori RT, Stanyon R.
Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellars sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape. Recent phylogenomic results place Sirenia in Afrotheria and with elephants and rock hyraxes in Paenungulata. Sirenia and Hyracoidea are the two afrotherian orders as yet unstudied by comparative molecular cytogenetics. Here we report on the chromosome painting of the Florida manatee.
2007-01-23 - Houston, United States.
Mac is certainly a happy, noisy little elephant. But the one thing you don’t hear much from Mac are his footfalls. Did you know that elephants are actually very, very quiet walkers? Because of the way their feet are shaped (with a spongy “shock absorber†sole), and the fact that elephants essentially walk on their tiptoes (Asian elephants have five “hidden†toes on their front feet, four on the back), these huge animals can actually move quite silently.
2007-01-21 - San Diego, United States. CONNIE LEWIS
A state Assemblyman who is crafting a bill that would dictate how much space is needed for elephant enclosures at zoos across California, says the Wild Animal Park is on the right track, but the San Diego Zoo isn’t. At least not at present. Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, said he is still working on the details. But a bill he plans to propose likely would call for zoos, circuses and other organizations to keep no more than three elephants in 5-acre enclosures. For each additional elephant, the space...
2007-01-20 - Front Royal, United States. Brown JL, Somerville M, Riddle HS, Keele M, Duer CK, Freeman EW. Department of Reproductive Sciences, Smithsonian Institution
Concentrations of serum testosterone, cortisol, thyroxine (free and total T4), triiodothyronine (free and total T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured to assess adrenal and thyroid function as they relate to testicular activity and musth in captive elephants. In summary, a number of bulls did not exhibit musth despite being of adequate physical maturity.
2007-01-19 - Baraboo, United States. Scott De Laruelle
Circus World Museum lost its largest performer Tuesday morning when Moxie, a 25-year-old African elephant, passed away from a mysterious illness that quickly took his life, said trainer Doug Terranova. While Moxie was a performer to many, to Terranova he was an important member of his family. Terranova got him in 1997 and has worked with him every day since.
2007-01-18 - GIBSONTON, United States. Mitch Traphagen
This weekend, 13-year-old Felicia Frisco will introduce you to Dumbo and Gina, two elephants with whom she has literally grown up. The elephants are at home at the winter home of Terry Frisco. Frisco and his family travel, along with their elephants and tigers, several months out of the year working at circuses and performing educational shows around the country. This weekend, the elephants along with Frisco’s teenage daughter will perform in Gibsonton.
2007-01-18 - VALLEJO, United States. Patricia Yollin
A camel named Jake wore a bush hat with the company logo. Five elephants formed a reception committee. A sea lion called Odie reclined in a golf cart. The scene in Vallejo on Wednesday morning looked like a cross between Noah's Ark and "Jurassic Park." It wasn't. Instead, the occasion was a rebranding ritual: Marine World is now Discovery Kingdom. The name change is part of a $16 million renovation of the theme park that started out in Redwood City in 1968 and is now part of the shrinking Six Fl...
2007-01-18 - Williston, United States. JAY LEVIN
At the time of his death Jan. 7, Harry Locker, 52, was operations manager of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's 20-acre farm for retired circus elephants in Williston, Fla. He joined Ringling in 1997 as an elephant handler. Harry Locker's death was sudden, and his family is awaiting the autopsy results. A graveside service was held Jan. 10 in Florida. The tombstone will have an etching of an elephant, his father said.
2007-01-16 - Houston, United States. EAZA
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an evolving and maturing elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn construction right around the corner, a new born calf, and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program is well on its way to becoming a state of the art program and facility. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care, husbandry, and tr...
2007-01-13 - Fort Wayne, United States. Kevin Leininger
A famous Fort Wayne native is coming home after nine years. Or maybe that should be 13,000 years. What’s left of Fred the Mastodon, who died in western Allen County millennia ago and was rediscovered while digging for peat moss in 1998, will take up permanent residence at Science Central sometime this spring. The museum is even offering the public a chance to sponsor one of his 275 bones – or a reasonable facsimile thereof. A rib is just $50, but a 9-foot tusk will fetch $2,000 and the massi...
2007-01-12 - El Paso, United States. Elizabeth O'Hara/KFOX News at Nine Anchor
The El Paso Zoo's new director, Steve Marshall, is just three days on the job but already he has an idea of what the year will bring. "You gotta start somewhere, and I think the situation is going to clear itself up," Marshall said Friday.
2007-01-12 - West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Deborah Robinson
Jeff Long's story about Nicholas and Gypsy ("Giving away an elephant is as tough as it seems," Page 1, Jan. 5), elephants left with the Hawthorn Corp. for nearly a year now after their companions were confiscated, is emblematic of the problems of captive elephants in this country. Coming at a time when the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is ferociously defending its position that elephants belong in zoos and that they should be bred as much as possible, the zoos of this country are unwilling t...
2007-01-11 - Cushing, United States.
A fisherman who thought he hauled up an ancient wooly mammoth tusk on Georges Bank has received new information. An expert who examined the tusk at the Maine State Museum tells a Portland TV station that he believes it came from a mastodon, a slightly smaller creature. Tim Winchenbach of Cushing, Maine found the tusk while scallop fishing several weeks ago on the New Bedford-based dragger Celtic.
2007-01-10 - WASHINGTON, United States. Steve Feldman of Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Comments filed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveal new data that demonstrates elephants in accredited zoos are in very good health. "Anti-zoo extremists should call off their orchestrated attacks against zoos. The facts are indisputable, elephants in accredited zoos are thriving," said AZA Executive Director Kristin Vehrs.
2007-01-09 - New York, United States. BRENDAN BERNHARD
Last comes the relationship between a black man, Solomon James, and an Asian elephant, Shirley, in a Louisiana zoo. Shirley, 52, hasn't seen a member of her tribe in a quarter century, as the zoo can't accommodate a second elephant. But now she's being moved to a wildlife preserve where she'll rejoin an elephant she knew in her youth: They were in a circus together.
2007-01-06 - Cape Cod, United States.
Tim Winchenbach came home after 17 days aboard a New Bedford-based scallop boat with more than salt-crusted hair and fish tales for his wife and young daughters. "I told them I had a present. Then I said it was a woolly mammoth tusk," Winchenbach, 31 , said in a telephone interview yesterday from his home in Cushing, Maine. "My wife was like, 'Yeah, right.' "
2007-01-05 - Chicago, United States. Jeff Long
A year after mistreatment allegations prompted a great elephant exodus from McHenry County, two of the pachyderms, Nicholas and Gypsy, remain at a controversial circus training farm without good prospects for a new home. They were left behind when eight other Asian elephants were moved last January and February from a farm near Richmond to an elephant sanctuary in the rolling hills of Tennessee. It was a 650-mile journey that began after federal investigators accused Hawthorn Corp., the farm's o...
2007-01-04 - Salt Lake City, United States.
Utah’s Hogle Zoo's animal management is announcing the immediate opening of a full time animal care position in our Elephant Encounter area. The Zoo is seeking qualified applicants for this keeper position. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a newly renovated facility. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care and husbandry of the resident African elephants and white rhinos, as well as other animals as assigned.
2006-12-27 - Boston, United States. Tom Ashbrook
When the poachers came into Zambia's Luangwa National Park, they were deadly effective and completely merciless. Then came a UN crackdown on the ivory trade and Mark and Delia Owens. The American zoologist couple had written "Cry of the Kalahari," and been thrown out of Botswana.
2006-12-25 - Baltimore, United States. Nicole Fuller
Facing a record budget deficit, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is seeking an additional $4 million in state funding to maintain its operations. This spring, three elephants from the Philadelphia Zoo - Petal, Kallie and Bette - will make Baltimore their new home. An $11 million upgrade is planned for the elephant exhibit, adding 6 acres of space to its existing grounds. The state has pledged $5.5 million for the project.
2006-12-22 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Lauren Maxwell
It was more than a year ago when we first told you that Maggie, the elephant at the Alaska Zoo, was getting the first-ever elephant treadmill in the country. We wanted to bring you an update now. In the months since the treadmill was installed, Maggie has been getting used to it...very slowly. Her keepers have been working with her every day and say Maggie will now venture into the confined area that holds the treadmill and stand on top of it. Although, they have yet to actually turn it on.
2006-12-21 - , United States.
The world renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation located in central Florida is pleased to announce a unique training opportunity in Elephant Care. Successful graduates of the program will be eligible for employment in the animal departments of one of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey® circus traveling units or permanent elephant facilities. The next training program will begin in April 2007.
2006-12-21 - Memphis, United States. EAZA
We have an opening for a Keeper in our Pachyderm/Hooved Stock area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in exotic animal care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience).
2006-12-20 - Monroe, United States. Victoria E. Freile
Seneca Park Zoo and Monroe County officials today announcd the outcome of the zoo's Experience Great Things fundraising campaign, and honored its campaign co-chairman, the late Gabe Dalmath. Both announcements were made during a morning news conference at the zoo, 2222 St. Paul St.
2006-12-20 - Wayne, United States. JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY
Director/Producer, Dr. Paul Cahill shot his 30-minute Asian Elephant documentary, "The Long Goodbye" using JVC's GY-HD100. The documentary illustrates the conditions faced by 'domestic' elephants in Thailand and the importance of preserving this species. According to Cahill, "The GY-HD100 performed exceptionally well in all kinds of adverse conditions - it was knocked down by elephants, subjected to extreme temperatures and humidity of a tropical forest and launched from the cargo compartment of...
2006-12-18 - Brookfield, United States. John Biemer
Brookfield Zoo is planning to expand its elephant exhibit at least fivefold, build a state-of-the-art indoor house and increase the number of the pachyderms from two to six, zoo director Stuart Strahl said Monday. The improvements, which would cost tens of millions of dollars and be part of a sweeping master plan to modernize the entire zoo, is about seven years from realization and still in the early planning stages, he said. But it comes at a time when some institutions are shuttering their el...
2006-12-15 - CLEVELAND, United States.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is taking on a project that will make it a leader in the effort to save African elephants from extinction. The zoo has unveiled ambitious plans to build a new world-class elephant habitat and conservation center. The $25 million project will create a five-acre space for the elephants quadrupling the space the animals currently have.
2006-12-15 - GARDEN CITY, United States.
Lee Richardson Zoo is once again home to a pair of pachyderms. Two African elephants arrived here on Sunday from the Jacksonville (Fla.) Zoo, and Lee Richardson officials on Tuesday were prepping to release them into the outside yard for the first time. The newcomers, Missy and Kimba, replace Moki and Chana, who were sent to the Florida zoo in October for breeding after about 20 years here.
2006-12-14 - John C. Kuehner, United States.
This may be the last Cleveland winter for Martika, Moshi and Jo, the three African elephants at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The popular pachyderms will be shipped to new homes next year when the zoo prepares for construction of a new elephant exhibit. The exhibit, estimated to cost $25 million, will be four times the size of the pachyderm house, which dates from the 1950s. The building will be doubled in size, large enough to hold 10 elephants, including a male that will allow the zoo ...
2006-12-13 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, will conduct a town hall meeting Wednesday at which he and animal activists will discuss their concerns about conditions in which elephants are held in captivity and the reintroduction of his Elephant Protection Act, which would have a major impact in San Diego. During the meeting, longtime animal activist Bob Barker, the host of "The Price is Right," will announce a pledge of $300,000 in a drive to move an African elephant named Ruby from the Los Angeles Zo...
2006-12-12 - Indianapolis, United States. Diana Penner
Ashlee Kestler was amazed at how much her "baby,'' Zahara, had grown in a little more than two months -- from a shade under 300 pounds to solid 452 pounds. Kestler, 21, won the contest to name Zahara, born Aug. 31 at the Indianapolis Zoo, and today got her private, backstage meeting with the growing calf, her mother, Ivory, and Sophi, the matriarch of the zoo's herd. She had seen Zahara when she was barely a month old and up from her birth weight of 266 pounds.
2006-12-06 - BROWNSVILLE, United States. Associated Press
The 28-year-old elephant Ruth has been at the Gladys Porter Zoo since 1998. Her departure will mark the end of the zoo's elephant exhibit. Milwaukee County Zoo officials plan to begin displaying Ruth later this month. Zoo officials began discussing what to do with Ruth last year, after the death of her companion Macho. Ruth has been the only elephant on display at the zoo since then.
2006-11-29 - La Crosse, United States. DAN SIMMONS, La Crosse Tribune
It was a true story about three elephants in Tokyo who died during World War II, and it captured the attention of about 30 first-graders at Franklin Elementary School on Tuesday. Amid the angry roar of enemy planes, bombs began to drop over Tokyo. Can you imagine how badly those zookeepers must have felt, having to sacrifice the elephants to save them from the bombing?
2006-11-29 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock and Ole Whitey
Apparently this was taken in Nashville the fall of 1938 when the Barnes-Sells-Floto show with RBBB Features played here. In the background is the old Broad Street viaduct and the flats are being unloaded out of sight to the right, in what we used to call the Kayne Avenue Yards. I had initially thought this an early 1940s pic but you pointed out that the heavily-loaded wagon sides suggested Barnes.
2006-11-28 - CHICAGO, United States. The Associated Press
What do a T-Rex skull, two stuffed elephants and a meteorite from Australia have in common? They are among the more than 20 popular exhibits included in an adopt-an-artifact program begun this month by Chicago's Field Museum. The sponsorships start at $25,000 and run as high as $2.5 million for exclusive association with the two African elephants acquired by the museum in 1909.
2006-11-26 - Perris, United States. CAROL OLSON
I ARRIVED at Have Trunk Will Travel a half hour earlier than my appointment. There was a long driveway up to the entry gate, so I sat in my car and waited for the excess time to pass. I was at the Perris-based elephant preserve to realize a lifelong dream to ride an elephant. The ranch promotes the understanding and preservation of the endangered Asian elephant and profits from giving rides, doing shows, special events and movies and commercials. The funds are used to care for the elephants and ...
2006-11-25 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
This is a picture from my collection, taken the same day and presents a more detailed view of the show. Johnny: Just awesome, those photos of Bill Woodcock, Black Diamond and A.M. Cauble overland circus and amazing to me is this true story. Bear with me. A few years back I booked our family acts with a friend of mine who had a nice canopy type Wild West Show with bucking bulls, bronks, trick riding, etc.
2006-11-25 - Chesterbrook, United States. FlashPuzzleZone.com
Can you solve the daily jigsaw puzzle? Puzzle Description: Group of elephants including baby elephant. Daily Jigsaw Puzzle from the FlashPuzzleZone.com.
2006-11-25 - Buffalo, New York, United States. Worth1000
In this contest we want you to hide an elephant... hide an elephant as brilliantly shown in the themepost by BrettRobertson! Of course, you're free to show them hiding in urban areas - even silly areas - as well! Suprise us!. Voting until 11/25/2006
2006-11-22 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times
Remember Ruby? The 45-year-old female African elephant has lived more than half her life at the Los Angeles Zoo. She just hasn't been on exhibit for the last two years due to the logistics of moving elephants around to accommodate the slow, complicated process of constructing the new pachyderm exhibit. "I haven't dismissed anything," zoo Director John Lewis said in a brief interview before the meeting on zoo grounds, though he conceded it was "unlikely" that Ruby would remain in Los Angeles.
2006-11-22 - Spartanburg, United States. Associated Press
An Asian elephant who starred in TV commercials and music videos and was a star An Asian elephant who starred in TV commercials and music videos and was a star at Hollywild Animal Park has died. Donna was 48. The 8-foot, 9-inch tall elephant died suddenly Friday, her 8,000 pounds hitting the ground moments after she was running around and kicking up sand, said David Meeks, executive director and co-owner of the park in rural Spartanburg County.
2006-11-22 - SEATTLE, United States.
For the first time in four years Gary Larson is releasing a page-a-day calendar of some of his greatest hits, in stores now. All his earnings from the 3 million calendars printed, about $2 million according to publisher Andrews McMeel, will go to Conservation International for the organization's work to help end the illegal trade in Asian elephants, Indochinese tigers, Asiatic black bears, pangolins, freshwater turtles, and Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia.
2006-11-21 - Washington, United States.
At 12 months, an elephant fetus is an average of 18 inches long and weighs approximately 26 pounds. It can use its trunk, curling it right up into its mouth and over its head. From "In the Womb: Animals" CGI Artist, Steve Gomez
2006-11-20 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
This is a picture , taken at the Rochester, Ind. Quarters, of a second act being trained later for Mrs. Beatty. The elephant chosen was "Anna May", namesake of the elephant that was in our family for so many years. Eddie Allen later told me that this number was really "touch and go" and in fact, at the dress rehearsel the night before the Cole Show's indoor opening in Chicago, "Anna May" unloaded the cats and made an exit right thru the side of the arena.
2006-11-20 - San Antonio, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis.
2006-11-19 - WASHINGTON, United States.
When you're young, not much beats your birthday and the National Zoo's baby elephant celebrated his on Sunday. Kids and adults turned out to watch Kandula, the zoo's youngest elephant, open presents for his fifth birthday.The celebration also featured scientist talks, crafts for kids, and a "cake".
2006-11-19 - Washington, United States. National Zoo
National Zoo's Asian elephant calf, Kandula, is turning five this month! Come celebrate with us. The birthday party will feature traditional Sri Lankan dances, a cake and presents for Kandula, scientist talks, crafts for kids, Sri Lankan tea, and much more. Come to the Zoo's Elephant House for all the festivities.
2006-11-18 - FORDLAND, MISSOURI, United States. Murray Hill
My name is Betty. I'm a retired circus elephant living in Fordland, Missouri. ARC rescued me before I was about to be euthanized. I love ARC. I spend my days playing in my backyard. There are a lot of acres for me to roam, but when I get tired I go to the home ARC built for me. Right now, ARC is looking for kind people to donate money, time, or equipment to help subsidize my expenses. Please, keep me in mind when you have a dollar or two to spare :) Please, check out my website http://www.aepif-...
2006-11-18 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
For those of you astonished viewers who think I can identify these elephants from the rear, I must confess, my father wrote their names on the back of the picture:1. Blanche 2. Jean 3. Big Babe 4. Big Jenny 5. Louie 6. Little Babe 7. Tony 8. Katie 9. Nellie 10. Wilma 11. Tessie 12. Little Jenny 13. Carrie 14. Trilby.
2006-11-17 - PITTSBURGH, United States. Barry Newman, The Wall Street Journal
The Animal and Plant Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking advice from the public on what to do about problem feet in elephants. The deadline for sending in ideas is Dec. 11. Hundreds have already arrived. Such as: "Elephants' feet are being destroyed by their confined environment." "They should be able to walk on grass, not concrete." "Some elephants never need their toenails trimmed and some elephants need them continuously trimmed."
2006-11-17 - EL CAJON, United States. Sharon A. Heilbrunn, UNION-TRIBUNE
The 60th annual Mother Goose Parade will march down the streets of El Cajon on Sunday. The popular parade will also feature “celebrity” elephants, said City Councilwoman Jillian Hanson-Cox, who also serves on the parade's board of directors. “These elephants have been used in commercials, TV shows and movies,” she said. “They've appeared in 'The Jungle Book' and 'Tarzan.' ”
2006-11-17 - NEW DELHI, United States. Nita Bhalla
This weekend, the Elephant Polo Cup, sponsored by Swiss jeweller Cartier and co-organised by the brother-in-law of Prince Charles, Mark Shand, will be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital. Animal rights activists in India have called on the eve of a controversial tournament for the elite, centuries-old sport of elephant polo to be banned due to what they say is the pain and suffering it causes the animals. Privileged royals and the rich have been playing the game for hundreds of years in the dese...
2006-11-17 - BISMARCK, United States. ELOISE OGDEN
Paleontologist John Hoganson plans to find out if any of the three mastodon teeth that were found in an attic in London, Ontario, about a year ago belong to the huge Highgate mastodon that stands in the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. After all, the skeleton came from the nearby area of Highgate, Ontario. But that was 116 years ago in the 1890s.
2006-11-16 - Washington, United States. http://news.sawf.org/
With her wedding to beau Arun Nayar fast approaching, British beauty Elizabeth Hurley is determined that no matter what, she’s going to be the epitome of elegance, and has thus started taking elephant riding lessons. The Bedazzled star is to arrive on the back of an elephant for the couple’s Hindu wedding ceremony and thus is nervous that she won’t know how to sit atop the giant mammal on her big day.
2006-11-16 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
As Houston Zoo officials unfurled a banner to display the newly selected name for its baby elephant, the precocious pachyderm was putting on a show of his own, bulling his way through the thick cables surrounding the elephant exhibit and rumbling after the adult females. Since his Oct. 1 birth, he has gained 91 pounds, tipping the scale at 474 pounds. Officials say Mac is the largest Asian elephant born at a U.S. zoo.
2006-11-16 - Washington, United States. Daya Gamage, US National Correspondent for Asiantribune.com
A cultural and educational program about Sri Lanka is being held at the National Zoo in Washington on 16 and 19 November jointly sponsored by the Sri Lanka embassy, Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Friends of National Zoo. The highlight of the program is the celebration of the fifth birthday of the Sri Lankan baby elephant ‘Kandula.’
2006-11-15 - Washington, United States.
The National Zoo's only giraffe Randle is gone. The National Zoo moved Randle in preparation for the renovation and expansion of its Asian elephant exhibit, where the giraffe has lived since 2003. Although construction isn't scheduled to begin until the spring, zoo officials say they relocated Randle now so that he could avoid D.C.'s winter weather. Other animals at the zoo's elephant exhibit also will be moved over the next year, including a hippo, two pygmy hippos and two capybaras.
2006-11-15 - Little Rock, United States.
Laura came out to the zoo six or seven years ago. She came out and we toured her around the facility with the elephants with the staff and at that point really became supportive of the zoo and of the mission, zoo director Mike Blakely says.
2006-11-15 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
St. Louis Zoo elephant Sri still carries a dead fetus a year after it died in utero. The Asian elephant's calf died on Nov. 19, 2005, after a 22-month pregnancy. It was to have been Raja's first offspring. Keepers still don't know why the calf died, but Zoo health chief Randy Junge suspects it never positioned itself properly. Still, officials say she is healthy and requires no medical intervention. "Her health is very good," said Martha Fischer, who manages the Zoo's elephant program. "Her bloo...
2006-11-14 - ELLENSBURG, United States.
Archaeology students and their professor are waiting on lab results to find out more about the mammoth bones they found in the Wenas Valley. They spent the summer digging, and made some interesting discoveries. Doctor Patrick Lubinski says he hopes the bison bone they found turns out to be just as old as the mammoth. They won't know until carbon dating results come back.
2006-11-13 - Sarasota, United States. Jennifer Kay, Associated Press
Back in 1902, a scientist examining the smooth, grapefruit-size brain of a manatee remarked that the organ's unwrinkled surface resembled that of the brain of an idiot. But Hugh, a manatee in a tank at a Florida marine laboratory, doesn't seem like a dimwit. When a buzzer sounds, the speed bump-shaped mammal slowly flips his 1,300 pounds and aims a whiskered snout toward one of eight loudspeakers lowered into the water. Nosing the correct speaker earns him treats.
2006-11-13 - Chicago, United States. RaeLeann Smith, PETA
Three former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus employees, including two who worked on the animal crew, will speak out for the first time about how Ringling’s elephants live in fear, are cruelly hooked and beaten, and spend the majority of their time in chains. The three whistleblowers will reveal shocking details about their experiences and will offer commentary on PETA’s video footage taken at Ringling this year—which shows that handlers were abusing elephants with bullhooks and c...
2006-11-13 - Atlanta, United States. MARK DAVIS
Victoria, Zambezi and Starlet, don't pack those trunks just yet. You're not leaving as originally planned to mate up with some handsome bull. Instead, you'll be treated Tuesday to a pachyderm pile of produce to celebrate two decades' worth of heavyweight entertainment at Zoo Atlanta. Tuesday marks the 20-year anniversary of the day that Victoria and Zoo Atlanta's other African elephants, Zambezi and Starlet, came together.
2006-11-12 - Colorado Springs, United States. BILL RADFORD
Elephants are remarkably intelligent. Maybe too intelligent. Groups such as the Humane Society of the United States say elephants, with their large brains and sophisticated social groups, suffer from confinement and should not be displayed in zoos. But some say zoo elephants have never had it better. More than half the 78 U.S. zoos that exhibit elephants plan to construct bigger homes, says Kris Vehrs, executive director of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
2006-11-12 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
Standing room only at Jenda's funeral today and attended by the absolute cream of Sarasota circus society. This followed by an exquisite catered meal at the Club. The bombshell of this afternoon's soiree came when an announcement was made that the Kelly-Miller Circus had been purchased by none other than John Ringling North III, himself.
I received this very interesting material from Mr. Von Gilsa via Deutsche Post.
2006-11-12 - New York, United States. HERBERT LOWE AND SOPHIA CHANG
A Manhattan woman fatally stabbed her husband during a domestic dispute in which she also struck him with a nearly foot-tall ceramic elephant in their apartment bedroom early Saturday, police said. Police sources said Kevin Cobb had been trying to leave the fifth-floor apartment after being stabbed. Police said they found the elephant intact inside the apartment -- and also found a small knife.
2006-11-11 - Los Angeles, United States. DANA BARTHOLOMEW
Forty years ago, four elephants lumbered trunk to tail from the dilapidated Griffith Park Zoo to their home at the new Los Angeles Zoo. Their milelong trek, taken by 2,200 other animals in every type of truck, ended decades of controversy over cramped quarters at Griffith Park. Now critics say that $40 million earmarked for a 3.6-acre pachyderm exhibit is too much money to be spent on too little space. Zoo officials call plans for the new exhibit above and beyond the industry standard.
2006-11-11 - SARASOTA, United States. MARK ZALOUDEK
Smaha, who was born Jan Vinicky but adopted his family's stage name as a performer, died in his sleep of heart failure Oct. 27, 2006, while on one of his many photo safaris in Africa. He was 74. Memorial donations to create a watering hole for elephants in a national park in Botswana can be made to the Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife, P.O. Box 53007, Yellowwood Park, 4011, South Africa, Attn: Dr. Helena Fitchat.
2006-11-11 - Hamilton, Ontario, United States. Jeff Hecht
AFTER a tantalisingly successful run at sequencing parts of the extinct woolly mammoth's genome, the project is now stalled for lack of funds. The team now needs about $500,000 to pay for 100 more runs on the sequencing machine and is applying for grants, Ross MacPhee of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City says. "We accept cheques in any convertible denomination."
2006-11-11 - Sarasota, United States. BILL STRONG
The Circus Community has been deeply saddened by the passing of Elephant Trainer Jenda Smaha. The services will be held at The Palms, located at Fruitville Road, and Honore, this Saturday,(Nov. 11), at 11 AM. The information I have is that the reception will follow at Showfolks of Sarasota Clubhouse.
2006-11-09 - Buffalo, New York, United States. TOM BUCKHAM
Evolving animal care standards have thrown a monkey wrench into the Buffalo Zoos $75 million reconstruction program. The changes mandated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which set a one-year deadline, caught zoo leaders off guard. President Donna M. Fernandes said she knew the 1912 elephant house and aging veterinary facilities were out of compliance with AZA standards, but expected to be given more time to correct the problems.
2006-11-09 - Sparks, United States.
Trained and presented nightly by Jenda Smaha in the International Follies at the Nugget Casino in Sparks (East Reno) Nevada. Overall Condition: Excellent Bends or Creases: None. Corner Wear: Minor Handwriting/Other markings: E60 is neatly written on the back. $6.50 postpaid to a US address, or $8.00 postpaid to anywhere else.
2006-11-09 - New York, United States. James Pressley
The day Thomas Edisons men electrocuted an elephant. Edison sent his men to Coney Island in 1903 to use AC to execute Topsy, a rogue elephant that had killed handlers. Bombarded with 6,000 volts, Topsy crashed to the ground, dead in 10 seconds. A new Edison invention, the movie camera, captured the moment for posterity. Both episodes are recorded in crisp detail in "The Money Men" and "AC/DC," lively new accounts of brawls that shaped two keystones of American enterprise: the dollar and electric...
2006-11-08 - Washington, United States. Office of Human Resources, Smithsonian Institution
The incumbent performs routine duties in the care and maintenance of elephants and other mammals many of whom may be exotic, rare and endangered. The incumbent performs daily schedule of cleaning assigned areas, exhibits, enclosures, glass, acrylic, filters, and adjacent areas; prepares and distributes food in species specific manner; removes unconsumed food and debris; reports deviations from normal food consumption, unusual behavior, symptoms of illness or injury, unsafe or unusual conditions;...
2006-11-08 - Toledo, United States. JENNI LAIDMAN
COSI Toledo's levy request was too close to call early today, but it appeared the Toledo Zoo elephants are going to get a little breathing room with the projected victory of the zoo's second bid to pass a capital improvement levy. "We're happy with the way it looks thus far,'' said Anne Baker, the zoo's executive director, late last night with a substantial portion of Lucas County votes remaining to be counted. "I'll be happier when 100 percent of the vote is in.''
2006-11-08 - Philadelphia, United States. Mitchell Gordon
Am I the only one who feels a sense of outrage that Baltimore — the city that showed us how to build stadiums and waterfronts — will now acquire the elephants of America's first zoo, and thereby leave thousands of kids in this region with nothing but a video memory of these stupendous giants?
2006-11-08 - BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, United States.
An emotional debate is raging over the future of the Birmingham Zoos only remaining elephant. For almost 50 years, Mona the elephant has been the darling of the Birmingham Zoo. At 59, shes the oldest living Asian elephant in North America, and the poster child for a growing national debate over what zoos should do with aging elephants, groups want the Birmingham Zoo to allow Mona to the elephant sanctuary outside Nashville.
2006-11-08 - London, United States.
Under cover of darkness, a pride of lions launch themselves on a desperate kill. Leaping upon the back of an elephant five times their size, they maul and gnaw until they finally succeed in running their prey into the ground.
2006-11-08 - Bonanza, United States.
Cherry's grandfather, William Stamps Cherry, was explorer and the owner of the largest collection of antique African artifacts of its kind in the world and brought back the tusks, weighing 332 pounds together, measuring more than eight feet long and appraised at $835,000, to the U.S. from Africa in the late 1800s. Most of the collection has been in archive at the Los Angeles museum for more than 75 years.
2006-11-07 - London, United States. Adrian Searle
Douglas Gordon's eyeless portraits and De Niro doubles haunt his retrospective. But it's one performer's nifty trunk-and-foot-work that steals the show. The animal gets down on his knees and rolls on to his side, trunk extended like a dead man's arm - playing dead. The camera circles. If you follow it, walking between the screens, you begin to get the measure of this circus elephant, doing his party trick. An elephant, then, in a ballet class.
2006-11-06 - Vallejo, United States. Dale Arnold
In this photo submitted by Six Flags Marine World, Tava, an African elephant, and Sister, a miniature donkey, remind all parties to go vote on Election Day as they demonstrate their way of stuffing the ballot box on Monday, Nov. 6, 2006, at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California. (AP Photo/Six Flags Marine World, Dale Arnold)
2006-11-06 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States.
Just for Elephants, a children’s book by Carol Buckley detailing the everyday life of elephants on a 2,700 acre sanctuary in Tennessee, is scheduled to be released by Tilbury House on November 15. On the heels of her award-winning book Travels with Tarra, which detailed the raising of and traveling with an elephant, Buckley has written a book that describes what everyday life is like for the many elephants that live at The Elephant Sanctuary located near the small town of Hohenwald, Tennessee.
2006-11-05 - Washington, United States. KRISTIN L. VEHRS, executive director of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (left in photo)
There is no place on the planet where elephants are not in contact with humans. On increasingly shrinking territory, elephants in Africa and Asia face poaching, predation, hunger and disease - their wild state. If we abandon elephants to their fate, in a few short years the only place you'll be able to see them is in a museum. But this is where high-quality, accredited zoos come in, offering a vital link to elephant conservation.
2006-11-05 - San Rafael, California, United States. ELLIOT M. KATZ, veterinarian and president and founder of In Defense of Animals (left in photo)
News that elephants recognize themselves in a mirror and are thus self-aware was trumpeted worldwide this week. Yet every day elephants needlessly suffer in too-small zoo enclosures.
2006-11-05 - RAPID CITY, United States.
The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center will have a wild feel to it on Saturday, Nov. 4. Thats because magician Jay Owenhouse plans to bring not only his 8,500-pound elephant Tai onto the stage, but his Bengal tiger Shere Khan as well. Owenhouse´s tour, "Magic on the Edge," incorporates his wild kingdom, but also includes audience members. Owenhouse promises to float audience members, be sawed in half and predict the future.
2006-11-05 - PHILADELPHIA, United States. ROBERT STRAUSS
Over the ensuing 132 years, elephants have been a big part of the zoo’s attraction. Instead of expanding the space for the exhibit, the zoo’s board of directors has decided to put the money elsewhere. In Philadelphia, meanwhile, there is a slim hope that elephants will eventually return to the zoo, since the board said it could not come up with proper financing at this point.
2006-11-04 - Memphis, United States. Allison Martin
Elephants are some of the most beloved animals at the zoo, but some worry the massive animals don't have enough room to roam. The Memphis Zoo is one of at least 40 zoos across the country expanding the space it gives its elephants. The elephants live in a recently expanded space and play in a new, 80,000 gallon pool. It's part of a national trend toward elephant conservation, amidst some concerns the animals may be better served roaming free.
2006-11-04 - Gainesville, United States. Isaza R, Davis RD, Moore SM, Briggs DJ. College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida
Objective-To evaluate the humoral immune response of Asian elephants to a primary IM vaccination with either 1 or 2 doses of a commercially available inactivated rabies virus vaccine and evaluate the anamnestic response to a 1-dose booster vaccination. Animals-16 captive Asian elephants. A 2-dose series of rabies virus vaccine should provide an adequate antibody response in elephants, and annual boosters should maintain the antibody response in this species.
2006-11-03 - PORTLAND, Oregon, United States.
A Portland-area foster mother yesterday became the Oregon Zoo's 40 millionth visitor since the 1962 birth of Packy, the zoo's famous elephant. They boarded the "Zoomer" shuttle vehicle and were chauffeured to the elephant barn for a behind-the-scenes tour and face-to-trunk meeting with Packy. Packy, the oldest and largest Asian elephant in the United States, stands 10 feet, 4 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs about 14,020 pounds. He is the only second-generation captive bull to breed succes...
2006-11-03 - Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
Four murder charges were formally dropped in Knoxville against an accused serial killer known as the "Zoo Man." Thomas Dee Huskey is a former elephant trainer who got his nickname from prostitutes who said he took them to the Knoxville Zoo to have sex. He remains in jail serving a 66-year prison term for raping four other women in woods near the Knoxville Zoo in 1992.
2006-11-01 - WASHINGTON, United States. Liz Szabo
Some say zoo elephants have never had it better. Anna and Dolly of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will enjoy a new outdoor walking track and three additional companions. At the National Zoo, Kandula, Shanthi and Ambika will have four times as much room as in their current exhibit. More than half of the 78 zoos that exhibit elephants plan to construct bigger homes, says Kris Vehrs, executive director of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
2006-11-01 - Crosbyton, Texas, United States. GERALD E. MCLEOD
Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum in Crosbyton is a "must see" for anyone even mildly interested in dinosaurs. Also in the museum is the complete skeleton of a mastodon sticking its head through the acoustic tiles in the ceiling of a former furniture store. So is the skull of a rare four-tusked mastodon found in a gravel pit near La Grange. The giant tusk on a polished wood stand is one of Taylor's creations.
2006-10-31 - Washington, United States.
Parts of a fossil jawbone discovered by a farmer in Eritrea might belong to a "missing link" species that connects modern elephants to their ancient ancestors. The lower jaw fragments, about 27 million years old, were found in the Dogali fossil site, said Jeheskel Shoshani, the lead author of elephant evolution and professor of biology at the University of Asmara in Eritrea. The new species is named Eritreum melakeghebrekristosi, by the researchers, according to a paper that appears in the onli...
2006-10-30 - SPRINGFIELD, Missouri, United States. MARCUS KABEL
Riverbluff Cave is slowly yielding its fossil treasures:Lead paleontologist Matt Forir said every discovery raises new questions. Mammoth bones and a juvenile tooth dated around 630,000 years ago came from one of two species and it will require more adult remains to tell which one it is. "We either have the oldest wooly mammoth in North America or the youngest Meridian mammoth.
2006-10-30 - Atlanta, United States. Plotnik JM, de Waal FB, Reiss D., Emory University
We exposed three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to a large mirror to investigate their responses. Here, we report a successful MSR elephant study and report striking parallels in the progression of responses to mirrors among apes, dolphins, and elephants. These parallels suggest convergent cognitive evolution most likely related to complex sociality and cooperation.
2006-10-30 - Baraboo, United States. Scott De Laruelle
The man who brought some of the first animals acts to Circus World Museum passed away Friday while on safari in Africa, studying the elephants he loved so much. Jenda Smaha, 74, was brought to Baraboo in 1960 by Chappie Fox and Wilbur Deppe and worked here for several years before embarking on a career that would take him around the world, said his brother Tony Smaha.
2006-10-30 - ATLANTA, United States.
Elephants have joined a small, elite group of species, including humans, great apes and dolphins, that have the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror, according to a new finding by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York.
2006-10-29 - PHILADELPHIA, United States. PETER JACKSON
One panelist asked the candidates whether they thought the state should step in to help the zoo in Pennsylvania's largest city complete an expansion of its elephant exhibit, which was canceled because of rising costs and fundraising problems. Swann said "he would work to find a way to "get some elephants back in there", Rendell stopped short of promising help for the elephants in his home city's zoo
2006-10-29 - Bridgeport, United States. KEN DIXON and AARON LEO
Animal rights activists won a small victory this weekend when a federal judge ruled city police had to allow them closer to the Arena at Harbor Yard. In particular, the rights activists were underscoring the plight of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants, highly social animals that are chained up for most of the day before they perform.
2006-10-29 - BALTIMORE, United States. Julie Stoiber
As the Philadelphia and Maryland Zoos' plans to merge their African elephant collections in Baltimore coalesce, the Maryland Zoo elephant manager will take a messy but important step in building bonds before the big move, which is scheduled for the spring. He will collect dung and urine from Dolly and Anna in Maryland and, with permission, deliver it to Philadelphia, giving Petal, Bette and Kallie the opportunity to "get used to smelling our girls," and paving the way for an acclimation in which...
2006-10-28 - Baraboo, United States.
Make a donation to the circus museum in Baraboo and you can drive away with a trunk full of elephant manure. Weekday mornings from Monday to Nov. 17 the museum will let anyone who makes a donation haul away the dung, which according to the release is a "bonanza" for home gardeners. The museum will have a skid loader on hand for gardeners who want to take away a truckload.
2006-10-27 - Lincoln, Illinois, United States.
Scholars thought the tusk was about 22,000 years old, but a laboratory in New Zealand, using accelerator mass spectrometry dating, has determined that the Sugar Creek mammoth apparently died about 11,600 years ago.. Illinois State Museum curator of geology Jeffrey Saunders, an expert on the Ice Age elephants, calls that "a surprisingly late date." It also is relatively close to when North American mammoths became extinct about 11,000 years ago.
2006-10-27 - St. Louis, United States. BRANDI SPELBRING
Students presented a basket of goodies to the zoo's newborn elephant, Meliha. The basket included bottles of ketchup, bottles of bubbles, jello boxes, and baby rattles; items requested by the zoo to stimulate the baby with different tastes and experiences. These gifts will help the staff recreate situations and behaviors in the wild for Meliha as she grows.
2006-10-27 - MIAMI, United States. JESSICA GRESKO
Now on display is a 5,000 square foot exhibit on excrement titled "The Scoop on Poop," an educational exhibit filled with photos of animals and faeces. Elephant keepers were charged with weighing the amount of elephant poop one of the zoo's Asian male elephants, Dahlip, produces in a 24-hour period. The turd total: 540 pounds.
2006-10-27 - Philadelphia, United States. PATRICIA TALORICO
There are lions and tigers and bears. But, very soon, no elephants. Now -- and for just a few months more, is your last chance to catch the elephants in Philly. The cash-strapped zoo, the first in the country, could not afford to expand the 1,800-square-foot, 1940s era barn and quarter-acre yard where the pachyderms now live.
2006-10-26 - Miami, United States.
Ron Magill, communications director for the Miami Metro Zoo, holds elephant dungn 12 October 2006 during a press preview for "The Scoop on Poop" travelling exhibition which is on a book by Canadian author and photographer Wayne Lynch about the way animals and humans use fecal matter.(AFP/File/Robert Sullivan)
2006-10-26 - Lincoln, Illinois, United States. ANN KLOSE
A 22,000 year-old woolly mammoth tusk is eased very gently into the McKinstry Library on the Lincoln College campus Wednesday afternoon. The prehistoric artifact is now much drier and more intact than when student Judd McCullum found it in two parts in Sugar Creek a little more than a year ago. It's the largest mammoth tusk found in Illinois.
2006-10-26 - Bridgeport, United States. AARON LEO
The circus' opening night Wednesday at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport wowed spectators and drew animal rights protesters, leading to another first: nine activists were arrested after trying to get past police-placed barriers blocking the entrance. Those arrested were issued court summonses charging them with criminal trespass, breach of the peace, interfering with police and inciting to riot, said Derek V. Oatis, a lawyer from Glastonbury, who was himself charged.
2006-10-26 - TUALATIN, United States. Jennifer Clampet
Grasping the molars with his fingers, Dr. John George rolled a set of 11,300-year-old mastodon teeth in his hands. George and Portland State University classmate Ron Sund excavated the mastodon from a Tualatin field in 1962. George, who now lives in Raleigh Hills, is loaning the tusk and teeth for permanent display to the Tualatin Heritage Center.
2006-10-25 - Tualatin, United States.
A mastodon tusk and two molars excavated in 1962 in Tualatin will go on exhibit at the Tualatin Historical Society's Heritage Center. The items were kept by the retired Portland dentist who dug them up. Now, for the first time, they will be displayed in the city where they were discovered. Dr. John George, who excavated the bones from a swampy swale where Fred Meyer now sits, says the items will be making a rightful return.
2006-10-25 - BRIDGEPORT, United States. CHARLES WALSH
This year, the emphasis of the demonstrations will shift from past accusations of ill treatment and occasional abuse of circus elephants to the broader issue of how circuses are "robbing" elephants, tigers and other animals of their "freedom and dignity," said Pricilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. "P.T. Barnum is remembered for saying 'a sucker is born every minute,' " Feral said. "By using nonhuman performers, circuses really do suck the free spirit out of these animals."
2006-10-24 - WASHINGTON, United States. Jim Rogers, Jerry Redding
The U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is extending the public comment period regarding the In Defense of Animals petition on elephants and request for comment to Dec. 11. Specifically, APHIS invites responses to the following questions: What are the causes of arthritis in elephants? What, if any, foot care practices have been used on captive elephants to maintain healthy feet?
2006-10-24 - Beaverton, Oregon, United States.
Friends, family, and colleagues of L.E.L. "Bets" Rasmussen, Ph.D. a long-time OGI professor best known for her research on mammalian chemocommunication, will gather for a memorial service in her honor on Saturday, October 28, in OGI's Wilson Clark Center dining hall, from 12 - 2:00 p.m. Dr. Rasmussen died in at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle on Sunday, September 17, at the age of 67.
2006-10-24 - Providence, United States. Joe Robillard
Roger Williams Zoo, the country’s third oldest zoo, is looking to gather a total of $35 million to complete its renovations. Plans for the $35 million include upgrading the polar bear and elephant exhibits, and the creation of an interactive New England Trail and children’s zoo. The Rhode Island Zoological Society (RIZS), which is a nonprofit organization which runs the zoo, is heading the effort to raise the money.
2006-10-24 - Indianapolis, United States.
A one-year birthday bash for a member of the Indianapolis Zoo on Saturday. Baby elephant Kedar turned one year old today. The pachyderm celebrated with a fruit medley of watermelon, strawberries, pears, and apples. The Zoo tells us Kedar is growing fast. Kedar isn't the youngest elephant at the zoo. That title belongs to Zehara born just a couple months ago.
2006-10-24 - ST. LOUIS, United States.
The baby elephant at the St. Louis Zoo is finally gaining weight. Zoo officials say Maliha, the Asian elephant born Aug. 2, now weighs 343 pounds. That's only two pounds more than she weighed at birth, but the zoo had been concerned because the elephant had been losing weight. Zoo officials say Maliha has steadily put on weight since her mother, Ellie, started to take a hormone to stimulate milk production.
2006-10-24 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is counting on your vote to help name the newest member of its elephant family. Zookeepers have provided 5 potential names for the 384-pound pachyderm — just vote on this page. And, when you vote, make sure you fill out the form so you'll be eligible to win a great prize from the zoo: a Pachyderm Prize Pack which includes a one-year Houston Zoo Family Membership, a Keeper of the Animals Adopt Kit for Thai (the baby’s proud father) and a private behind-the-scenes tour of the z...
2006-10-22 - Kansas, United States.
"He was in here every night after the circus," Holland says. "They drank me out of every bottle of tequila I had, all the good stuff. He told me some stories about some bars in Hamburg that were pretty crazy," Holland says. "They had to do with some very nice-looking females that were not females. He had lime but no salt," Holland says. "So thats like half a training wheel. Salt and lime are called training wheels."
2006-10-18 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States.
After months of continual personal care and non-stop supplemental feedings, our dear Jenny has passed away. Over the past two years countless tests were conducted in an attempt to determine what was causing Jenny to lose weight. The illness that eventually claimed Jenny's life continues to go undiagnosed. All known tests were conducted with inconclusive results.
2006-10-18 - Portland, Oregon, United States.
The Oregon Zoo may enlist the skills of one of the nation's leading veterinary dentists to extract a bull elephant's infected tusk, a difficult and uncommon surgery. A 33-year-old Asian elephant named Tusko broke his left tusk 13 years ago at a private California elephant ranch. At the time, a California veterinarian sawed off the fractured portion of tusk flush with the elephant's lip, hoping it would scar over and heal.
2006-10-18 - Voorhees, United States. Nancy Gentile
It was upsetting to learn that the elephants will be leaving the Philadelphia Zoo because of lack of space and funding. The elephants do deserve bigger, better accommodations, but a zoo without our elephants is a tragedy that could be avoided. I seem to recall that the city of Philadelphia and the state used public funds to help build the Linc. I have to wonder why no such funds are forthcoming to help the oldest zoo in the nation keep its elephants.
2006-10-17 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Sue Lenz
These are pictures taken of my mother in the 1930's, the elephant she used to present was called "Rosie". After the family finished with the circus, she was sold to the Bristol Zoo where she gave elephant rides for many years. Mother also had a dog and pony act, as well as an act with geese.
2006-10-17 - ANN ARBOR, United States. Nancy Ross-Flanigan
The American mastodon, a massive, tusk-bearing relative of elephants, inhabited much of North America until its extinction just 10,000 years ago. New studies of bone damage on fossil remains of mature mastodon males—aided by 3-D computer graphics—indicate that some died of wounds inflicted by the tusks of other males. University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher will discuss the results at a news conference Oct. 16 during the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in...
2006-10-15 - Albuquerque, United States. Albuquerque Biological Park (Rio Grande Zoo)
The 2006 Elephant Managers Assocation Conference host is the Albuquerque Biological Park. This year’s theme is “Elephant Breeding and Births.”
2006-10-13 - New York, United States.
Does "violent retaliation" sound like anthropocentric overstatement? How, then, to describe an elephant's goring of a tourist or farmer who had done nothing, personally, to annoy? Or a herd's selective trampling of crops and huts on the edge of its shrinking reserve? Or routine blocking of roads, and charging of vehicles that come too close?
2006-10-12 - Washington, United States.
A census of elephant populations in Zimbabwe, equipment for scouts in a game management area in Zambia, and research on re-establishing a viable population of tigers in southwest China are just a few of the wildlife conservation projects around the world receiving support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Almost $750,000 in grants is being awarded to projects in Asian, Caribbean and African nations to aid in the conservation of creatures such as rhinos, elephants, gorillas, chimpa...
2006-10-11 - LAKE BUENA VISTA, United States. STEPHEN MAJORS
At Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, head veterinarian Mark Stetter demonstrates the 5-foot contraception tool for a procedure that he hopes will help control Africa's elephant population: vasectomies. The theme park's plan is the latest attempt to deal with what African officials say is overpopulation, although conservationists dispute that. While those who live far from elephants may think they are endangered, thousands of them have been killed in Africa because of concerns that they had ove...
2006-10-11 - Brownsville, United States. SARA INÉS CALDERÓN
Reports of an elephant crossing the river or people trying to smuggle an elephant across were rampant Tuesday while an elaborate political stunt was taking shape near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The elephants came from Shrine Circuses, said James Plunkett, who produces the circus. They arrived in Brownsville on Monday and were scheduled to be on their way to Maybank on Tuesday afternoon. The elephants and the crew were at the Rio Grande for less than an hour, Plunkett said.
2006-10-09 - Philadelphia, United States.
THE NEWS that Philadelphia will be losing Kallie, Bette and Petal, the three African elephants that the Philadelphia Zoo is transferring to Baltimore because it can't afford a necessary expansion, surely has us sad, but also concerned. Maybe it's selfish, but we can't help wondering: How can you be a world-class city without elephants?
2006-10-09 - Grand Rapids, United States. Buckles Woodcock
This just in from KLSDAD who saw the Ken & Nicole Show in Grand Rapids on Sept. 30. He said he enjoyed the show thoroughly, especially after having seen the other unit earlier in the Garden. There are obviously some good acts on the show, Bello Nock is probably the most famous circus personality in America but this picture tells another story, I only count around 20 performers styling, not enough people for a good fist fight.
2006-10-08 - Los Angeles, United States. CHARLES SIEBERT
Were not going anywhere, my driver, Nelson Okello, whispered to me one morning this past June, the two of us sitting in the front seat of a jeep just after dawn in Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda. We’d originally stopped to observe what appeared to be a lone bull elephant grazing in a patch of tall savanna grasses off to our left. More than one “rogue” crossed our path that morning — a young male elephant that has made an overly strong power play against the dominant...
2006-10-08 - Philadelphia, United States.
The elephants at the Philadelphia Zoo have fascinated kids and former kids around here for generations. Many of us remember staring in awe at the magnificent animals, waiting for them to lift their trunks and trumpet. They were our wide-eyed introduction to the wonders of wildlife. But times and attitudes change. Whether elephants should be in zoos at all is a controversy. But just about everyone agrees that the confined spaces of old zoos and freezing temperatures in northern states are bad for...
2006-10-07 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
Hi Buckles, I saw on the Blog that some people thought we filmed those commercials on Blue Screen and added the girl after, let me assure you we did not. The shots were all done with the little girl right there and George was a little soldier. Here are some of the photos from the shoot. We filmed the beach scene up on Lake Huron and we had to swim George out to a platform and when they shot we had to duck under the water. Lake Huron is cold and it is deep too. Charlie
2006-10-07 - Houston, United States.
Martina Stevens, 27, is the Houston Zoo's elephant manager. A graduate of Western Michigan University, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry, she is an animal lover who owns three dogs and a bunch of frogs. She has worked at the zoo for four-and-a-half years, always with elephants. Since the arrival of the zoo's new elephant calf Oct. 1, Stevens has been one of the keepers watching over the delicate bonding process between Shanti, a 15-year-old Asian elephant, and the calf.
2006-10-07 - Philadelphia, United States. Mitch Lipka
It turns out that moving elephants is a lot less complicated than it might seem - and fairly common. Sure, they're big. And, yes, it takes quite a bit of preparation. But, in the end, the 8,000-pound elephant walks into the back of a semi-trailer and is driven to its destination. Circuses and zoos do it all the time. And elephants - for those worried about the four leaving the Philadelphia Zoo by the spring - are pretty good travelers.
2006-10-07 - Houston, United States. Daryl Hoffman
The latest addition to the Houston Zoo collecion was born Oct. 1 at 4:40 AM, he's 40" tall, 40" long and a massive 384 pounds. Mother and calf are doing great. The Dam is Sahanti. This is her second birth at the Houston Zoo. She was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo in 1990. She then wove her way through the Buffalo Zoo and Murray Hill's farm before going to the Houston Zoo in 2001. The Sire is Thai. Most of you know him from being in Eloise Berthtold's act. After Morgan Berry passed away, Thai went ...
2006-10-07 - Philadelphia, United States. Julie Stoiber
The Philadelphia Zoo announced yesterday that it will close one of its most popular and enduring exhibits - the elephant habitat - at a time when many zoos are launching elephant expansions and breeding programs as part of a nationwide push to reinvigorate the captive population.
2006-10-06 - Jacksonville, United States.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has added two female African elephants from a Kansas zoo as part of a transfer of breeding animals. A pair of 24-year-old elephants recently arrived at the zoo from Lee Richardzon Zoo in Garden City, Kan. The animals had been at the Kansas zoo since 1986. Jacksonville Zoo has one of only a few reproductive-age African bull elephants in North America.
2006-10-06 - Baltimore, United States.
Elephants Dolly and Ana have long reigned as a major attraction at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Petal, 50, Kallie, 24, and Bette, 23 - who reside at the Philadelphia Zoo - will join Dolly, 30, and Ana, 32, in an effort to ramp up breeding possibilities at the zoo, an important aspect of the zoo's missions of conservation and ecology. The species has dwindled in recent years.
2006-10-06 - Waco, Texas, United States.
The Waco Mammoth Site tells an amazing story of the prehistoric elephant's natural parenting instincts. Although not currently open to the public, the site is being considered for inclusion into the National Park Service. The archeology site is unique because it preserves a herd killed by natural causes, and it includes adults and juveniles, says Russ Whitlock, superintendent of the LBJ National Historic Park and state coordinator for NPS. "We can learn a lot about the period from the bu...
2006-10-05 - PHILADELPHIA, United States. Vernon Odom and Bob Monek
As first reported by Action News on 6abc.com, the Philadelphia Zoo has decided to part ways with its elephants. The announcement that the elephant exhibit would be closed came at a news conference this afternoon. The African elephants - 50-year-old Petal, 24-year-old Kallie and 23-year-old Bette - will be moved to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. 42-year-old Dulary, an Asian elephant, will go to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
2006-10-05 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Maliha, the St. Louis Zoos 2-month-old Asian elephant, will remain off display through the weekend and perhaps longer, as keepers try to boost the calf's weight. Maliha had lost about 30 pounds during the past several weeks and was taken off display last week. Curator Martha Fischer said the calf's weight is now stable, but keepers want to continue to observe Maliha and her mother, Ellie. Keepers have been pumping formula through a stomach tube and are trying to teach Maliha to nurse from a bott...
2006-10-04 - Vallejo, United States. AZA.org
Job Duties: Clean animal enclosure areas including: log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down pathways, theater seats, Arena, back staging area, barn floor and squeegee or sweep puddles as directed. Rake log show sand and rides trail as directed. Sweep theatre and pathways ensuring that the area is clean and free of all debris and puddles as directed. Shovel elephant waste and soiled hay into wheelbarrow and empty into waste dumpster.
2006-10-04 - San Andreas, United States. Maveric Vu
Minnie the elephant has been performing in circuses for the majority of her 51 years. With arthritis and a host of other health problems, Minnie retired from show business and spends her time relaxing on the quiet acres of an animal sanctuary. “These animals have seen enough people in their lifetime,” said sanctuary co-founder Edward Stewart.
2006-10-02 - Loxahatchee, Florida, United States. Ivette M. Yee
After 25 years at Lion Country Safari, the peaceful pachyderms are moving to other elephant-friendly places in the United States. They've been the only African elephants for the public to see in Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties, but now they're leaving. Until this summer, the island, located on a mock African plain, was also home to Bulwagi and Ladybird. Bulwagi is now at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, and Ladybird is at the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina.
2006-10-01 - Houston, United States. CYNTHIA GARZA
The Houston Zoo's Asian elephant Shanti delivered a male calf early this morning after a 22-month pregnancy. The yet-unnamed baby weighed in at 384 pounds and is 40 inches long and 40 inches tall — making him the largest elephant calf ever delivered in a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Houstonians will help pick the new baby boy's name by voting for one among a list on the zoo's Web site.
2006-09-30 - Washington, United States. US Senate Committee: Majority Press Release
Senator Inhofe writes: The Senate last night provided law enforcement the tools they need to adequately combat radical animal rights extremists who commit violent acts against innocent people because they work with animals. This bill is an important step in the effort to combat animal rights extremists increasingly violent tactics. We can no longer tolerate criminally based activism regardless of the cause it allegedly advances. This is terrorism and must be stopped.
2006-09-29 - Yarmouth Port, United States.
The fate of the world's elephants could be decided next week at an international meeting discussing controversial ivory stockpile sales. Sixty tonnes of ivory could be approved for auction, putting elephants across Africa and Asia under renewed threat of poaching for their tusks, despite an international ivory trade ban introduced 17 years ago.
2006-09-29 - CORVALLIS, Oregon, United States. Stephen Swanson
Providing safe, effective pain control for ailing elephants has frustrated zoos and sanctuaries for decades, but researchers at Oregon State University have zeroed in on relief for the colossal creatures. The OSU team found the effective dose of ibuprofen is six milligrams per kilogram of weight for Asian elephants and seven milligrams per kilogram for African elephants, given every 12 hours. It isn't much different than the standard human dose, except humans metabolize the drug much faster, Chr...
2006-09-28 - ST. LOUIS, United States. Jeremy Kohler
Maliha the celebrated Asian elephant calf, daughter of Raja and Ellie, was born at 341 pounds. She had thousands of cameras aimed at her since her birth Aug. 2 at the St. Louis Zoo, but has to the alarm of Zoo veterinarians, lost weight. She hit a high of 349 but weighed in Tuesday at just 317. She gained back 4 pounds after two days of powdered formula supplements. On Thursday, the Zoo announced that Maliha has moved indoors - out of sight of her human fans - while Zoo officials watch her aroun...
2006-09-28 - Tampa, Florida, United States. EAZA
Tampa is committed to becoming a world-class zoo. Join our growing team of professionals as we raise standards of physical care and behavioral stimulation for our animals, and offer exciting interactive experiences for our guests. Looking for a stimulating work environment with great pay, fantastic benefits, and a strong leadership team dedicated to your professional development? Then bring that positive attitude to Busch Gardens Tampa!
2006-09-27 - Indianapolis, United States. Rob Schneider
The zoo's elephant staff selected the name from among more than 10,000 entries submitted for the name-the-elephant contest sponsored by The Indianapolis Star and WTHR (Channel 13). The name is believed to be of Arabic origin and is an African word meaning flower, flowering or shining, said Jill Sampson, senior elephant trainer. Zahara was born Aug. 31 at the zoo.
2006-09-25 - Tampa, Florida, United States.
This year you can visit three AZA institutions during the conference. All three of your hosts will be holding events designed specifically for our Conference. The Florida Aquarium will be hosting the Ice Breaker, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo will present Zoo Day and Busch Gardens Tampa will offer an evening of animals, thrill rides and entertainment.
2006-09-24 - Lynchburg, United States.
The circus has left town, and one act may not be coming back. The elephants have been a part of Cole Brother Circus of the Stars for more than 100 years. And this was their first year back to the area after a two-year break. But it may be their last. Circus organizers say animal rights activists have made complaints in several cities, which makes it difficult for business. Now they are reconsidering which animals to use.
2006-09-23 - Seneca, United States. Victoria E. Freile
Seneca Park Zoo and Monroe County officials Friday unveiled a viewing atrium — the latest addition to the new elephant habitat at the zoo. The $4.4 million exhibit, which opened to the public in April, is about five times larger than the elephants' former habitat and includes a 10,000-square-foot shelter that can house up to five elephants, and a 20,000-square-foot yard.
2006-09-20 - Seattle, United States. RICHARD L. HILL
L.E.L. "Bets" Rasmussen, an Oregon biochemist renowned for her discoveries of how elephants chemically communicate, died Sunday in a Seattle hospital. She was 67. Rasmussen, a research professor with the OGI School of Science and Engineering at OHSU, was being treated for myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder. She was diagnosed with the disease in January.
2006-09-20 - Seattle, United States.
King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector dismissed a lawsuit Monday brought by local animal-rights activists against Woodland Park Zoo and the city of Seattle. The Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) and two private citizens sued in June, accusing the zoo of violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the State Environmental Policy Act with its treatment of elephants at the zoo.
2006-09-20 - GARDEN CITY, United States. Tim Vandenack
Moki and Chana, female African elephants that have been tenants of Lee Richardson Zoo since 1986, will be transferred next month to Florida's Jacksonville Zoo for breeding. Officials here had a public send-off of sorts for them Tuesday. "We'll sure miss them because they have a lot of idiosyncrasies we know and love," said Kathy Sexson, director of the Lee Richardson Zoo.
2006-09-19 - Detroit, United States. Moti Nissani, Donna Hoefler-Nissani. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
To date, one investigation failed to find mirror self-referential behavior in Asian elephants while another reported positive results, a contradiction which could, among other things, be ascribed to the poor visual acuity of elephants. To resolve this contradiction, the present study of mirror self-referential behavior in two captive Asian elephants bypasses the traditional mark test, relying instead on the elephants’ response to a far more visually conspicuous object. In this study, neither...
2006-09-13 - Portland, Oregon, United States. EAZA
This position will work full-time as an Elephant Keeper and will provide basic care and handling of the Zoos large elephant collection. Performs educational presentations about the animals in their care. Supervision is received from the Elephant Supervisor. Application deadline: 10/12/06. Entry: $15.28; six months: $17.97; one year: $20.66/hour.
2006-09-12 - Springfield, Missouri, United States. Press Release, Dickerson Park Zoo
Eight weeks after her birth, Dickerson Park Zoo's newest bundle of joy has a name. The 320-pound calf will be known as Nisha (pronounced NEESH-ah), an Indian word for “night,” a reference to her overnight birth (1:35 a.m.) on July 18. Nisha's birth was the first elephant calf born at Dickerson Park Zoo since Haji in 1999 and the sixth successful birth for the zoo's herd. She is the third calf born to 25-year-old Moola and the first offspring from Sabu, the zoo's 18-year-old bull.
2006-09-08 - Fordland, Missouri, United States. Murray Hill, founder of Animal Education Protection Information Foundation
That so called terrible beating that was administer to Sissy may have just saved a life. In her previous location she killed a man and got away with it. When she made attempts to repeat this action she was taken to task and lo and behold for the next year she attacked no one and fit into the herd. There is a difference between abuse and discipline as each is individual. I think that Ms. Buckley, Mr. Scott and all those that work around the elephants at TES should thank the El Paso Zoo elephant p...
2006-09-06 - Pollachi, United States. M. Gunasekaran
The herd of 14 elephants continues to stay in tea estates near Valparai. They have been there for over the last one week and the forest department has sent four kumkis (tamed elephants) from its elephant camp at Kolikamuthi to drive the herd into reserve forests.
2006-09-06 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey(R) today announced that a second male elephant has tested positive and is being treated for tuberculosis (TB) at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation(R). While all other elephants at the Ringling Bros. Center and on our traveling circus units have tested negative for TB, the State of Florida, following USDA guidelines, has issued a quarantine notice for the remaining elephants at the Ringling Bros. Center, with the exception o...
2006-09-06 - Indianapolis, United States. Kevin Rader
This is a very exciting time at the Indianapolis Zoo. Four days ago the zoo brought a new baby elephant into the world. On Tuesday, Eyewitness News got a firsthand look at the new addition to the family. The elephants are kicking up their heels at the Indianapolis Zoo over the birth of a second baby calf in less than a year. Last October Kedar was born. Four days ago a baby girl was added to the herd. She is vocal, active and curious and she craves attention from the trainers who are spending 24...
2006-09-05 - El Paso, United States.
All eyes are on the El Paso Zoo after new allegations of elephant abuse surfaced. Last week, we reported on allegations that a long-time zoo employee beat Juno the elephant. This is not the first time Allen Seidon has been connected to animal abuse. He was caught on tape beating Sissy the elephant in 1999. After much heated debate last year, Council voted unanimously to keep the elephants in El Paso, rather than send them to a sanctuary in Tennessee.
2006-09-02 - Washington, United States.
The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comment on foot care for captive elephants. In a Feb. 2 petition, In Defense of Animals claimed that captive elephants suffer from chronic foot and joint problems because of inadequate space and living conditions. The group asked APHIS to issue an interpretive rule or policy to clarify conditions adequate for captive elephants.
2006-09-01 - Milwaukee, United States.
Lucy the elephant, believed to be the world's fourth-oldest African elephant in captivity, was euthanized Friday morning after staffers found her lying down in her stall, the Milwaukee County Zoo said. The medical staff had recently decided that if the 46-year-old elephant were found lying down again, she would be euthanized, spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti said. In June, Lucy became ill and was unable to stand up in the African exhibit yard. A crane was brought in to lift the 9,000-pound animal ...
2006-09-01 - Ruskin, Florida, United States. Buckles Woodcock
Just received this from Dave Price. This picture is new to me.
Lucy the elephant, believed to be the worlds fourth-oldest African elephant in captivity, was euthanized Friday morning after staffers found her lying down in her stall, the Milwaukee County Zoo said. The medical staff had recently decided that if the 46-year-old elephant were found lying down again, she would be euthanized, spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti said.
2006-09-01 - Indianapolis, United States. Vic Ryckaert
Ivory, the zoo’s 24-year-old African elephant, gave birth to a 266-pound female calf at 9 p.m. Thursday, zoo spokeswoman Judy Gagen said this morning. Debbie Olsen, the zoo’s director of conservation and science programs, said the birth is exciting to staff, visitors and is a boost to the national organizations that monitor the elephant-breeding program.
2006-08-31 - El Paso, United States.
The El Paso Zoo is under fire again for alleged mistreatment of elephants. Back in 1999 trainers were caught on tape abusing Sissy the elephant.That tape forced the city to send Sissy to a elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. Ironically, this latest allegation also involves Allen Seidon, one of the men videotaped beating Sissy. City officials say Seidon reportedly slapped one of the remaining two elephants during an incident.
2006-08-24 - Santa Barbara, United States.
Michael Jackson has axed plans to sell his Neverland Ranch, and opted to get rid of his collection of zoo animals instead. A source tells the magazine, "Jackson's elephant sold to a big wheel (circus) near Los Angeles. It's also true that Jackson has four giraffes up for sale. His asking price: $35,000 a pair."
2006-08-23 - Odessa, United States. Daniel Skolfield
George Carden Circus International elephant trainer Larry Carden gives his Asian elephants Bo, left, Cindy and Betty a drink of water Tuesday as they wait for that night’s performance at the Ector County Coliseum. After the house lights went down Tuesday night, things came alive as the 2006 El Maida Shrine Circus kicked off in the Ector County Coliseum.
2006-08-22 - FORT ROBINSON, United States.
University of Nebraska Museum Director Priscilla Grew said the new Columbian Mammoth exhibit in the Trailside Museum at Fort Robinson State Park will put the western Nebraska museum on the map. It depicts the fossils of two Ice Age mammoths who died more than 15,000 years ago, tusks interlocked, during a prehistoric battle. The fossils were discovered in 1962 by a crew of students from UNL, including Mike Voorhies, who was there for the unveiling of the exhibit.
2006-08-15 - Nashville, United States. EAZA
The Nashville Zoo is accepting applications for the position of elephant keeper. The responsibilities of this position include all aspects of the daily husbandry and management of 0.3 African elephants and their facility in a free contact system. The Nashville Zoo encourages and supports participation in projects involving research, education, training, conservation and general elephant management.
2006-08-14 - Seattle, United States. Mike Penprase
As visitors to Dickerson Park Zoo watch an infant elephant darting in and out of a forest of looming adult elephant legs, they may not notice the baby proofing going on at the zoo's elephant exhibit. Head keeper Jeff Glazier and other zoo employees have been busy making sure the baby pachyderm, temporarily named "Calf," stays safe and secure. Elephant keepers are just thinking ahead, something that has to be done with the zoo's largest animals, also among its smartest, Glazier said.
2006-08-12 - Chiang Mai, United States. Lek Chailert
On 26 August 2006. Elephant Nature Park invited and welcomed the children from Love Children International Club (LCIC) to visit the herd at the park. Every year Elephant Nature Park provides this open day complimentary program for under-privileged Thai children (from young age to University age) to come to learn about the elephant in the park
2006-08-09 - Massachusett, United States.
A landmark bill that would protect elephants from abusive use of cruel and inhumane devices, such as bullhooks and chains, passed the Massachusetts Senate yesterday. The bill makes it illegal to use a bullhook or similar device on an elephant, and would also prohibit the use of chains to restrain an elephant, unless for medical treatment.
2006-08-08 - St. Louis, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
2006-08-08 - NEW YORK, United States.
In the summerheat, tourists head north to cooler climes. This year, a manatee has joined the crowd, cruising past the nightclubs of Manhattan and continuing north, spotted in the Hudson River at least three times in the last week, first off the Chelsea and Harlem sections of Manhattan, then north. ''When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth", said Randy Shull, Last month, trackers saw the manatee as it swam north, first near Delaware, then Maryland, then New Jersey. By Saturday, it was s...
2006-08-08 - FAIRHOPE, United States. KECIA BAL
The 724 acres might look like a curious wilderness, "but I see it more as a revolution on how you manage elephants," said Barbara Baker, CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The zoo’s International Conservation Center will be North America’s first breeding grounds for the endangered elephants and may serve as the U.S. base for elephant experts from the Institute of Berlin.
2006-08-05 - Syracuse, New York, United States.
Despite recent hardships, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo celebrated their Asian elephant collection in a big way Saturday. The annual Elephant Extravaganza, which runs all weekend gives people the opportunity to see the zoos four Asian elephants. One of them on display was Romani, who is still recovering from surgery she underwent to remove her baby elephant from the birth canal earlier this year. The breeding program at the zoo has long been considered one of the most successful in North America.
2006-08-04 - Syracuse, New York, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo says 29-year-old Romani is recovering well after undergoing surgery almost two months ago. Veterinarians were trying to remove Romani's baby, who had become stuck in her birth canal. The baby elephant was dead at birth. Romani did give birth to three healthy baby elephants in the past, in 1991, 1995, and 2002.
2006-08-02 - St. Louis, United States.
It’s a 341-pound girl for Ellie, the Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo. Ellie gave birth early today after a short labor. The calf will soon have a new playmate and niece. Ellie’s daughter Rani is expecting her first calf in February, 2007. Raja is the father of both calves.
2006-08-01 - Phnom Penh, United States.
In rural Cambodia where doctors and hospitals are scarce, poor villagers are turning to a magic elephant which is believed to cure illnesses ranging from typhoid to high blood pressure. A few times a month, Yey Proheu, a 70-year-old female elephant goes around to villages to offer relief to the sick with mahout, Pang Hy, and his assistants.
2006-08-01 - POLK CITY, United States. Eric Pera
Two elephants are under quarantine for tuberculosis at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Elephant Conservation Center in Polk City. The quarantine was issued June 9 by the Department of Agriculture following routine testing of the animals by their handlers, a spokesman for the agriculture department said. Spokesman Terry McElroy said he didn't think the potentially fatal disease had spread beyond one of the elephants. A second elephant which had close contact with the sick animal was qu...
2006-08-01 - St. Louis, United States.
Veterinarians and the elephant management team at the St. Louis Zoo are monitoring Ellie, the pregnant Asian elephant, around the clock as she gets closer to giving birth. Through daily hormone analysis of Ellie's blood, the endocrinologist at the zoo has determined that Ellie's progesterone levels have dropped significantly in the last two days.
2006-07-31 - OSPREY, United States. HILDEGARD SCHEIBNER
Logan, who was 80 when he died of heart disease July 12, 2006, was born Oct. 14, 1925 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, and had been with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Carson & Barnes Circus, the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus, Terrell Jacobs, and the Kelly-Miller show. He never retired from circus work. He was a night watchman for the Hanneford Circus in Osprey when he died, said his daughter, Mary Zebrini of Sarasota. He came to Osprey eight years ago from DeLand.
2006-07-28 - Washington, United States. Cassie Duong
Ambika, Shanthi and Kandula, the Asian elephants at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park in Washington, will have more room to roam under the zoo's plans for a $60 million "Elephant Trails" exhibit that will expand and renovate their current facilities beginning in the spring of 2007.
2006-07-27 - PORTLAND, Oregon, United States. Oregon Zoo Press release
Pet, the Oldest Asian elephant, is experiencing a health crisis, and zoo veterinary and keeper staff have run out of medical treatment options. The 51-year-old elephant and herd matriarch has degenerative arthritis and other age-related conditions, which are not responding to medication any longer.
2006-07-26 - Anaheim, California, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey crews say they have several ways to help elephants deal with heat record. They're not the "high-tech" variety, but the bag of tricks includes giant ice blocks the elephants can stand on and hit with their trunks, and frozen watermelons, said circus publicist Lucia Singer. Southland heat wave as the circus prepares to begin an 11-day run at the Arrowhead Pond.
2006-07-25 - MASON CITY, United States.
Its been fifty years since the North Iowa Fair started in Mason City. And for this special year, fair goers will be able to see a few special animals. Bill Bill Morris of Elephant Encounters tells NewsChannel, its a show that goes across the country entertaining and educating people about elephants. "I grew up, my father had 19 elephants when I was growing up, my grandfather before him has seven elephants, we've had elephants in our lives, that all we know is elephants."
2006-07-25 - Madison, Wisconsin, United States. SUSAN LAMPERT SMITH
Some kids are scared of clowns, but I grew up fearing elephants. I'm sure I'm not the only one who vividly recalls the death of little Ruth Ellen Freedman, the 3-year-old girl who ducked under the fence at Vilas Zoo to feed Winkie the elephant some marshmallows. Winkie grabbed the little girl, pulled her through the bars and stomped her to death. It happened in 1966, but I remember it like yesterday.
2006-07-25 - LAWRENCE, Kansas, United States.
A University of Kansas doctoral student hopes his study of an elephant named Tembo will yield clues about dinosaurs and the environment in which they lived. Brian Platt said Tembo made a natural guinea pig because an elephant is the closest living creature in terms of size, gait and the arrangement of bones in their feet to sauropod dinosaurs.
2006-07-25 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States. KRISTIN M. HALL
The death of Joanna Burke who was knocked down and crushed by an elephant has been ruled an accident, and the animal will not be destroyed. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Sheriff's Department investigated, found that the sanctuary was in compliance with all regulations and called Burke's death an accident.
2006-07-24 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
As the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigates the June death of an elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, an animal rights group asked Monday that the probe include the 2004 death of another elephant. In Defense of Animals filed a second complaint with the Department of Agriculture asking that its investigation include the death of Tara, an African elephant found dead in December 2004 shortly after being found in a downed position.
2006-07-23 - HOHENWALD, Tennessee, United States. MICHAELA JACKSON
There is no word yet on the fate of Winkie, the Asian elephant that attacked two handlers at The Elephant Sanctuary here Friday, killing one and injuring the other. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has stated that it will not require the animal to be euthanized, but the ultimate decision belongs to the Sanctuary's board, said Doug Markham, TWRA information and education coordinator.
2006-07-23 - Lansing, United States. Stacey Range
Looking bored, Isla swung her tail and munched on a twig she had swiped from a tree. But once her name was called, the 8,000-pound Asian elephant responded: With three quick steps forward, Isla used her full force and the harness around her massive shoulders to pull the circus tent to its peak. "The tent is up," said Ben Trumble, spokesman for the Carson & Barnes Circus.
2006-07-23 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States.
A deadly elephant attack in Hohenwald is getting national attention, and the agency investigating is urging the elephant sanctuary to come clean about what happened. The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald is a virtual island. People in Hohenwald are shocked and intrigued by the sanctuary that seems to pride itself on privacy. But, Fridays deadly attack on a handler could thrust the Lewis County preserve into the national spotlight.
2006-07-23 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States. Elephant sanctuary press release
For eight years, 36-year-old Joanna Burke was the primary caregiver for the The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee’s herd of rescued Asian elephants. Joanna died on July 21 following a tragic accident involving Winkie, one of her elephants. More information regarding Winkie and the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident will be released shortly.
2006-07-22 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States. Leon Alligood
36-year-old Joanna Burke was attacked and killed, and Scott Blais who handles the 22 Asian and African elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary was injured and hospitalized, by Winkie, a 40-year-old female Asian elephant who has been at the sanctuary for six years. Fridays death at the compound is the first at the facility, which is licensed as a Class I exotic animal facility by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
2006-07-21 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
Preliminary construction on a disputed 3.7-acre elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo will move forward after receiving the backing Friday of the citys Board of Public Works. The board approved $2.1 million for the General Services Department to demolish part of the existing elephant exhibit and start construction of the zoos new Pachyderm Forest.
2006-07-21 - Seattle, United States. Mike Keele and Nancy Hawkes
Bamboo and the other elephants at Woodland Park Zoo are healthy and thriving, and people should come see for themselves. The Northwest Animal Rights Network is simply wrong about what is best for Bamboo. What Bamboo does need is expert care, which she gets. She also needs daily, frequent interaction with humans, because she is highly bonded to people.
2006-07-20 - LOS ANGELES, United States. Valerie Kuklenski
No three rings. No big cats. And just maybe, by next year, no elephants. Ringling's own research shows that its strongest attraction is its trained elephants, but they also cause public-relations problems for the company. Currently, Ringling has 55 elephants, around 20 of them touring with three circus units.
2006-07-19 - Salmon Arm, United States.
They might not be the greatest shows on earth, but they’re entertaining nonetheless. The Jordan World Circus, which performed at the Sunwave Centre recently, did so without its trained elephant or elephants. Circuses make their way around North America while several towns, including Salmon Arm, have an exotic animals bylaw that prohibits the businesses from bringing in animals such as elephants, lions and bears.
2006-07-19 - Springfield, Missouri, United States.
A 238-pound female elephant calf was born in the early morning hours at Dickerson Park Zoo. The mother, 25-year-old Moola, sired by the 18-year-old bull Sabu, delivered the calf outdoors at the zoos new cow barn after a brief labor. This is the sixth successful elephant birth at Dickerson Park Zoo, and the first since 1999.
2006-07-18 - Concord, United States. SARAH LIEBOWITZ
Queenie was never an ordinary elephant. She water-skied, a talent that eluded her to Venezuela, Florida and New York City, where she appeared on The Tonight Show. In October, 38 years after Concord resident Elisabeth Dane bid her childhood pet a tearful goodbye, she tracked Queenie to a Valdosta, Ga., theme park. When Mercury Motors settled on a new slogan -"pulls an elephant, runs on peanuts"- Queenie was the model. She even found time to cultivate her artistic side; in her youth, she mastered ...
2006-07-17 - ST. LOUIS, United States. Diane Toroian Keaggy
Asian elephant Ellie still is waiting for the stork to visit the St. Louis Zoo: Two weeks after her due date, Ellie shows no signs that labor is imminent. Meanwhile, elephant Sri continues to carry a dead fetus. She was expected to deliver a female calf last November. Her progesterone levels did drop, but labor never started.
2006-07-15 - Seattle, United States. MARY ANDOM
About 80 animal rights activists and community members protested outside a Woodland Park Zoo fundraiser Friday, asking that the 39-year-old Asian elephant Bamboo be moved to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. Protesters young and old stood at the north entrance of the zoo, passing out fliers to donors, holding signs and chanting, "Tell the zoo, to free Bamboo."
2006-07-13 - Seattle, United States. Anne Kim
The asian elephant Bamboo has become the focus of one of the most heated and bitterly debated controversies the Woodland Park Zoo has seen in years. What started as a citizens note of concern has escalated into a letter-writing campaign, public rallies and even a lawsuit accusing the Seattle zoo of harming an endangered species. Zoo officials say the critics are uninformed and using Bamboo as a pawn in a larger debate over whether zoos should keep elephants at all.
2006-07-12 - New York, United States. Lyashchenko KP, Greenwald R, Esfandiari J, Olsen JH, Ball R, Dumonceaux G, Dunker F, Buckley C, Richard M, Murray S, Payeur JB, Andersen P, Pollock JM, Mikota S, Miller M, Sofranko D, Waters WR.
Tuberculosis (TB) in elephants is a re-emerging zoonotic disease caused primarily by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Current diagnosis relies on trunk wash culture, the only officially recognized test, which has serious limitations. To characterize the humoral responses in elephant TB, we tested 143 serum samples collected from 15 elephants over time. In addition to MAPIA, serum samples were evaluated with a recently developed rapid test (RT) based on lateral flow technology (ElephantTB STAT-PAK). S...
2006-07-11 - Riverdale, California, United States.
William McEntee, director of permits and concerns for the Road Commission, said a tooth was used to identify the remains as those of a mastodon and not a mammoth, which also lived in the area. John Zawiskie, geologist for the Cranbrook Institute of Science, said the bones will be taken to Cranbrook, where a scientific study would begin. Zawiskie said mastodons haven't been around in at least 12,000 years, but the discovery isn't as rare as people think."About every summer, something pops up," Za...
2006-07-09 - Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. DAN CORTEZ
Excavators in Rochester Hills dug up a bit of Michigans past Friday while building a road for the future. Crews working with the Road Commission for Oakland County unearthed what they think are the remains of a mastodon, a tusked mammal that grazed in the Great Lakes area for thousands of years before becoming extinct 10,000 years ago.
2006-07-09 - MUNISING, Michigan, United States. JOHN PEPIN
The Carson and Barnes Circus is in Munising Sunday. Lisa Wathne from PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wanted to meet with Mayor Rod DesJardins. DesJardins dismissed Wathnes PETA organization as radical extremists with a bizarre philosophy that considers the life of an insect equal to the life of a human being, and he would not dignify the request.
2006-07-07 - QUEENS, New York, United States.
Forest Hills antique dealer Marc Pine, 59, has been charged with illegally selling approximately $15,000 worth of elephant ivory figures and jewelry. Elephants are an endangered species and the sale of more than $1,500 worth of products made from ivory without having first obtained a DEC license or permit is illegal commercialization of wildlife, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
2006-07-07 - Los Angeles, United States. Dana Bartholomew
A night zookeeper at the Los Angeles Zoo who failed to report that Gita the elephant was resting in a life-threatening position has been allowed to resign. Officials say the woman had learned from a security guard that the 48-year-old elephant was sitting like a dog and failed to report it. The 8,000-pound elephant Gita at the zoo since 1959, had arthritis and a history of chronic foot ailments. She died at 9:40 a.m. after toxins from her muscles led to vascular distress.
2006-07-05 - Ortonville, Minnesota, United States. CHRISTINA SMITH
Ortonville, located about four miles west of Waukee, was named after Hiram Orton, who moved to the site in 1866. But Ortonville wasn't just any town, it was home to a traveling circus show that started in 1852. Orton purchased nearly 200 acres as the winter headquarters for the circus.
2006-07-05 - PITTSFIELD, United States. Patrick G. Rheaume
Audience members were delighted with the performance yesterday by Cole Bros. Circus at Pittsfield Common. But outside, more than a dozen protesters held their applause as well as signs that criticized the treatment of circus animals. Both organizers and protesters were largely concerned with a proposal under consideration in the state Senate that would restrict the chaining of elephants and devices "that may reasonably result in harm to an elephant."
2006-07-02 - CONWAY, United States.
Laura Broederdorf of Mountain Home is combining manual labor with in-depth research while working with elephants at Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary this summer. Her work involves feeding and cleaning the elephants as well as helping with their medical treatment such as drawing blood and working on their feet. She also walks baby elephants to learn about the management of such large animals.
2006-07-01 - Los Angeles, United States.
The keepers of a 48-year-old Asian elephant that died did not begin emergency procedures for more than eight hours after the animal was discovered in a sitting position, a Los Angeles Zoo investigation has found. Keepers did not begin emergency procedures until the following morning, it said. The 8,000-pound female named Gita died on June 10.
2006-06-26 - Washington, United States. Smithsonian Magazine
The worlds biggest land animals can pose a big challenge for zoos. In light of research showing that elephants are social, intelligent creatures which need companionship and room to roam, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association mandated in May that elephant facilities allot at least 1,800 square feet for one elephant outdoors plus 900 square feet for each additional animal.
2006-06-25 - Nashville, United States. EAZA
The Nashville Zoo is accepting applications for the position of elephant keeper. The responsibilities of this position include all aspects of the daily husbandry and management of 0.3 African elephants and their facility in a free contact system.
2006-06-24 - Salt Lake City, United States. Ellen Fagg
Sara Gruen's just-published Water for Elephants, a charming page-turner of a historical novel about a 93-year-old former veterinarian who recalls how he fell in love - with an animal tamer as well as an elephant named Rosie - when he ran away to join a traveling circus during the Depression.
2006-06-24 - Seattle, United States. KATHY MULADY
Woodland Park Zoo officials "vigorously dispute" claims that they are not providing sufficient care for Bamboo, a 39-year-old Asian elephant who grew up at the zoo, was transferred to Tacoma last summer and returned to Seattle this month. Lawyers for Woodland Park Zoo announced Friday that they have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an animal rights group that claims the elephant should be placed elsewhere.
2006-06-23 - Seattle, United States.
Today, attorneys for Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) filed a Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a local animal rights group, Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN), and two private citizens. In its lawsuit, NARN is attempting to force transfer of the zoo’s Asian elephant Bamboo
2006-06-23 - Santa Barbara, United States. EAZA
The Animal Care Department is seeking a keeper to become an active member of the elephant program team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and the guest experience.
2006-06-23 - St. Louis, United States.
The St. Louis Zoo is now expecting two female baby elephants. Tests show that Asian elephant Rani is carrying a female calf. She is due in February. Rani's mother, Ellie, is in the final weeks of her 22-month pregnancy. Zoo officials expect her to deliver a 250-pound female around July 5. She is being monitored 24 hours a day.
2006-06-22 - Miami, United States.
Entry level position, responsible for all aspects of daily husbandry, medical procedures, maintenance, and operant conditioning and environmental enrichment with 1.1 Asian and 1.2 African Elephants in a protected contact management system.
2006-06-21 - Los Angeles, United States. Lynn Doan
The director of the Los Angeles Zoo told the Zoo Commission on Tuesday that he was conducting a full investigation into Gita the elephant's recent death, which animal rights activists call premature and blame on mistreatment. Members of the group In Defense of Animals protested outside the commission meeting and demanded that federal officials launch an independent investigation.
2006-06-20 - WASHINGTON, United States.
The National Zoo kicked off a $60 million campaign to save the Asian elephant from extinction. Only about 30,000 Asian elephants remain in the entire world, but the National Zoo's three Asian elephants are getting an impressive new habitat. The habitat will include four acres outdoors and a new indoor elephant house that's five times the size of the current elephant house.
2006-06-19 - Milwaukee, United States.
Lucy, the ailing 46-year-old elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo, is improving, an official said Monday. The African elephant fell on Friday and had to be lifted back up with a crane.
2006-06-17 - New York, United States. Megan Driscoll
Zoo officials said we will see more of the elephant breeding program for some time to come. Despite recent hardships, zoo representatives said the program will go on. "I think it kind of started out as a little bit of a rumor that the elephant program was suspended at the zoo for a year, which is completely inaccurate. The program is still strong as ever," said zoo spokesperson Sarah Fedele.
2006-06-15 - SYRACUSE, New York, United States.
An upstate zoo famous for its elephant-breeding program will not be able to breed endangered Asian elephants unless it expands, officials said. Rosamond Gifford Zoo officials in Syracuse told Onondaga County legislators that the zoo will likely need millions of dollars and more land. The zoo will temporarily stop breeding elephants until a decision is made, Zoo Director Chuck Doyle said.
2006-06-14 - Casper, United States. LAURIE CREASY
Casper College presents Dee the Mammoth, named for Dee Zimmerschied, the bulldozer operator who found him, a new fossil find about 40 miles north of Casper and what may be one of the largest mammoth fossils around. The center of one of his vertebrae is nine inches in diameter. Compare that with the six-inch center of the largest specimen at South Dakota's Mammoth Site, a 50-year-old male, and you've got one enormous animal. Dee munched his last grass in the Powder River Basin between 10,000 to 2...
2006-06-14 - New York, United States. David Spett
With support from animal-rights organizations, Councilmember Rosie Mendez introduced a bill Tuesday to ban wild animal acts from the circus, a move Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey said would force them to stop all of their New York City performances. If passed, the law would ban all wild and exotic animals — including elephants, chimpanzees, tigers and lions — from circuses, carnivals and other live performances in New York City. The law would not affect domesticated animals like cats...
2006-06-13 - Denver, United States. Raetta Holdman
With the Denver Zoo's largest fundraiser of the year just days away, the animals are getting in on the fun. Asiatic elephants Dolly and Mimi and a black rhinoceros named Mshindi were hard at work Tuesday painting their masterpieces. Zookeepers said the animals all love painting because picking up sticks is a natural behavior for them and using a paintbrush is just an extension of that behavior.
2006-06-13 - EAST MANATEE, United States. RICHARD DYMOND
Hugh Schmitt rode on the back of an elephant in a German circus, performed before Nazi soldiers during World War II and ran from Allied bomb blasts in his hometown of Hamburg. Schmitt, who now leads a quiet life on State Road 62 in Parrish with his wife, Louise, was the son of internationally known German animal trainer Hugo Schmitt, who worked for Hamburg's Circus Hagenbeck and later would be called upon by President Dwight Eisenhower to supervise elephants in his inaugural parade in 1953.
2006-06-12 - SEATTLE, United States.
A female Asian elephant, Bamboo, returned yesterday to the 92-acre Woodland Park Zoo. The 39-year-old elephant was transported from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash. in an air conditioned vehicle driven by one of the nation’s most highly regarded animal movers. Zoo veterinarians and zookeepers accompanied her on the short trip to Seattle.
2006-06-12 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
Animal rights activists have called for the resignation of the director of the Los Angeles Zoo, holding him responsible for the death of a 48-year-old Asian elephant named Gita. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals faxed a letter Sunday to Director John Lewis, saying Gita's death was caused by poor living conditions at the zoo.
2006-06-11 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall
Gita, the Los Angeles Zoo's female Asian elephant who had become the focus of a highprofile controversy over whether the giant animals should stay in zoos, died Saturday morning in her yard after several hours of attempts to save her life. Gita, who turned 48 this month, had lived at the zoo since 1959.
2006-06-09 - Abington, United States. Max Bowen
After a two-year hiatus, Jewel and Tina are packing their trunks and heading back to Abington. The decision to bring back the two elephants is part of the Cole Bros. Circus continuous goal to make each years performance fresh and new, according to Renne Storey, vice president of administration for the circus. Since the elephants were removed from the roster in 2004, the circus has received much feedback from patrons who wanted them to come back."People were saying they really missed the ele...
2006-06-09 - Syracuse, New York, United States. MICHELLE YORK
She had been in labor since Sunday, but the contractions remained weak. So on Wednesday night, experts from Missouri and Florida flew to Syracuse to assist in a rare emergency surgery on the 29-year-old patient - an Asian elephant named Romani. An eight-member team gathered on Thursday morning to perform the procedure, similar in concept to an episiotomy in human births but much rarer - with only an estimated seven previously performed in the world, a zoo spokeswoman said. Employe...
2006-06-08 - Central Florida, United States. Tammy L. Carter
Mary has lived a full life. She worked with a circus in the 1950s, retired to Dallas, lived in New York and moved to Central Florida in 1983. She enjoys taking baths and eating sugar cane. She has shared housing with her best friend, Maude, for about 23 years. That's good for an Asian elephant that just turned 60. If Mary is in good health and in good spirits, why does anyone want to shake up her world?
2006-06-07 - Conway, United States. Schulte BA, Rasmussen LE. Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, AR
Using automated solid-phase dynamic extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, our search for urinary chemical signals from ovulatory female African elephants (Loxodonta africana) has revealed the bark beetle aggregation pheromones frontalin, exo-brevicomin, and endo-brevicomin, as well as their precursors and the aphid alarm pheromones (E,E)-alpha-farnesene and (E)-beta-farnesene.
2006-06-07 - Lake Monroe, FL, United States.
The Central Florida Zoological Park is looking for a team oriented keeper to join the Hoofstock Department in an entry level position. Responsibilites include animal husbandry, enrichment, training and exhibit maintenance for 0.2 Asian elephants (free contact), red kangaroos and emus, and domestic animals in a childern's zoo setting.
2006-06-06 - Dallas, United States.
This position will supervise a section with elephants, giraffes, carnivores and mixed mammals with 7+ keepers. Must be proficient in Protected Contact training and will participate in design of new and large naturalistic exhibits for elephants, giraffe, lions, etc.
2006-06-03 - NEW YORK, United States. DAVID CRARY
With their colorful headgear and repertoire of tricks, they're top-billed stars of The Greatest Show on Earth. But away from the arena, the Asian elephants used in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are at the heart of perhaps the most bitter animal-care fight around, one that's dragged through court for six years already and is inching toward a trial. It's a heavyweight bout, pitting America's biggest circus against some of the most influential animal-welfare groups. Ringling insists...
2006-06-03 - NEW YORK, United States.
The Asian elephants used in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are at the heart of perhaps the most bitter animal-care fight around, one that's dragged through court for six years already and is inching toward a trial, America's biggest circus against some of the most influential animal-welfare groups. Ringling insists that its elephants receive state-of-the-art treatment and it's determined to keep them in its cast.
2006-06-01 - LOUISVILLE, United States.
The Louisville Zoo is expecting a new attraction come next spring. Mikki, a 20-year-old African elephant, is pregnant by artificial insemination. Zoo officials have not determined the 150-to 200-pound calf's gender and believe the insemination last June did the trick. "We've been working on this for years," said Zoo Director John Walczak. This was the zoo's second try at artificial insemination. The zoo verified Mikki's pregnancy by sonogram last November.
2006-05-31 - Murchison, Texas, United States. EAZA
The majestic Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas is in need of an Elephant Keeper to maintain responsibility for total care of elephant(s) residing at the Ranch, to include providing proper and clean environment(s), food preparation and feeding, supplies maintenance, enrichment provisions and strategiesmedical care and training.
2006-05-28 - Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. EAZA
The Knoxville Zoo is looking for an experienced, motivated, team oriented individual who wants to work elephants. We work both free and protected contact with 1.3 African Elephants. The program is early in its building phase with the ultimate goal of breeding within the next year. There are promotional opportunities available within the elephant team.
2006-05-20 - Los Angeles, United States. PERRY CROWE
On April 19, the L.A. City Council approved a nearly $40 million expansion of the L.A. Zoos elephant exhibit. The plan includes waterfalls and bathing holes and lush greenery spread over 3.7 acres. Its definitely a step up from the current 2-acre exhibit, which is broken into two small enclosures, one of which is Billys daytime home. And the size of the elephant barn in the citys expansion plan suggests an eventual population of 10 elephants as L.A.s elephants become a breeding herd, with Billy ...
2006-05-19 - LAKELAND, Florida, United States.
The center was funded by the Ringling Brothers Circus 1995. It serves as a place for their older elephants to retire or, start a family. It is the most diverse gene pool in North America, and the only self-sustaining elephant herd in North America. Some of the elephants born at the center will follow in their parents' footsteps and join the circus.
2006-05-19 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Blake de Pastino
You can lead an elephant to a treadmill, but you can't make her walk. That's the lesson zookeepers are learning in Anchorage, Alaska, where they have been struggling to get the zoo's resident elephant to exercise. Maggie, a 23-year-old African elephant (pictured here on May 16), is the only pachyderm at the Alaska Zoo, where she is kept indoors much of the time to protect her from the cold.
2006-05-17 - Seattle, United States.
Seattle's elephants receive great care, but that's not enough. They deserve more space. A controversy over the future of one of the zoo's elephants, Bamboo, provides a window into the questions Seattle's political leadership needs to face at Woodland Park Zoo. Amid a host of zoo changes, city government has paid far too little attention to how well the planet's largest land animals may fit there for the long term. In the 1980s (with help from a Seattle P-I campaign), the zoo built a new elephant...
2006-05-11 - San Diego, United States.
Keepers at the San Diego Zoos Wild Animal Park have seen the heartbeat, ribs and vertebrate of an African elephant fetus through ultrasound. Umgani is expected to give birth sometime around August to her first calf, after a 21-month gestation period. This will be the first calf Mabhulane, the Wild Animal Parks adult male, has sired.
2006-05-05 - SYRACUSE, New York, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo plans to loan two of its Asian elephants to a Canadian wildlife park. Targa, 22, and her daughter, Mali, 9, will be transported early next week by tractor-trailer to African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario which currently boasts the continent's most prolific Asian elephant breeding program.
2006-05-04 - Santa Barbara, United States. Chris Wilcox
Elephants in the Santa Barbara Zoo may soon have to pack their trunks and move, pending an upcoming decision by the California State Legislature. On April 25, a California Assembly committee passed the Elephant Protection Act, which will go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for approval May 10. The bill, CA AB 3027, would require California’s zoos to expand their elephant enclosures to at least five acres and to stop using certain elephant handling tools, or risk losing their eleph...
2006-04-27 - Rochester, New York, United States.
The next time you go to the zoo there's a new exhibit to check out. Rochester's African elephants, Genny C and Lilac, now have a new place to call home. On Thursday Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and the zoo SpokesKids cut the ribbon for the opening of the new African elephant exhibit. “I think the elephants will love it hear and have a happy home just like in the wild,” said Seneca Park Zoo SpokesKid Jacob Reynolds.
2006-04-06 - Orlando, Florida, United States.
Save The Elephants (STE) announced today that founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D. was honored by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund as a leading wildlife advocate for his work to preserve endangered animals. Douglas-Hamilton was one of five conservationists receiving this Disney honor. The others include international actress and model Isabella Rossellini, Dr. Jane Goodall, actor John Cleese and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.
2006-04-06 - Vienna, Virginia, United States.
Today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® announced that it will fund a reproductive research study conducted by scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park. The $135,000 commitment will be distributed over the next three years in support of the National Zoo’s efforts to increase the captive population of the endangered Asian elephant.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® (CEC) proudly announced today the birth of a healthy female Asian elephant – marking the twentieth birth in what is already one of the most successful Asian elephant breeding programs. The calf, born on April 6, 2006, 9:08 p.m. at 295 pounds, is a rare second-generation offspring of eleven-year-old Shirley and thirteen-year-old Romeo, who were also born into the Ringling Bros.® conservation program.
2006-03-03 - Washington, United States. National Zoo Press Release
Continuing two decades of elephant conservation and research, Smithsonian’s National Zoo elephant experts and a team of German veterinary scientists last night completed the first of what may be two artificial insemination procedures on Shanthi, one of the Zoo’s Asian elephants. Shanthi is approximately 30 years old, and is the mother of Kandula, the Zoo’s four-year-old male, who was conceived by artificial insemination conducted by the same team of scientists in February 2000.
2006-03-03 - WACO, Texas, United States.
A 25-year-old woman climbed past barriers and into an elephant's zoo exhibit, then crawled out with minor injuries after the 6,000-pound animal smacked her with its trunk. "That's how an elephant reacts to something they would perceive as a threat," said Cameron Park Zoo director Jim Fleshman. After saying she wanted to play with the elephant, the woman climbed over a 3-feet-high wood-and-wire fence, scaled an 8-foot-tall artificial rock structure and bypassed an electric wire before jumping int...
2006-03-01 - New York, United States.
Why do you have to walk through the Midtown Tunnel? Our circus train is too long and we are allowed to take up only so many feet of commuter train track. We would take up so many of the tracks that it just wouldn’t work out. How long is the trek? It’s about two and a half to three miles. The elephants already walk three miles daily to keep in shape, so this is no problem. Our oldest elephant, Mysore, is 58 years old, so even though she gets her daily exercise, we’ll d...
2006-02-24 - PHILADELPHIA, United States.
An animal-rights activist was banned from the Philadelphia Zoo for online comments directed at the facility's chief executive. Marianne Bessey, leader of Friends of Philly Zoo Elephants, wrote in an Internet chat room called the Elephant Connection about Dulary, an elephant kept in a concrete barn since August. She said zoo director Alexander L. "Pete" Hoskins might suffer nightmares about Dulary, a 42-year-old, injured elephant in his care, and might indeed be past his own life expectancy, the ...
2006-02-23 - Chicago, United States. Leah Hope
Chicago is the city that works and one alderman wants this city to be the one that works for elephants. An ordinance proposed by 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith to protect the animal attracted global attention at City Hall Thursday. As elephants roam at a sanctuary in Tennessee and visitors stop in awe of the elephants at Brookfield Zoo, a debate rages about what's best for elephants in captivity.
2006-02-22 - CHICAGO, United States.
In an effort to force passage of a city-wide ordinance that would effectively ban elephants from zoos and circuses, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is parading a steady stream of elephant "experts" in front of Chicago reporters. What the media won't hear, however, is PETA's own dismal record regarding the welfare of elephants and other animals.
2006-02-22 - Seattle, United States. Marisa McQuilken
In 1990, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association deemed Woodland Park Zoo's elephant forest "best new exhibit." Today, Seattle's seemingly plush pachyderm quarters have garnered a much different title. The animal-rights organization In Defense of Animals has named Woodland Park Zoo one of the country's 10 worst for elephants.
2006-02-15 - Seneca, United States.
A national animals rights group is calling for the end of elephant breeding at the Seneca Park Zoo. The group called "In Defense Of Animals" says breeding elephants in zoo conditions endanger their lives. Last week, Genny C lost her baby during delivery after 21 months of pregnancy. Genny C is doing fine. The Seneca Park Zoo says it takes pride in its animal treatment and says this group has a much larger agenda, shutting down zoos altogether.
2006-02-14 - Seattle, United States. Njoki Kibanya
On 14th February 2006, Jazz musician Kenny G & actor Pierce Brosnan came together and held a "Save the Elephants" Valentine's Day benefit whose proceeds went to the Save the Elephants Trust. Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Founder, Save the Elephants attended the benefit and said it was "just sensational".
2006-02-09 - Seneca, United States. Marketta Gregory
The baby elephant expected at Seneca Park has died during delivery, county officials announced today. The elephant's 28-year-old mother Genny C went into labor at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, but it was determined by 10 a.m. today that the calf was not responding. "Our baby elephant has died," said County Executive Maggie Brooks. "Our concern now shifts to Genny C and her well-being."
2006-02-09 - New York, United States.
Rosamond Gifford Zoo will be paying a $10,000 fine to the USDA after their plan to use the money for something else was rejected. The zoo was fined after the death of the four-day-old elephant baby Kedar, who died on August 4th, hours after he fell into a swimming pool in the zoo's elephant exhibit.
2006-02-07 - Bronx, United States. JOSEPH BERGER
Elephants have never lost the capacity to astonish and delight. But in New York City in the not-so-distant future, they will not be doing their astonishing and delighting at a zoo. The Bronx Zoo, the only zoo left in the city that keeps elephants, said yesterday that it planned to shut down its exhibit after the death of two of its three elephants, or even one.
2006-02-06 - Wheeling, West Virginia, United States.
Trains students to be competent elephant managers. Course content focuses on the foundation necessary for developing comprehensive and proactive elephant management programs. Students will take away skills for creating self-sustaining elephant management programs.
2006-02-03 - Leesville, United States. WILL TUBBS
Nearly five tons of living, breathing pachyderm awaits visitors at the American All-Star Circus this weekend. Queeny the Elephant will perform in the three-ring circus and will be available for adults and children to ride. Queeny, who is 38 and lives outside Houston with her trainer, Will Davenport, hails from India and tips the scales at a svelte 9,860 pounds
2006-02-02 - Detroit, United States.
The non-profit group In Defense of Animals filed a petition today claiming U-S zoos are violating the federal Animal Welfare Act in their treatment of elephants. The petition cites the Detroit Zoo’s decision last year to close its elephant exhibit and send its animals to a sanctuary in California.
2006-02-02 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
The Citizen Petition filed today with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by an animal rights group is yet another transparent attempt to generate controversy where there is none, said the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. These extremists have targeted elephants as the first, but not the last, species they want to ban from zoos. In fact, they have plainly stated that their goal is to close all zoos.
2006-01-30 - Richmond, Illinois, United States. Jeff Long
Two Asian elephants began a 650-mile journey Monday from a troubled circus training farm near far north suburban Richmond to a sanctuary in Tennessee, where operators have promised them a life of ease and comfort. "The biggest difference for them will be that the barn's more open," said Scott Blais, the sanctuary's co-founder. "It's a lot brighter, with natural light."
2006-01-27 - Washington, United States. Daniel Engber
Veterinarians at the National Zoo put down two animals this week: an arthritic, 40-year-old elephant named Toni and a 13-year-old cheetah with kidney problems named Wandu. What happens to zoo animals when they die? First, a necropsy is performed, and then the remains are cremated.
2006-01-27 - WASHINGTON, United States.
A memorial service will be held outside the National Zoo Saturday to mourn an Asian elephant. Toni, a 40-year-old Asian elephant, was euthanized Wednesday, after suffering for years from a leg injury and arthritis. Monks from the Wat Thai center in Silver Spring will offer a Buddhist blessing. Event organizers will hand out stickers that read, "I'm a friend of Toni, are you?" to shine light on the issue of large animals held in captivity.
2006-01-27 - Richmond, Illinois, United States.
Two of the eight elephants leaving a troubled circus-training facility near Richmond in McHenry County are tentatively scheduled to depart Sunday for a sanctuary in Tennessee, a sanctuary official said. But the owner of the elephants, who agreed to give them up after allegations of animal cruelty were made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said a Monday departure is more likely.
2006-01-26 - WASHINGTON, United States.
An animal rights group on Thursday appealed to the U.S. National Zoo in Washington to send its three remaining Asian elephants to an animal sanctuary and close its elephant exhibit. The appeal came a day after the zoo put down an arthritic Asian elephant who was said to have been in worsening pain. The elephant named Toni was 40. Elephants can live to be 60 or older.
2006-01-25 - WASHINGTON, United States. Vera Cohn and Karlyn Barker
An ailing National Zoo elephant, whose worsening arthritis made her the flashpoint of a debate over whether her species belongs in zoos, was euthanized yesterday after her condition deteriorated dramatically. Toni, an Asian elephant, was 40 years old, about two decades short of the typical expected lifespan. She had been at the Smithsonian Institution animal park since 1989.
2006-01-25 - Cincinnati, United States. KRISTIN L. VEHRS
Regarding the Enquirer the Your Voice opinion piece of 15 January 2006, "The Cincinnati Zoo lags in humane elephant care": the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) challenges the authors' comments and misrepresentation of the Zoo, its dedicated employees and volunteers. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden was recently accredited for the fifth time since 1978 by the AZA, which accredits only those zoos and aquariums meeting the highest standards in animal care, conservation, science and ...
2006-01-25 - LINCOLN, Nebraska, United States.
Representatives of the producers of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus plan to speak out against a bill targeting elephant cruelty. The measure is one of the most talked about bills introduced this year. It would prohibit the use of bullhooks, electrical prods, ax handles and other devices on elephants in Nebraska. The bill would not ban elephants at circuses and zoos in the state.
2006-01-24 - Nashville, United States.
The yearly arrival of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus brings one very strange sight to downtown Nashville – a parade of elephants. Every year when the elephants in the circus arrive, they get off a train at Union Station and march down Broadway to the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Children line up every year to watch the pachyderm parade, and this year was no exception.
2006-01-23 - Washington, United States. Jennifer Viegas
In a female elephant gang, few animals bother the oldest and biggest of the group because they know she will not put up with any nonsense, according to a new study that found age and size determine wild female elephant hierarchies. The study, published in the current issue of Animal Behavior, presents some of the first data on dominance and the social lives of adult, wild female elephants, Loxodonta africana. Females of this species hang out together in family groups for most of their lives.
2006-01-21 - Rochester, New York, United States. Victoria E. Freile
Genny C may be weeks away from giving birth, but she'll move into the Seneca Park Zoo's new elephant habitat in a matter of days. Those who want to see Genny C and the zoo's other South African Bush elephant, Lilac, better visit soon. The animals are expected to move to the new habitat Monday, but it won't be open to the public until spring, said zoo Director Larry Sorel.
2006-01-16 - Neverland, United States.
Michael Jackson has been accused of animal cruelty at his all-but abandoned Neverland ranch. Animal rights activists have demanded an urgent probe into conditions at the sprawling estate. They claim giraffes, elephants and other creatures are imprisoned in squalid and cramped surroundings. Shocking photographs appear to reveal animals surrounded by their own faeces.
2006-01-15 - Cincinnati, United States. Les Schobert
The Cincinnati Zoo's approach toward elephants is about as outdated as its elephant building, which was built in 1906 ("Elephant exhibit poses care issues," Jan. 2). The zoo ignores the wealth of scientific knowledge gained about elephant behavior and biology over the past several decades that should guide the care of elephants in captivity today.
2006-01-10 - , United States. Linda Wilson Fuoco
African elephants will live and breed at a 724-acre International Conservation Center in Somerset County in the not-so-distant future. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is acquiring the land in Fairhope and Allegheny townships with $2.2 million from The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Va.
2006-01-10 - Somerset Co., United States.
Glen Savage Ranch, just north of Fairhope in Somerset County, is well known for it's hunting and beautiful scenery, but in just a few years you can add elephants, rinos, and even cheetahs to the mix. The land is being purchased by the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium to be a one of a kind conservation and breeding center for endangered African elephants.
2006-01-10 - VALLEJO (BCN), United States.
It stinks to be an elephant at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo but not for the usual reasons, according to Mill Valley-based In Defense of Animals, a non-profit animal advocacy group. The group included the local amusement park and zoo in its second annual "Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants" list, according to In Defense of Animals spokeswoman Suzanne Roy. The zoo was also included in the inaugural list last year.
2006-01-10 - ATLANTA, United States.
Starlet, Victoria and Zambezi, female elephants at Zoo Atlanta, will be leaving the zoo for good next winter to breed at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The three, all in their early 20s, are not expected to return to Atlanta and will be replaced by two older female elephants from Disney's Animal Kingdom: Robin, 34, and Petunia, 32. Because Zoo Atlanta has neither male elephants nor adequate space to breed the animals and raise the calves, the trio in prime breeding age must go elsewhere.
2006-01-09 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
Exciting things have been happening for elephants in zoos since January 2005. That's when directors of the 78 American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) accredited zoos that exhibit elephants endorsed an aggressive new elephant conservation vision. Progress since that meeting includes new babies, new elephant habitats and more conservation programs. These and other advancements made the "AZA Top 10 Elephant Success Stories" list for 2005.
2006-01-09 - Pittsburgh, United States. Jennifer Antkowiak
KDKAs Jennifer Antkowiak reports that at least 20 elephants will be moving in to a big ranch. Elephants are critically endangered in the wild and in captivity. The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium hopes to turn things around by banking on their own world renowned success with the care and breeding of African elephants. The zoo is ready to set up a conservation center on a 724 acre ranch off of Route 31 in Somerset County.
2006-01-07 - Richmond, Illinois, United States.
Authorities say it could take several weeks for a necropsy to determine whether disease killed a 40-year-old Asian elephant last week at a circus-training facility in the McHenry County town of Richmond. Carol Buckley, executive director of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, said Sue the elephant fell down December 19th after receiving a tranquilizer before a blood test.
2006-01-03 - Santa Barbara, United States.
The Animal Care Department is seeking a keeper to become an active member in the elephant program team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and the guest experience. This position is part of a hard working, progressive animal care team. Although focused on the Zoo's elephants, members of the team also work with other species.
2006-01-03 - OAKLAND, United States. Guy Ashley
Osh, the massive bull elephant who recently completed his first year at the Oakland Zoo, is making friends. And that's downright thrilling news for zookeepers looking to the hulking adolescent to jump-start Oakland's elephant breeding program and rebuff critics who say spotty success shown by zoos worldwide in spawning new generations of the massive pachyderms is but one signal that elephants don't belong in captivity.
2006-01-03 - Los Angeles, United States. Ian Sample
Elephants roaming the parched plains of Africa's national parks can get up to half their food by risky midnight raids into crop fields, according to scientists who tracked a herd by satellite monitoring. Conservationists working for Save the Elephants Foundation in Kenya hope that by understanding the elephants' behaviour, they can improve ways of protecting farmers against damage caused by the animals, and in turn protect the elephants from angered farmers. "When an elephant raids a crop field,...
2006-01-03 - Oregon, United States. HENRY FOUNTAIN
Like Christmas, musth comes but once each year. And for the male elephants that go through it, that's a good thing. For during musth, a period of heightened sexual activity marked by extremely high testosterone levels, males become very aggressive and can work themselves into a frenzy. (The term, first described in Asian elephants, is derived from a Persian word meaning "drunk.")
2006-01-02 - Cincinnati, United States. Dan Klepal
Elephants have been a major draw at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden for nearly a century. As the zoo embarks on a $2.6 million campaign to expand its elephant exhibit, a plan that includes bringing in a bull elephant so it can begin a captive breeding program, several other zoos have closed exhibits under public pressure after animal deaths or mistreatment allegations.
2006-01-02 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
The chemicals in tail hair discloses the secret of the African elephants' diet and movement, U.S. scientists reported on Monday. Analyzing specific tail hair chemicals, and tracking the subject elephants with radio collars, can help reduce human-elephant conflicts and determine where to establish sanctuaries to protect the endangered creatures, claimed the researchers. Their findings were published in the Jan. 3 online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
2005-12-28 - PHILADELPHIA, United States. Robert Strauss
Some things haven't changed at the Philadelphia Zoo, America's oldest, founded in 1874. It is still open every day and, for the time being, it still has elephants. But in Philadelphia, as in zoos around the country, the question of whether elephants should be kept at all zoos -- or maybe even any zoo -- has almost abruptly become a sensitive one.
2005-12-26 - Hudson, New Hampshire, United States. Scott Menns
Bensons Wild Animal Farm was founded in 1924 by John T. Benson. Benson was a famous wild animal trainer for circuss and Hollywood. He bought some land in what was then Hudson Centre (now Hudson), and started a wild animal farm and training business. In 1943, John Benson died and the park was purchased by a group of Benson's executives.
2005-12-25 - SAN ANDREAS, California, United States. ELLEN CREAGER
Wanda trundled down the hill from the elephant barn to meet her elephant friend, Annie. Then she drank from a pond. Then she wandered all by herself down a path to lie in the grass and snooze. The humans, when they came back from a walk, could not see her.
2005-12-23 - Pittsburgh, United States.
Jackson, the 27-year-old, 11,000-pound bull elephant who lives at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, became a father again on Monday. Donna, an elephant at Disney's Animal Kingdom, gave birth to a 233-pound female calf conceived two years ago with Jackson. The calf is doing well, according to Disney officials. The new calf is the fourth of Jackson's offspring.
2005-12-21 - San Antonio, TX, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian. Minimum qualifications include ability to work weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours assignments; valid drivers ...
2005-12-19 - PHILADELPHIA, United States.
A grassroots organization is trying to convince the Philadelphia Zoo to send its elephants to a sanctuary where they will have more living space. Friends of the Philly Zoo Elephants this week took a petition drive to the Gallery, a downtown shopping mall. "The issue is heating up, and we think if we can get enough publicity, the zoo will do the right thing and send the elephants to the sanctuary," said Rowan Morrison, a member of the group. "The zoos don't have enough space."
2005-12-17 - San Jose, United States.
A star circus performer will rivet outraged animal lovers today when he goes on trial in San Jose for allegedly gouging an elephant with a hooked stick. While critics have long protested that circus animals endure miserable confinement and painful handling and training, the trial of Mark Oliver Gebel, an elephant handler at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is a rare criminal prosecution.
2005-12-16 - Louisville, United States. Joseph Gerth
If it's true that elephants never forget, yesterday will be one to remember for pachyderms in Louisville. The Metro Council voted last night to allow elephant rides to resume at circuses in the city, despite pleas from animal-rights activists. The ordinance was adopted 17-4 and could open the door for the Kosair Shriners to resume the rides at the group's annual circus in February, if it can comply with the ordinance's requirements.
2005-12-15 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
The three elephants at Los Angeles Zoo — Gita, Ruby and Billy — need three times more space than their current quarters but it comes with a price tag of $50 million, according to a report on the future of pachyderms at the zoo. The independent report was commissioned by Los Angeles' new mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, after years of debate about the keeping of elephants in captivity at the city-owned zoo.
2005-12-09 - Phoenix, United States. Katie Ruark
You wouldn't know it by looking at them, and it's certainly not something you'd see on the sign in front of their exhibit, but the Phoenix Zoo's elephants all have storied pasts. All three of the zoo's Asian elephants are former circus animals with at least one incident of hurting someone. Reba, the zoo's most aggressive elephant, killed a Ringling Brothers trainer in 1993 when she knocked him down and stepped on him.
2005-12-07 - Richmond, Illinois, United States. Michael Hartigan
After months of government negotiations to resolve charges of animal mistreatment, nine elephants from The Hawthorn Corp, Richmond, Illinois will pack their trunks and move to the 2,700-acre Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, where they will live in a free-roaming environment.
2005-12-01 - Greenbrier, United States.
Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary has become the first recipient of the Institution of Excellence Award given by the Elephant Managers Association (EMA). Additionally Heidi Riddle was presented with the EMA President’s Award for “Outstanding Service” to the Association. In the past, Heidi has served as President of the EMA, as a member of the Board of Directors and continues to be very involved in helping the organization through her position as Chair of the EMA Legislative Commit...
2005-11-14 - Fort Worth, United States.
Christmas arrived early for the Fort Worth Zoo when a 5-ton gift arrived not by sleigh and nine tiny reindeer, but by an 18-wheeler featuring a 40-foot, semi-trailer specially designed to safely and comfortably transport elephants. An expert staff from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC) delivered the gift of a 33-year-old bull elephant
2005-11-03 - ROSEMONT, United States. Mike Parker
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is in town, and the show knows it's being watched by animal rights activists, who are opposed to keeping big animals in circuses and zoos. "It doesn't bother me because these people for me, they don't know what they're talking about," said trainer Sacha Houcke.
2005-10-23 - Indianapolis, United States. Diana Penner
Kubwa, the Indianapolis Zoo's 29-year-old, 7,500-pound new mother, and her baby bull are part of science that someday could save the lives of wild elephants. The mother and baby, and the Indianapolis Zoo's other five elephants, all are African elephants, and their cousins are so scarce in some parts of the African continent that they are considered threatened or endangered. But the massive mammals are so abundant in other areas that they have to be culled.
2005-10-22 - Philadelphia, United States. Julie Stoiber
Philadelphia Zoo veterinarians are monitoring Dulary the elephant for kidney-function problems, a side effect of antibiotics she took after being injured in a fight in late summer with stablemate Bette. Doctors are not sure whether the 9,000-pound Asian elephant, who is 41, has a kidney infection or inflammation but have taken her off the medicine thought to have caused the problems, said Andy Baker, senior vice president for animal programs at the zoo.
2005-10-21 - Bridgeport, United States. Jody Minalgo
Some kids dream of going to outer space. Some kids want to be movie stars. And some kids fantasize about joining the circus. Twenty-five-year-old Mike Hayward was no different. However, unlike the many children who eventually abandon their childhood fantasies, Hayward a native of Southwest England and a lifelong animal lover, made his a reality.
2005-10-21 - Philadelphia, United States. GLORIA CAMPISI
The pachyderms may be packing it in at the Philadelphia Zoo. Zoo officials could scrap plans for a costly new elephant exhibit within weeks, and decide to send away the zoo's herd. But that decision would have nothing to do with a recent clash between two of the pachyderms that may have blinded the right eye of one of them, they said. Dulary, 41, the zoo's only Asian elephant and the matriarch of the four-elephant herd, suffered a cut on her eyelid in a shoving match with a younger African eleph...
2005-10-20 - ANN ARBOR, United States. Nancy Ross-Flanigan
Details about the life of a young woolly mammoth that died thousands of years ago are emerging from a study of the animal's fossil tusk. One intriguing finding: the calf nursed from its mother six or more years, apparently depending on the calorie-rich milk to survive in harsh, arctic conditions. A research team from the University of Michigan, Wrangel Island State Preserve and the University of Minnesota will present the results of their tusk analysis Saturday (Oct. 22) at a meeting of the Soci...
2005-10-19 - Tampa, Florida, United States.
Surrounded by the zoos family of elephants, Ellie, a 20-year-old, African elephant at Tampas Lowry Park Zoo gave birth to the male calf before dawn Monday, October 17, in her night house maternity ward. The calf represents the first and only elephant born at Tampas Lowry Park Zoo. Upon arriving at the zoo early Monday, elephant keepers were greeted at the door of the maternity ward by the 205-pound baby elephant already standing on his own.
2005-10-15 - Audubon, United States. Steve Sabludowsky
While elephants from Audubon Zoo are helping with the cleanup efforts to remove the debris at Audubon Zoo, primarily by eating it, many former Audubon employees are being forced out of their jobs as Audubon is cleaning house due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The elephants are eating oak leaves and bark the former employees—many who have given their lives to the zoo are eating dirt and its, not paydirt
2005-10-10 - Portland, Oregon, United States.
2005-10-05 - Belleville, Illinois, United States. ELIZABETH DONALD
What do you do with 8 cubic yards of elephant dung? That's the problem facing the Troy Chamber of Commerce -- so step right up and get yours. The Kelly Miller Circus is in town through today, and under the contract, it's the chamber's responsibility to get rid of the animals' excretions. With three elephants and a herd of other exotic animals, that's about 8 cubic yards, or two medium-sized Dumpsters -- of aromatic manure over the two days the circus is in town.
2005-10-05 - Portland, Oregon, United States. Oregon Zoo
Elephant Managares Association (EMA), USA. The emphasis will be placed on bull management but all topics on elephant management are welcome. Pretrip to Point defiance Zoo, Post trip to Wildlife Safari, Winston, Oregon.
2005-09-28 - Les Schober, United States.
The growing national debate over zoos' ability to adequately provide for elephants demonstrates wide public concern about current conditions for Earth's largest land mammal. Now the controversy has landed in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Zoo is planning to build a $16 million, two-acre elephant exhibit that, relative to zoo industry advances, is already outdated. The North Carolina Zoological Park built its three-acre enclosure 25 years ago, and is currently increasing to six acres. The Oakland Z...
2005-09-27 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States.
Former Detroit Zoo elephants Wanda and Winky are making a good adjustment to their new home at an animal refuge in California, an official there says. "They've integrated very well with the rest of the elephants," said Pat Derby, founder of the Ark 2000 elephant sanctuary. Reports say that Wanda spent one night last week sleeping in dewy grass. Winky will swallow her medicine only if it is wrapped in French sourdough bread, while Wanda gets hers in Fig Newtons.
2005-09-24 - BROWNSVILLE, United States. Lynn Brezosky
When it comes to smuggling animals across the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Wildlife Inspector Ed Marshall has seen it all. In 2001, an African elephant was smuggled across the Gateway International Bridge on a truck. "They call it the 'Dumbo Case,'" Marshall said, shaking his head. Exotic birds given Valium or tequila so they stay quiet through Customs inspections. Sleeves moving with hidden reptiles. Wildcats stashed in trunks. Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized two white t...
2005-09-22 - NIAGARA FALLS, NY, United States.
Kelly-Ann, an 8,000 pound female Asian elephant from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Circus painted the breathtaking view of Niagara Falls today with children from a local school. Today (9/22) is National Elephant Appreciation Day, and was also proclaimed "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Kelly-Ann Day" in Niagara Falls, N.Y. by the city's mayor.
2005-09-22 - Los Angeles, United States. Dana Bartholomew
How big a yard does an elephant need? The answer could decide whether the city builds a $19 million pachyderm exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo or packs off its three elephants to an elephant sanctuary. Elephant experts argued for and against the two-acre exhibit this week before Los Angeles Zoo commissioners. Next week, the mayor is expected to review an independent study on elephant quarters at the zoo.
2005-09-21 - Cincinnati, United States.
Name: Cecil Jackson Jr. Title: Elephant manager (trainer, head keeper). Residence: Owen County, Ky. Age: 44. Family: Single, three children. Years of service: 30 (began working with dad Cecil Sr., a trainer, at age 14). Best part of job: Being able to work day-to-day with such big, enormous animals as elephants, that are about to go into extinction and trying to help avoid that.
2005-09-20 - SEATTLE, United States.
Woodland Park Zoo officials hope that this time, the stork comes for the elephant. An ultrasound taken Sunday morning revealed that Woodland Park Zoo's 26-year-old Asian elephant, Chai, is ovulating, prompting scientists to try once again to inseminate her artificially. Fresh bull elephant semen was rushed to Seattle from the Oregon Zoo in Portland and the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma on Sunday, and the tricky business was performed that evening.
2005-09-18 - SEATTLE, United States.
An ultrasound taken Sunday morning revealed that Woodland Park Zoo's 26-year-old Asian elephant, Chai, is ovulating, prompting two German scientists to try once again to inseminate her artificially. The scientists, Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt and Dr. Frank Goeritz, last tried to inseminate Chai in March. Zoo officials had to wait until June to learn that the procedure hadn't worked, and this is Chai's next cycle, said zoo spokeswoman Gigi Allianic. Elephants ovulate just three times a year.
2005-09-14 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States.
A 16,000-pound treadmill specifically built to exercise Maggie the elephant arrived at the Alaska Zoo, but the question remains: Just how do you get a more than 4-ton animal fighting the battle of the bulge to use a treadmill? Zoo director Tex Edwards is optimistic she can do it. "Every time we've undertaken to teach Maggie something new she has always learned it faster than we anticipated," Edwards said Tuesday. "She seems to enjoy new challenges."
2005-09-13 - El Paso, United States.
It's been nearly two months since El Paso City Council voted to look into expanding the El Paso Zoo elephant exhibit. Tuesday Mayor John Cook told KFOX the plans for expansion could be bigger than first announced. As KFOX was first to report, animal rights activists say Juno and Savannah suffer captivity-induced health problems, allegedly because they are kept on too small a plot of land.
2005-09-11 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States.
Responsibilities: The Sanctuary has immediate openings (2) for experienced elephant keepers. The qualified applicants will be charged with maintaining female African and Asian elephants in two separate multi-hundred acre habitats. Responsibilities include but are not limited to cleaning, food preparation, record keeping, behavior conditioning, construction, facility maintenance, keeper training and supervision.
2005-09-09 - Seattle, United States. David Hancocks
Usually, zoos seek publicity for major events, such as the arrival of a new elephant. But late last month, an Asian elephant named Bamboo was transported without fanfare from Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo to Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. It was a sad final chapter in a tragic story. The history of elephants in zoos is full of mental and physical pain. Wild elephants, astonishingly intelligent, perceptive and complex beings, live in caring and secure extended families that stay intact for life. But...
2005-09-08 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. Jane Ballentine
One of the largest gatherings of animal care experts in the country will take place in Chicago, from 13-18 September when the John G. Shedd Aquarium hosts the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Annual Conference. Experts in the arenas of veterinary care, education, wildlife conservation and animal training will meet to learn about their colleagues' latest research and best practices.
2005-09-01 - Sarasota, United States. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
If working with Elephants appeals to you, we have a great opportunity. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus has immediate openings for elephant handlers who aren't afraid to work hard caring for our elephants. Responsibilities include total animal care such as grooming, feeding, cleaning and exercising animals. You must be able to work flexible hours and must be able to lift/move up to 75 lbs. Prior experience working with Asian Elephants in a Free Contact environment is preferred.
2005-08-31 - San Andreas, United States. Raheem Hosseini
Ed Stewart tips a little white pill bottle sideways, dropping a fistful of blue and white capsules into a hunk of stale sourdough. It can mean only one thing: It’s time to give Winky her medicine. Winky is one of two Asian elephants to have recently come to the massive compound in San Andreas belonging to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, a non-profit organization advocating wildlife causes.
2005-08-31 - DELAND, United States. Etan Horowitz
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked the federal government on Tuesday to investigate Cole Bros. Circus after one of its elephants reportedly grabbed the arm of a woman at a Pennsylvania fair. The DeLand-based circus recently stopped using animals at its circus shows but continues to lease elephants to other circus operators. One of those elephants wrapped its trunk around an 18-year-old woman at a fair in Mount Pleasant Township, Pa., on Thursday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribun...
2005-08-28 - Los Angeles, United States.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently called for an independent review of three elephants' well-being at the Los Angeles Zoo. The study, anticipated to address housing and health needs, is to be conducted by the City Administrative Office and submitted to the mayor and city council by Sept. 30 of this year.
2005-08-28 - PHILADELPHIA, United States.
The Philadelphia Zoo may have to send some of its resident elephants packing if it can't secure millions of dollars from the state for a new elephant exhibit. The zoo's herd currently occupies a quarter-acre yard with an 1,800-square-foot barn, built in the 1940s. While the enclosure meets the current standards of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, some say it doesn't give the elephants the ability to forage or roam. Now, the zoo is urging the state to come forward with $7.2 million in c...
2005-08-27 - Pittsburgh, United States. Dwayne Pickels, PittsburghLIVE.com
A North Huntingdon Township woman says her first trip to the Westmoreland Fair ended in pain after a four-ton circus elephant grabbed her wrist with its trunk. "I guess I was just the unlucky one," Ellisha Long said Friday, nursing a bad sprain. Long, 18, said she and her boyfriend, Steve Parsons, went to the fairgrounds in Mt. Pleasant Township Thursday evening and stopped by Wambold's Circus Menagerie at 8:35 p.m.
2005-08-27 - Falcon Heights, United States. Jason DeRusha
Inside the grandstand you will find some beautiful paper. It's gorgeous. And it's made almost entirely from elephant poop. "And over here, this is my specialty paper," Karl Wald said to a customer. "This is what everybody likes." Wald, also known as "Mr. Ellie Pooh," is from South St. Paul and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Wald works with a group in Sri Lanka, where farmers often think of elephants as pests and kill them. Instead, Wald is trying to show the farmers how valuable the animals can be...
2005-08-26 - Tacoma, United States.
Bamboo, an Asian elephant, has arrived safely at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. She is settling into her new surroundings in the Asian Forest Sanctuary. The 38-year-old elephant was transported by air-conditioned truck Thursday night from Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Bamboo is in good health and appears to have handled the move very well. Animal care staff and veterinarians from Woodland Park Zoo accompanied her during the short trip.
2005-08-26 - INDIANAPOLIS, United States.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it secretly recorded the video of a trainer working for Carson & Barnes Circus. It says the footage shows a trainer instructing someone else on how to use electric prods and bull hooks to train them for performances. The circus is performing at the Marion County Fairgrounds this weekend. Before the first event Friday afternoon, circusgoers were met by protestors with PETA.
2005-08-26 - Chicago, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
Zoo elephants aren't educational -- they're entertainment for bored people, an animal expert testified before a City Council committee Thursday. Furthermore, children could learn more from watching a TV documentary than "two lonely female [zoo elephants] standing in a tiny area,'' said Joyce Poole, who has studied elephants in Africa for 30 years, including as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service.
2005-08-25 - CHICAGO, United States.
An animal behaviorist who has studied elephants for 30 years in Africa told a City Council committee Thursday she believes no zoo can adequately care for elephants without providing several miles of space for them to roam. Alderwoman Mary Ann Smith (48th) has introduced legislation that would require any zoo or other stationary animal exhibit to provide a minimum of 10 acres of space, five acres indoors and five outdoors, per elephant.
2005-08-23 - Bloomington, United States. Kris Kirschner
The Carson and Barnes Circus is a family-run operation that performs in smaller communities like Bloomington. In business more than 60 years, it's one of the last under the Big Top. But there are those who'd like to run this show out of town. "Some of the concerns are the methods of training the elephants." As Executive Director of the Monroe County Humane Association, Sarah Hayes cares about animals. Recently, her attention has focused on elephant training for the Carson and Barnes Circus. Vide...
2005-08-20 - Los Angeles, United States. Dana Bartholomew
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has called for an independent review of elephant quarters at the Los Angeles Zoo, a move that could determine whether to send the pachyderms packing to a wildlife sanctuary. The study puts on hold nearly $11 million requested to complete construction of the $19 million Pachyderm Forest, an exhibit already more than a year behind schedule.
2005-08-18 - DENVER, United States.
If a group of prominent ecologists have their way, lions and elephants could someday be roaming the Great Plains of North America. The idea of transplanting African wildlife to this continent is being greeted with gasps and groans from other scientists and conservationists who recall previous efforts to relocate foreign species halfway around the world, often with disastrous results.
2005-08-17 - Jacksonville, United States. Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently seeking an experienced elephant keeper. Preferred qualifications include a degree in biology or related field, a minimum of 5 years experience in an AZA accredited zoo with previous experience working protected contact. Must be familiar with the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care.
2005-08-17 - Columbus, United States.
A jumbo-sized loss for the Columbus Zoo, which is reporting the death of a seven-year-old Asian elephant. The zoo says Ganesh was found dead in his stall this morning when his keeper arrived for work. The cause of death wasn't immediately known. The animal had been on loan from Cincinnati's zoo, where he was born in 1998. He was moved up the road to Columbus in 2003 after becoming difficult to handle. The Columbus zoo is said to have better facilities for male elephants. It also has four other ...
2005-08-13 - St. Norfolk, Virginia, United States. DEBBIE LEAHY
Regardless of how one feels about zoos and circuses, the proposed elephant protection ordinance makes good sense. The ordinance sponsored by Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) would prohibit the chaining of elephants and the use of the bullhook; would require zoos to provide 10 acres of space per elephant and circuses to provide 3,600 square feet for a single elephant and an extra 1,800 square feet for each additional elephant.
2005-08-10 - Honolulu, United States. Ron Mizutani
After more than a year of practicing, it was time for the real thing. Vaigai, a 20-year-old Asian elephant at the Honolulu Zoo, was artificially inseminated Wednesday morning, but the procedure came a day earlier than expected. Zookeepers were expecting her to ovulate in two days, but instead it happened some time last night, which meant the A-I procedure had to be done this morning.
2005-07-31 - SYRACUSE, New York, United States.
After a 20-minute labor, an Asian elephant gave birth to a jumbo baby who was up and walking 10 minutes after he hit the ground Sunday at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park. Kedar, whose name means "powerful" in Hindi, weighed in at 345 pounds and stood 38 inches tall. Baby elephants usually weigh between 250 and 300 pounds. He was born at 9 a.m. Sunday to Targa, whose 20-minute labor and delivery was the fastest in the zoo's history, according to zoo director Dr. Anne Baker.
2005-07-28 - New York, United States.
Key to Elephant Conservation is in The Sauce: Fiery chillies keep elephants out of crops and make a great sauce, say African entrepreneurs. What do hot sauce aficionados and African elephants have in common? They both feel the burn of chilli peppers, the key ingredient for resolving human-elephant conflicts in Africa while raising money for farmers and conservation.
2005-07-27 - Lincoln, Illinois, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
A revised proposal to restrict the display of elephants will be introduced in the City Council today -- but critics say the new measure would still effectively prohibit pachyderms at zoos and circuses. Under the ordinance sponsored by Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th), Lincoln Park Zoo would need to devote 10 acres to every elephant. Zoos typically keep no fewer than three elephants at a time, making it impossible for the 35-acre Lincoln Park institution to host the animals.
2005-07-27 - Jon Humbert, United States.
Using logic, reason, science and a little heart, both sides of the Elephant debate in El Paso had their say today in the Council Chambers. After half hour presentations from the Zoo faction and Concerned Citizens for Savannah and Juno, the Council voted 8-0 to keep the Elephants in El Paso. Concerned Citizens made a plea to the Council to let the two elephants go to Tennessee to a sanctuary.
2005-07-26 - Syracuse, New York, United States. WILLIAM KATES
Keepers at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo _ already awaiting the birth of one new baby elephant this summer _ will be pacing the floor again next year when a second baby is expected. Romani, a 29-year-old Asian elephant, is due with her fourth calf in late spring or early summer of next year, Zoo Director Anne Baker said Tuesday. Any day now, 23-year-old Targa is expected to deliver her second calf, which will likely weigh between 250 and 300 pounds.
2005-07-25 - Vienna, United States.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® today announced it will fund ongoing research on endotheliotropic herpes viruses (EEHV) being conducted by the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park. The $180,000 gift will be distributed over the next three years to support the National Zoo's efforts toward treating, and ultimately curing, this typically fatal disease in young Asian elephants.
2005-07-21 - Chicago, United States.
A zoo association's investigation into why a 36-year-old African elephant collapsed while being trucked from a Chicago zoo to one in Utah where it died, identified "several concerns" but found no gross negligence by the animal's handlers. The animal, named Wankie, was among three African elephants that lived at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park outside Escondido until 2003, when they were moved to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. The pachyderms still belonged to the Escondido animal park.
2005-07-16 - Hollywood, United States.
Teri Hatcher has reportedly been caught up in a terrifying elephant stampede. The former James Bond girl and her seven-year-old daughter were on safari in Africa when a herd of elephants charged towards them. The scared pair realised they were in trouble when their guide started their jeep and yelled 'stampede', according to Britain's Daily Sport newspaper.
2005-07-05 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. Feld Entertainment, Inc.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC) today announced the birth of a healthy 314-pound male Asian elephant on June 1, 2005. The calf was born to 29-year-old mother Alana after only four hours of labor. The newborn is Alana’s fourth calf, and was fathered by Charlie, an Asian elephant sire at the CEC.
2005-07-03 - Pittsburgh, United States. Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
He walks amid giants without fear or trepidation. He doesn't bully or hit his charges, who are the six elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The smallest, a bull calf named Calee, weighs about 3,000 pounds. The largest, a bull named Jackson, weighs more than 10,000 pounds. Willie Theison doesn't give orders. He makes polite requests. "Move up," Theison says, inviting elephants, one at a time, to line up for daily baths. His voice, soft and calm, is louder than a whisper, but not by muc...
2005-06-26 - Metro Detroit, United States. JOHN GALLAGHER
Many people know that Hannibal was a Carthaginian general who led his army, including war elephants, across the Alps to attack Rome a couple of centuries before the Christian era began. But to get the feel of that campaign, to sit around the campfires of a multi-ethnic force teeming with rivalries and ambitions, takes more than a dry history.
2005-06-23 - Hugo, Oklahoma, United States.
A federal judge has cleared the way for four elephants to come to The Endangered Ark, a non-profit foundation. However, an appeal being considered by an animal rights group known for its publicity-generating stunts could be forthcoming. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled Tuesday that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has no legal standing to intervene in the move, which has not yet been scheduled.
2005-06-22 - Tucson, United States.
Tucson City Council members say they want to keep the elephants at Reid Park Zoo. Now, they'll have to come up with a plan to expand their pen, so the elephants can be bred. It looks as though Connie and Shaba will see more Tucson summers. That means zoo-goers will be able to see them. "I read the brochure that they had that they were thinking of maybe sending her someplace else, and it's great to have her here," said Mimi Cosentino, a visitor to the zoo.
2005-06-20 - Portland, Oregon, United States. PR Oregon Zoo
With no small amount of trumpeting and fanfare-on the part of the elephants, that is-the Oregon Zoo welcomed a new addition to its elephant herd today. Tusko, a 13,500-pound, 33-year-old male Asian elephant, arrived at 6 a.m. and joined Packy and Rama in the zoo's bull elephant group. Upon completion of his required quarantine period, Tusko will make his first public appearance in Oregon in about one month.
2005-06-19 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
They are a natural spectacle: elephants, with their flapping ears and loose skin like baggy trousers. Many people grew up watching these graceful giants at zoos. But recent controversies in several cities across the country – including the deaths of three elephants that once lived at the San Diego Zoo – spotlight an issue that animal rights advocates are rallying around: Is it humane to keep the largest land mammal on an acre or less, as many zoos do? That question is fast bec...
2005-06-17 - Portland, Oregon, United States.
Packy, the beloved Asian elephant of the Oregon Zoo, has taken home the 2005 title of Zoo Father of the Year. The Zoo Father of the Year award is special for the pachyderm clan because Packy is the only second-generation captive bull elephant in the world to become a successful father. Two of his offspring, Rama and Sung-Surin, still live with him at the zoo. Oregon Zoo Director Tony Vecchio viewed the Zoo Father of the Year vote as an opportunity to educate the public about Asian elephants
2005-06-17 - Tucson, United States. Jim Becker
Shaba and Connie have been at home at the Reid Park Zoo since most of us can remember. The City of Tucson wants to keep the two elephants, and a lot of Tucson seem to agree. It seems Shaba and Connie are like family. Their handlers have gotten to know them pretty well. Visitors young and old alike know something about them.
2005-06-15 - OKLAHOMA CITY, United States.
Former "Golden Girls" actress Rue McClanahan is trying to prevent four elephants from being transferred from Chicago to Hugo, Okla. because they were exposed to another animal with tuberculosis. McClanahan, an Oklahoma native, said she would prefer the four elephants be sent to the Elephant Sanctuary, a 2,700-acre preserve in Hohenwald, Tenn. McClanahan, an honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wrote a letter to state Rep. Ray McCarter, a Democr...
2005-06-13 - Salt Lake City, United States.
There are “big” things happening at Hogle Zoo this summer. The Zoo has opened its largest new animal exhibit in 25 years, the “Elephant Encounter” which brings a part of the Serengeti to Salt Lake City in the re-creation of an African plain featuring three African elephants and two white rhinoceros.
2005-06-06 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. Feld Entertainment, Inc.
The 38-year-old mother, Mala, delivered a healthy 310-pound female Asian elephant calf at 9:40 p.m. on April 21, 2005, after just 40 minutes of labor. The newborn is Mala’s sixth calf, and was fathered by Charlie, an Asian elephant sire at the CEC. An unprecedented seventeenth birth for the Ringling Bros. CEC.
2005-06-06 - El Paso, United States. Elizabeth O'Hara
Animal rights activists say it's a rare occasion to hear Juno trumpeting in her El Paso Zoo habitat. They say too often, she and Savannah, the area's only elephants, spend their days endlessly swaying out of the boredom and frustration they get from living at the zoo. "When you go down and see Savannah and Juno standing in their small enclosure with very little shade and not moving around a lot, I'm not sure that teaches children anything," said Marilie Sage, who heads up the local group, "Conce...
2005-06-06 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
Two hours before opening, handlers at the Houston Zoo busily prepare Thai, Shanti and Methai — their Asian elephant herd — for another day on exhibit and another day in captivity. The pachyderms are on exhibit 365 days a year, in a 25,000-square-foot enclosure, with a wooden platform that allows visitors to watch them wander around.
2005-06-06 - Tucson, United States.
The star's view: The mayor and council will likely consider a resolution committing the city to an expansion of the elephant habitat at the zoo. It should pass. It appears Tucson's elephants could get the support they need to stay at the Reid Park Zoo. The City Council likely will consider a resolution that would pledge Tucson's commitment to expand and improve the elephant habitat by a July 1 deadline.
2005-06-03 - Palo Alto, United States. Brian Handwerk
Elephants are being pushed into smaller and smaller spaces. And increasingly, they're pushing back. According to the National Geographic Channel documentary Elephant Rage, some 500 people are killed by elephant attacks each year. Such attacks are becoming increasingly common, researchers say.
2005-06-02 - Illinois, United States. Martha Moore
The fate of a dozen elephants in Illinois has become part of the debate over whether wild animals in captivity are being cared for properly — and even whether they can be — far from their natural habitat. (Related story: Neglect claims hamper zoos) Elephants owned by Hawthorn Corp., which rents elephants and lions to circuses, have been bound for new homes since Hawthorn reached an agreement last year with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hawthorn in Richmond, Ill., admitted to 19 violati...
2005-06-02 - Salt Lake City, United States. Amelia Nielson-Stowell,Deseret Morning News
Misha, a 7,240-pound elephant, was the VIP (or "Very Important Pachyderm") to cut the ribbon on Hogle Zoo's new Elephant Encounter exhibit Wednesday.A 110,000-gallon swimming channel, varying terrain, three separate yards and a heated surface area are part of the $5.5 million naturalistic habitat for African elephants Misha, Christie and Hi-Dari and white rhinos George and Princess.
2005-06-01 - Lake Buena Vista, United States. Neiffer DL, Miller MA, Weber M, Stetter M, Fontenot DK, Robbins PK, Pye GW. Disney's Animal Programs, Walt Disney World
Standing sedation was provided for 14 clinical procedures in three African elephants (Loxodonta africana) managed by combined protected and modified-protected contact and trained through operant conditioning. An initial hand-injection of detomidine hydrochloride and butorphanol tartrate at a ratio of 1:1 on a microg:microg basis was administered intramuscularly, with a dosage range of 50-70 mg (12.9-19.7 microg/kg) for each drug.
2005-06-01 - TUCSON, United States.
Reid Park Zoo needs money for a new elephant enclosure. If it doesn't get it, it will lose the two elephants it has. Sheba, one of the Tucson zoo's two elephants, is in her prime breeding stage. But the zoo's elephant enclosure is less than one-half-acre and isn't large enough to accommodate new residents. Zoo officials want to build a new seven-acre enclosure at a cost of eight (m) million dollars.
2005-05-31 - ASHEBORO, United States.
The North Carolina Zoo will soon have one of the nation's premiere elephant exhibits. In August, construction will start to double the size of the exhibit. The elephant population will also quadruple from three to 12. Many elephant exhibits are closing nationwide because there is not enough space for them to live properly.
2005-05-30 - Illinois, United States. Marc Kaufman
More than two years ago, federal officials concluded that 16 elephants owned by an Illinois circus-animal training business were being mistreated and had to be removed quickly. Facing the possible loss of his license to keep circus animals, the owner of Hawthorn Corp. formally agreed last year to give up his elephants as soon as a new home could be found. Fourteen months after that unprecedented agreement, however, most of the animals remain in an enclosed barn in rural Illinois, their future st...
2005-05-27 - El Paso, United States.
Zoo volunteers are now collecting signatures, petitioning city council to keep Juno and Savannah in El Paso. As we reported, animal rights activists say they've sent about 2 thousand postcards to the mayor's office in the last two and a half weeks asking council to remove the elephants and send them to a sanctuary in Tennessee.
2005-05-24 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. Frederick Philander
People love elephants, and according to a new national poll, most U.S. adults agree that seeing elephants and rhinos in real life fosters a greater appreciation of these majestic animals. According to opinion poll results released by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) today, 95 percent of U.S. adults agree that seeing elephants and rhinos helps people appreciate them more and encourages people to learn more about them and 93 percent agree that it is important that a marine life park...
2005-05-17 - Woodbury, United States.
Police answering a complaint about parked vehicles blocking Schunnemunk Road outside Kiryas Joel Sunday night came across an unexpected scene at the unoccupied Achdus Summer Homes bungalow colony. There, at around 6:30 p.m., they found an elephant lumbering and prancing for the delight of 400 to 500 people as circus music played through loudspeakers, police Sgt. Cliff Weeks said. Parked in the vicinity were roughly 50 to 70 cars, a tractor-trailer truck, a dozen school buses and a Kiryas Joel fi...
2005-05-16 - Oregon, United States. AP
Chendra, a ton and a half of Asian elephant, strolls along paths usually busy with families of visitors to the Oregon Zoo. The zoo has six elephants, and she is one of three trained to walk the grounds before visitors arrive. That's important for an elephant program, but the program may be facing problems.
2005-05-15 - Brownsville, United States. KEVIN GARCIA, Brownsville Herald
Having worked with almost every animal at the Gladys Porter Zoo since before it opened in 1971, the 63-year-old general curator Jerry Stones has come to know the zoo’s residents as family. As a result, the March 10 death of 41-year-old African elephant Macho, and subsequent birth of a young male orangutan on April 15, were significant events in his life — something that can be said for anyone who spends enough time with animals.
2005-05-14 - Oregon, United States. Katy Muldoon
Chendra's hips swing gracefully as she hustles along the edge of the concert lawn, past the snow cone stand and up a gentle incline an hour before the Oregon Zoo's gates open. With each step, she leaves enormous round footprints on the dewy pavement. The 2,820-pound Asian elephant trots along paths typically busy with moms pushing strollers and dads toting toddlers. Of the zoo's six elephants, Chendra is one of three trained to walk around the grounds before visitors arrive.
2005-05-14 - Chicago, United States. William Mullen and Jon Yate
Wankie, the last of three Lincoln Park Zoo elephants to die in a six-month period, had an undetected infection that reduced her lung capacity when she was shipped to Salt Lake City--a journey she did not survive. Zoo officials announced Friday that a preliminary pathology report showed Wankie had lung lesions that may have been caused by mycobacterium. Another of the zoo's elephants, 35-year-old Tatima, died in October of an infection of Mycobacterium szulgai, a rare, non-transmissable disease s...
2005-05-13 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
The elephants at the LA Zoo have always been popular with the public. But now the exhibit could be shut down if Antonio Villaraigosa is elected mayor,NBC4's Doug Kriegel reported. "I have believed for some time that a zoo is not an appropriate place for an animal as large as an elephant," Villaraigosa told Kriegel.
2005-05-11 - Massachusett, United States. Jon Brodkin, Daily News Staff
Animal rights activists are pressuring lawmakers to ban circus acts involving elephants, bears, lions and other wild or exotic animals, saying the creatures are forced to endure long travel and violent training techniques. A bill supported by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would make this the first state to ban using wild animals for entertainment, the group said. "Attacking the circus is like attacking motherhood and apple pie," said group President Larry Haw...
2005-05-11 - Phoenix, United States. Dennis Wagner
The Phoenix Zoo has retained three independent experts to help resolve a dispute over who should have the final say on wildlife medical care and whether recent mistakes led to a series of deaths and health problems with animals. The controversy pits veterinarians against animal caretakers - keepers, curators and administrators - who are closest to the animals.
2005-05-07 - NEW YORK, United States. Jack Myers
Well known paleontologist and conservationist Robert Leakey says climatic changes in the wake of global warming and decreasing forest cover could threaten the existence of animals like elephants, tigers and the rhinoceroses. It could be larger threat than poaching, he adds. Leakey, a former director of Kenya's wildlife service, who has convened an environment conference at Stony Brook University, urged the setting up of a new global fund to protect wildlife.
2005-05-03 - Lincoln, Illinois, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
A City Council hearing on elephant conditions at Lincoln Park Zoo has been postponed - but that doesn't mean the heat is off for zoo officials, an alderman said Monday. Mary Ann Smith (48th), chair of the parks and recreation committee, has reset the hearing for after the postmortem examination of the animal "so we can get to the bottom of this.''
2005-05-02 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States. Carol Buckley, The Elephant Sanctuary
Responsibilities: The qualified applicant will be charged with maintaining female African and Asian elephants in two separate multi-hundred acre habitats.Responsibilities include but are not limited to cleaning, food preparation, record keeping, behavior conditioning, construction and facility maintenance. The chosen candidate will be trained (in-house) to manage the elephants using the non-dominance technique of passive control.
2005-05-02 - CHICAGO, United States.
After two African elephants died within months of each other, officials at Lincoln Park Zoo decided to move Wankie, their sole remaining elephant, to Utah so she could live in a habitat with others of her species. But Wankie's health deteriorated while she was en route to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City and officials there were forced to euthanized her before dawn on Sunday, officials said.
2005-04-29 - Jacksonville, United States.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is currently seeking an experienced elephant keeper. Preferred qualifications include a degree in biology or related field, a minimum of 2 years experience in an AZA accredited zoo with previous experience working protected contact. Must be familiar with the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care.
2005-04-27 - Montgomery, United States. AZA
The Montgomery Zoo recently added a NEW Africian Elephant Exhibit and is in need of a Zoo Keeper II - Elephants. Here is your chance to get in on the Ground Floor and work in a Brand New, Technologically Advance African Elephant Exhibit. Minimum Qualifications: High school diploma or G.E.D. and two years professional animal care experience within the last 5 years or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
2005-04-27 - St. Louis, United States. AZA
Elephant Handler/Trainer Position Available. Grant™s Farm is a 281 acre wildlife preserve and historical site located just south of the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The Farm is the home of hundreds of exotic animals from around the world. Application Deadline: May 8, 2005.
2005-04-25 - ORLANDO, Florida, United States. Christina Ficara
Disney suffers a “profound loss” after an expectant mother at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom loses her baby at birth. The African elephant died in its mother’s womb Sunday afternoon. The mother elephant, Ibala, 26, went into labor early Saturday night after a 22-month gestation period. During the following hours, her contractions lessened, and a veterinarian had to induce labor. By late Sunday, veterinarians determined through an ultrasound that the baby elephant had died.
2005-04-19 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
Shanti, the Houston Zoo's reluctant mother, is pregnant again. The Asian elephant who gave birth to baby Bella last August is expected to have her second calf in late 2006. The pregnancy may have occurred outside the breeding protocol to which members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, or AZA, must adhere. The zoo first should have sought a recommendation for this second birth, according to the chairman of the advisory committee overseeing the group's elephant species survival plan.
2005-04-19 - Washington, United States. ROB CRILLY
A CONGOLESE botanist who stayed at his post to protect a nature reserve at the height of his country’s bitter civil war has won one of the world’s top environmental awards. Corneille Ewango negotiated with gunmen to stop them shooting elephants and gorillas for meat, and even found time to discover new species of trees. Yesterday, he was named one of the winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize, worth £65,000. "It’s my contribution to advancing science," he said. "Even if I die, I would...
2005-04-18 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is currently seeking an individual for a keeper position working with elephants. This individual will carry out all aspects of the daily care of assigned animals including cleaning, feeding, grooming, and observing animals. Responsibilities include, but not limited to, observing and evaluating animal conditions, providing daily husbandry, enrichment, training, exhibit maintenance, and record keeping.
2005-04-18 - El Paso, United States. AZA
This individual supervises and participates in the care and management of the segment of the Zoo's animal collection consisting of elephants, non-domestic hoof stock, primates, marine mammals and other exotic animals and the associated maintenance of exhibits, animal facilities grounds and service areas.
2005-04-18 - Wyoming, United States. Bjorn Carey
One million years ago, elephants and their cousins roamed the five major continents of the earth. Then humans came along. Today elephants can be found only in portions of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.There is a long-running debate over what drove elephants to extinction in some parts of the world and completely wiped other two other proboscideans, mammoths and mastodons. The two most argued hypotheses for their decline are climatic changes and over-hunting by humans. A recent archaeological...
2005-04-15 - ST. LOUIS, United States.
Around the St. Louis Zoo living area of Raja the male elephant, there's big news these days - he's apparently going to have a daughter. Blood tests indicate that Raja's first offspring will be a female, due around the first week of November. Martha Fischer, curator of the zoo's mammals-ungulates, said the baby's gender won't be known for sure until its birth.
2005-04-15 - POLK CITY, United States. Amber Smith
An elephant handler who was kicked by an elephant Wednesday is expected to make a full recovery. David R. Mannes, 52, of Clermont, was airlifted to Lakeland Regional Medical Center at 9 p.m. Wednesday after being kicked by an elephant at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Elephant Conservation Center near Old Grade Road in Polk City.
2005-04-15 - HOUSTON, United States.
Officials with the Houston Zoo announced they were forced to put the zoo's baby Asian elephant, Bella, to sleep Friday morning, Local 2 reported. Bella was recovering from surgery to repair a fractured right femur. Zoo officials said the 552-pound elephant stumbled on the soft ground, fell and fractured her leg Tuesday. The elephant, whose mother rejected her after birth, underwent 2½ hours of surgery in which doctors used four pins and a rod to repair the broken leg.
2005-04-15 - POLK CITY, United States. STEVEN N. LEVINE
An Indian elephant that seriously injured its trainer late on Wednesday will most likely rejoin the herd in a few weeks, Ringling Bros. vice president said on Thursday. Bruce Read, Ringling Bros. vice president of animal stewardship, said Tova, a 36-year-old female pachyderm weighing 6-7 tons, exhibited normal elephant hierarchy behavior about 9 p.m. when it trampled David R. Mannes, 52, of Clermont.
2005-04-14 - Indianapolis, United States. AZA
The Indianapolis Zoo is seeking a professional to join the staff of their progressive and internationally respected elephant program. The Indianapolis Zoo is known for its’ pioneering research in training, reproduction, and artificial insemination. We currently have 1.4 African elephants. The program will be expanding with the upcoming births of two calves. Experience with elephants is essential. Experience with elephant births and calves preferred.
2005-04-14 - POLK CITY, United States. Dana Willhoit, The Ledger
Paramedics airlifted a man trampled by an elephant shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. David R. Mannes, 52, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center after the incident, which happened on Old Grade Road, near Polk City. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Elephant Conservation Center is located nearby.
2005-04-12 - Washington, United States. Steve Connor, Science
Elephants have been hunted to extinction on several continents and their global demise over the millennia is the direct result of human migration rather than climate change, scientists have found.
2005-04-12 - Nashville, United States. Judy Sarles, Nashville Business Journal
More than 6,600 people turned out April 9 to the official opening of the Nashville Zoo's Cal Turner Family Foundation African Elephant Savannah exhibit. The zoo was expecting 5,000 to 8,000 people and the turnout was 6,651. On average, Saturday attendance at the zoo ranges between 4,000 to 5,000. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $3.5 million, three-acre elephant habitat, the Turner family was presented with a framed poster of art created by the exhibit's African elephants, Kiba, Sukari and H...
2005-04-09 - LOS ANGELES, United States. Catherine Saillant and Gregory W. Griggs
Construction crews have uncovered the skeleton of a fossilized mammoth believed to be older than the ancient beasts found at the La Brea Tar Pits. Larry Agenbroad, one of the nation's foremost mammoth experts, called the find "spectacular," especially if, as he suspects, it turns out to be of the rare meridionalis species.
2005-04-08 - SAN ANDREAS, California, United States. HUGH McDIARMID JR.
The Detroit Zoo elephants, Wanda and Winky, arrived safety at the Ark 2000 elephant sanctuary today at about 8 a.m. Eastern time. It took about 15 minutes for workers to unload Wanda starting at about 8:30 a.m., and she has been making herself comfortable at the sanctuary in San Andreas, about 70 west of Sacramento. Scott Carter, director of conservation and animal welfare for the Detroit Zoo, said he called zoo director Ron Kagan this morning and told him that “Wanda is curious, active and do...
2005-04-07 - Memphis, United States. Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN
We have an opening for a Keeper in our Pachyderm/Hooved Stock area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in exotic animal care, including one to two years of experience in a protected contact environment with elephants, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience).
2005-04-06 - Nebraska, United States. PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
The aging and arthritic Detroit Zoo elephants, Winky and Wanda, spent much of today rolling through Nebraska, munching on watermelon and sipping all the Gatorade they wanted in their specially-designed trailer that’s taking them to a California sanctuary. Once out of Nebraska, their trip will take them though Wyoming and Nevada. They’re expected to arrive at the sanctuary sometime Thursday.
2005-04-05 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States. UPI
The Detroit Zoo's aging elephants left Tuesday morning for the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary near Sacramento, Calif. The 2,300-mile trek in a retrofitted moving van will take 52 hours, the Detroit Free Press reported on its Web site. Wanda, 46, and Winky, 51, have been on a new, more aggressive regimen of anti-inflammatory drugs for two weeks. Wanda, whose arthritis is more severe than Winky's, will be able to take weight off her hindquarters by sitting on custom-made barriers.
2005-04-02 - NORFOLK, United States.
The Norfolk Zoo has a new addition, a 35-year-old African elephant named Cita. The elephant arrived this week to join Monica and Lisa, two other female elephants who have lived at the zoo for more than 30 years. The Indianapolis Zoo donated Cita to Norfolk to make room for the calves that two pregnant elephants are expected to bear later this year.
2005-03-29 - Sparks, United States.
Bertha was really special. We built her the Elephant Palace with a swimming pool. Jenda Smaha was a trainer from Czechoslovakia. One day he came in, and he said, “I quit.” Now what would you do with two elephants? I got on the phone and started calling all the circuses to find a trainer. We found T.J. Madison in Vermont. He was with Barnum and Bailey or some such. He was a very handsome man, six-three, a very, very nice person with a good personality.
2005-03-28 - WALNUT CREEK, United States. Chris Metinko, Knight Ridder Newspapers
In some people's minds, elephants are the ultimate symbol of strength and power. But on this particular Thursday morning, 36-year-old African elephant M'Dunda was more than content to stand in a restraint chute and eat carrots and potatoes. Oakland Zoo elephant manager Jeff Kinzley was scrubbing her feet. "The leading cause of death among elephants in captivity is foot problems," Kinzley said. "You have to look carefully."
2005-03-26 - SAN FRANCISCO, United States. Patricia Yollin
In the final moments, she had a chain to play with and sugar cane to eat. And then Tinkerbelle was put to sleep -- a sad and quiet end to the life of an Asian elephant who had charmed San Francisco Zoo visitors for more than three decades before turning into one of the most political animals in the country. The 39-year-old pachyderm was euthanized early Thursday afternoon after collapsing at the Sierra foothills sanctuary she moved to in November. ...
2005-03-24 - New York, United States. Johns Hopkins University school of medicine
Afrotheria - the theory, based on molecular evidence, that a superorder of mammals from aardvarks to elephants had its origins in Africa - could be in trouble before most people have learned to spell it. One of the groups embraced within the Afrotheria concept is macroscelideans, or elephant shrews. There are 15 of these small mammals and they all live in Africa. But, Shawn Zack of Johns Hopkins University school of medicine and colleagues report in Nature today, they may not have evolved in Afr...
2005-03-21 - Oakland, United States. Chris Metinko
In some people's minds, elephants are the ultimate symbol of strength and power. But on this particular Thursday morning, 36-year-old African elephant M'Dunda was more than content to stand in a restraint chute and eat carrots and potatoes. Oakland Zoo elephant manager Jeff Kinzley was scrubbing her feet. The change to protected contact was spurred on after an elephant killed his trainer in 1991. Ten years later, Smokey, the zoo's bull elephant, died unexpectedly.
2005-03-16 - Toledo, United States.
Another controversy regarding animal care has surfaced at the Toledo Zoo, this time involving the African elephant, Renee. Zoo offcials say that while Renee was being treated for Colic this week, a keeper mistakenly injected her with mineral oil instead of pain reliever. The Zoo's press release indicates that the mistake was discovered immediately and that the injection site was lanced and flushed and that the 26 year old elephant is doing well. Renee is the mother of Louis who was born two y...
2005-03-11 - BROWNSVILLE, United States.
A 41-year-old elephant believed to be the oldest of its kind in North America died Thursday. Macho, a male African elephant, died at the Gladys Porter Zoo where he had lived since the zoo opened in 1971. The cause of death had not been determined, but zoo officials said possibilities include stroke, blood clot, neurological deficit or infectious disease.
2005-03-10 - Chicago, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
In a Democratic town like Chicago, the donkeys rule at City Hall. But elephants made an appearance Wednesday as an alderman called for the closing of Lincoln Park Zoo's pachyderm exhibit and for its last occupant to be shipped to a sanctuary. Aldermen have no direct jurisdiction over the zoo. But Alderman George A. Cardenas (12th) said he introduced his resolution in the hope that zoo officials will testify about conditions at the North Side facility. The resolution...
2005-03-04 - HARTFORD, Connecticut, United States.
They may appear to be passive pachyderms, but performing elephants can be deadly, say some lawmakers who want to ban them from traveling shows and circuses in Connecticut. Elephants are trained through pain, force and fear, they say. Such experiences, combined with the effects of captivity, drive some to go on rampages and trample human beings, sometimes to death, activists say. "When they're not in their little pens, they're chained up," said Tom Rider, a former ...
2005-03-03 - Tucson, United States.
Do Tucsonans want to keep elephants as an attraction at the Reid Park Zoo? Are they willing to pay part of the $8.5 million to do it? Those questions are very much up in the air, and reactions on the issue have been mixed. Zoo officials told the City Council Tuesday a new $8.5 million enclosure needs to be built by 2009 that would allow the zoo's 25-year-old African elephant, Shaba, to be bred. If the new enclosure isn't built, the zoo would likely lose Shaba to another zoo with facilities to br...
2005-03-02 - Seattle, United States. TOM PAULSON
It is no small feat to artificially impregnate an elephant. The basics of artificial insemination may be routine, but a glance into the elephant house at the Woodland Park Zoo yesterday evening should have been enough to convince anyone that this super-sized branch of animal husbandry poses some uniquely huge problems. The object of this attention is Chai, the zoo's 26-year-old Asian elephant. She is already a mother, having given birth to Hansa, now 4, by natural means. But this required the st...
2005-03-02 - TUCSON, United States.
Reid Park Zoo could lose its two elephants if the City of Tucson doesn't come up with the money for a new eight and a-half (m) million-dollar enclosure. Councilman Steve Leal (lay-AHL') is balking at the price, saying the city has limited resources for parks and recreation facilities. No formal request for funds has been made, however. The zoo says it'll have to ship one of its African elephants, Shaba, to another zoo for breeding if the elephant encl...
2005-03-02 - SEATTLE, United States.
A ticklish business, artificially inseminating an elephant. With the help of high-tech ultrasound and computer gear, special protective clothing, wheelbarrows and not a little cooperation from Chai, a 26-year-old Asian elephant, Woodland Park Zoo officials hope the complicated process led by two German scientists will result in the pachyderm giving again birth, as she did four years ago. Chai got pregnant by natural means last time around, but it wasn't all candy and flowers. She ...
2005-02-25 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
Zoos to significantly increase support for conservation programs; 40 zoos plan to expand or build new elephant exhibits in the next 5 years. Directors of 78 American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) accredited zoos that care for elephants endorsed an aggressive new vision that focuses on ensuring elephants are part of the world's future. The commitment highlights plans for increased support for programs that aid in the conservation of elephants in Africa and Asia.
2005-02-24 - ALAMO, United States. Eric Louie, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Elephants can't do homework, as much as Rancho Romero Elementary School second-grader Justin Anderson wishes they could. An elephant also won't spank classmate Laura Ennis' sister, as Laura would like to see. But the captive pachyderms provided important help in Thailand after December's Indian Ocean tsunami, as depicted in "A New Job for Lalana," a new fiction book created by Justin, Laura and their young classmates to raise money for victims of the disaster. "Elephants are special," sai...
2005-02-23 - New York, United States. Joan Hunt
Touching, thought-provoking, and beautifully told, the story of Noah, and that of mankind, is one that will linger in your heart and your mind for a very long time. In The Way That Elephants Do by David Kilpatrick is a deeply moving epic tale of one elephant's life. Although the story is told from the perspective of an inquisitive and nomadic pachyderm, you're drawn into his world with ease. Danger, love, history, the world, and the connection between humans and animals are deftly combined in th...
2005-02-22 - San Diego, United States. Lindsey
Taking care of a single eight-ton elephant may seem like a big job, but keepers at the San Diego Zoos Wild Animal Park must care for 14 elephants (six Asian and eight African). Jeff Andrews, animal care manager, who oversees many animals including elephants, let us jump right in and participate in one of the most time-consuming tasks of an elephant keeper, picking up poop. A single elephant can excrete nearly 100 pounds daily, giving their keepers plenty to do.
2005-02-22 - San Diego, United States.
Taking care of a single eight-ton elephant may seem like a big job, but keepers at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park must care for 14 elephants (six Asian and eight African). Jeff Andrews, animal care manager, who oversees many animals including elephants, let us jump right in and participate in one of the most time-consuming tasks of an elephant keeper, picking up poop. A single elephant can excrete nearly 100 pounds daily, giving their keepers plenty to do.
2005-02-18 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. Jane Ballentine
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) have entered into a new partnership to help identify and fund critical conservation and research projects that will benefit Asian and African elephants. Populations of both the African and Asian elephants continue to decline in the wild. Human encroachment, habitat loss, and poaching pose major threats to wild elephants.
2005-02-18 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) have entered into a new partnership to help identify and fund critical conservation and research projects that will benefit Asian and African elephants. Populations of both the African and Asian elephants continue to decline in the wild. Human encroachment, habitat loss, and poaching pose major threats to wild elephants. In 1970, biologists estimated 1.5 million African elephants in the...
2005-02-18 - Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. U.S. Newswire
2005-02-18 - Chicago, United States.
A McHenry County circus trainer who federal officials accused of improperly caring for a herd of elephants is negotiating a plan to send his remaining 12 elephants to a Tennessee sanctuary. Talks began this week among Hawthorn Corp., its owner, John Cuneo, and the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., about having the remaining elephants join others from the northeast Illinois farm at the sanctuary. The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed charges in April 2003 th...
2005-02-17 - NEW HAVEN, United States.
Elephants, of course. The Asian elephant, the African forest elephant, and the African Savannah elephant. Before evolution settled on the ultimate model, it experimented with different shaped tusks, teeth, skulls, trunks and size. Check them all out at an exhibit sensibly called "Elephants!" at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. The exhibit runs through July 31. Modern elephants were preceded by a succession of now extinct elephant-like animals called proboscideans (from ...
2005-02-17 - LAKELAND, Florida, United States. JOAN TUPPONCE
Asha and Rudy are as playful as any 3-year-olds. But they aren't your typical toddlers -- the two are Asian elephants, both born at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. The Center for Elephant Conservation, celebrating its 10th anniversary in December, was founded by Kenneth Feld, chairman and chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment and president of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The center, which is just outside Tampa, Fla., has...
2005-02-16 - HOT SPRINGS, United States. Cathy Nelson
More than 50 scientists from 15 countries have already registered to attend and present papers at the second International World of Elephants Congress to be held at the Mueller Center in Hot Springs, South Dakota this September. The conference is open to the public. The Congress allows persons engaged in research on elephants, mammoths, mastodons and related fauna of the Pleistocene and Holocene to gather and share the results of their research with colleagues, as well as w...
2005-02-15 - Alexandria, Virginia, United States. U.S. Newswire
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is charged with abusing endangered Asian elephants, and former employee Tom Rider has new videotape evidence -- obtained from Ringling Bros. itself -- to prove his case. Rider, who quit the circus in 1999 to speak out against its cruelty, is protesting the circus's Feb. 17 opening in Atlanta. Some of the gruesome footage shows the birth of Riccardo, an elephant who died at the age of 8-months last August, after he fractured both hind legs when he fell of...
2005-02-14 - Hohenwald, Tennessee, United States.
After a six-year effort to help Lota, an aged Asian elephant diagnosed with tuberculosis, Lota was released to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. She died less than three months later. On November 17, 2004, after months of delays, Lota and Misty, one of her herd members who had also tested positive for tuberculosis, were released to the Sanctuary.
2005-02-13 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States.
The Daily News asked readers what they thought should happen to Maggie the elephant in Alaska Zoo. Here's a sampling of the many responses.
2005-02-12 - Indianapolis, United States. Dan McFeely
An elephant is pregnant, and pop icon Michael Jackson might just be a proud grandpa, sort of. Ivory, an African elephant at the Indianapolis Zoo, is expecting her second baby. And the father is . . . well, we don't really know. But there is a 50-50 chance that it's Ali -- once the proud pachyderm owned by Jackson, who tried to breed him at his Neverland zoo near Los Angeles before giving him away in 1997. Ali, who now resides at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida, is o...
2005-02-03 - Detroit, United States. HUGH McDIARMID JR.
Winky and Wanda, the Detroit Zoo's sanctuary-bound elephants, are still at least weeks away from their trip to a California retirement community. In the meantime, they're like many of us in the midst of a cold Michigan winter: staying indoors too much; enduring extra pain from arthritis and old athletic injuries; eating, eating and eating until we feel as big as ... well, you know. "The weather has not been kind to their arthritis," zoo Director Ron Kagan said Tuesd...
2005-02-01 - FORT WAYNE, Indiana, United States. Associated Press
The manager of a circus where an elephant trampled its trainer to death while being loaded into a truck said he believed the man's death was an accident. "We don't believe from the behavior of the animals it was a premeditated, aggressive killing," Larry Solheim, general manager of the Tarzan Zerbini Circus, said today. The trainer, Pierre Spenle, 40, of Texas, died Monday after he was taken to a Fort Wayne hospital with critical chest injuries. It was not clear whether Spenle fell or whether an...
2005-01-31 - Oakland, United States.
It was a cold 8 a.m. at the Oakland Zoo's elephant compound, but 36- year-old M'Dunda was enjoying a warm-water bath. Her feet got special treatment, as if she were a matron at a Napa Valley spa. A keeper cleaned them gently with a scrub brush and used an X-Acto knife to gingerly search for sticks and rocks, as M'Dunda was hand-fed fruit chunks while she stood in a restraint chute. "Keeping elephants in captivity is incredibly labor-intensive," said general curato...
2005-01-31 - Fort Wayne, IN, United States.
A day at the circus turned tragic Monday in Fort Wayne, after an elephant crushed a circus worker. The accident happened Monday afternoon in the Memorial Coliseum parking lot. Workers for the Shrine Circus were loading the elephants onto a trailer, when Pierre Spenle, 40, fell beneath the elephants when a security bar he was leaning on gave way, and he got crushed by the elephants.
2005-01-31 - CHICAGO, United States. TARA BURGHART
The memorial service was held outside, with a few mourners, bunches of flowers and a framed photo of the 55-year-old deceased, an elephant named Peaches. She was the oldest African elephant in an American zoo when she died Jan. 17 at Lincoln Park Zoo. But her death - which came three months after a younger pachyderm named Tatima died at the zoo - has renewed complaints from animal-welfare activists that elephants do not belong in cold-weather zoos.
2005-01-28 - Chicago, United States. Leslie M. Golden, Oak Park, Letters to Chicago Sun Times
The death of two elephants at the Lincoln Park Zoo should come as no surprise. While it is obvious that cold weather is bad for species that have evolved in tropical climates, understanding the death-inducing effect of confinement to concrete cells requires a rudimentary knowledge of physics (I have taught astronomy at the University of Illinois at Chicago). When animals take a step in their natural, sod environment, the concussion felt when the foot lands is muffled. When walking...
2005-01-26 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States. Mary Pemberton, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alaska's only elephant should be moved to a zoo with better facilities and programs where she can enjoy the company of other female elephants, the head of a national zoo group said Wednesday. "In our view, the elephant could thrive better elsewhere," said Sydney J. Butler, executive director of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in Washington, D.C. The AZA represents 214 accredited zoos and aquariums in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and Hong Kong. The...
2005-01-26 - Chicago, United States. William Mullen, Chicago Tribune
Preliminary laboratory tests have ruled out tuberculosis--a disease that can be transmitted between humans and animals--as cause of death for the two Lincoln Park Zoo elephants who died in recent months, according to results released Tuesday. Zoo officials had suspected that Tatima, a 35-year-old female African elephant, had been tuberculous because of lesions found on her lungs. Test results now show she died of a rare infection with a bacterium similar to TB, called Mycobacteriu...
2005-01-26 - Chicago, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
With two of her pals now gone, the last remaining elephant at Lincoln Park Zoo is turning to TV for companionship. Cartoons, specifically. Dumbo, perhaps? Peanuts, maybe? Lincoln Park Zoo general curator Robyn Barbiers wasn't sure -- not that show selection matters. The value of TV for an elephant is in the novelty, the movement and the noise, she said. Zoo officials, attempting to keep Wankie sharp after the deaths of her two companions, are using a variety of what...
2005-01-20 - Chicago, United States. William Mullen and Jon Yates
Having lost two of its three elephants in the last three months, Lincoln Park Zoo on Wednesday said it would send the last one to another facility while its staff re-examines the future of its elephant program. Wankie, 35, an African elephant who lost her two female companions, Tatima, 35, in October and Peaches, 55, on Monday, will move from Chicago as soon as an appropriate home can be found for her, zoo officials said.
2005-01-19 - SAN DIEGO, United States.
Several animal activists went to the San Diego Zoo Wednesday to call on the zoo industry to acknowledge that elephant enclosures are "deadly" and to take steps to move the animals to more natural sanctuaries. The plea follows the euthanization of a 55-year-old African elephant named Peaches on Monday at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.
2005-01-19 - Chicago, United States. ANDREW HERRMANN
North America's oldest captive elephant, brought to Lincoln Park Zoo amid protests that Chicago's climate was too cold, has died. The 55-year-old female African elephant named Peaches was found Monday morning collapsed on the floor of her indoor pen, her eyes unfocused and her breathing "labored,'' officials said. Veterinarians euthanized the animal Monday evening.
2005-01-18 - Rochester, New York, United States.
On Tuesday, the Seneca Park Zoo will show off its plans for the elephants' new digs. The session will be held at the zoo's Animal Health and Education Complex from 4:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. The new 27,000 square foot space will include a barn, a pool, and room for visitors. Last week, Monroe County lawmakers voted to borrow $4 million to build a new exhibit. There are currently two elephants at the zoo and one of them, Genny C, is expecting a baby in March ...
2005-01-18 - South Carolina, United States. www.thestate.com
Did you hear the one about the elephant that painted a picture and raised $7,000 for tsunami relief? No, Talk isn’t telling elephant jokes here. It’s true. A record $7,000 was bid for the latest artwork by Rasha, the Fort Worth Zoo’s painting elephant, with every cent going to the American Red Cross. The painting drew 51 bids from across the country on eBay, with the winning bid coming from a Texas car dealership. The Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada, liked the ...
2005-01-15 - Seattle, United States.
Bamboo, a 38-year-old elephant with no close friends at Woodland Park Zoo and a limited tolerance for the high jinks of baby Hansa, is packing her trunk and heading for the zoo in Tacoma, which welcomes prickly pachyderms. The 4-ton Bamboo, an Asian elephant, was born in the wild in Thailand. She has lived in Seattle since she was a year old. "She'd never been exposed to a calf" and has not done well with 4-year-old Hansa, daughter of 26-year-old Asian elephant Chai, Woodland Park...
2005-01-12 - New York, United States. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York City
Threatened by habitat loss, poaching, pollution and other factors, wildlife species across the globe are declining in number at an alarming rate. Scientists from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York City have been monitoring endangered wildlife populations for more than 100 years. For decades, traditional capture and tag methods have been a primary tool, but they are not the most efficient when dealing with large animals and animals in remote locati...
2005-01-12 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States.
The Detroit Zoo's two aging, arthritic elephants are surviving a typically harsh Michigan winter, but it is taking its toll. "Every winter we have more problems, which is why we wanted to move them out of Michigan in the first place," said Ann Duncan, the zoo's chief veterinarian. "They have both developed new foot problems in the last few weeks."
2005-01-12 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States.
There are African elephants and there are Asian elephants, but there is only one Alaskan elephant. To animal-rights groups, the national zoo-accreditation group -- and, probably, most anyone who thinks a modern zoo should not condone suffering -- that's one too many.
2005-01-12 - Garden City, United States. The Associated Press
A second animal-rights group is criticizing the Lee Richardson Zoo because of the habitat it provides for its elephants.In Defense of Animals, based in Mill Valley, Calif., made the Garden City zoo fifth on its list of "worst zoos for elephants," calling the barn the two elephants have a jail cell.
2005-01-12 - ST. LOUIS, United States. TERRY HILLIG, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Students at Principia College in Elsah don't have to trek hundreds or thousands of miles to participate in one of the country's most significant paleontological digs. In fact, they don't even have to leave campus. The 17,500-year-old bones of a woolly mammoth known affectionately as "Benny" (after the man who found him) are being carefully excavated in the middle of the Principia campus, only yards from dormitories and academic buildings.
2005-01-09 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States. Sarah Kershaw, New York Times
She played in the snow. She played the harmonica. She snacked on hot dog buns and hay, chewed on birch bark and snorted. Still, it was impossible to answer the question that is causing so much consternation: Is Alaska's only elephant happy? Maggie, the African elephant who has resided at the Alaska Zoo since 1983 -- a creature of the tropics amid snow leopards and polar bears -- is, after all, said to be rather moody and prickly. But whether Maggie, a...
2005-01-08 - POLK CITY, United States. Lauren Glenn
You can see her coming from across the open field. She's nearly half a mile away, all leathery gray, dust-covered, wrinkled skin, her hair encrusted in dirt, her long nose and dimpled knees that barely bend when she walks. From the street, and even as she approaches, it is impossible to tell that she is pregnant and has been for about 16 months. She's solid, with a chiseled appearance, so much so that she looks like she has been carved from a giant rock, until she slowly begins to...
2005-01-08 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo has made a national animal-protection organization's list of the country's 10 worst zoos for pachyderms because of the number of deaths from herpes virus. In Defense of Animals this week labeled Houston's elephant program a "breeding ground for misery," noting that five elephants born at the Houston Zoo over the last 15 years have either died there or at other facilities where they had been shipped.
2005-01-06 - LOS ANGELES, United States. PRNewswire
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Hollywood Office commends L.A. Superior Court Judge George H. Wu for pledging yesterday to reopen the Ruby the elephant lawsuit should the Los Angeles Zoo attempt to move the beleaguered female African elephant again in the foreseeable future. While dismissing the eighteen-month-old taxpayer lawsuit as moot, in light of 43 year-old Ruby's recent return to the Los Angeles Zoo, the decision provides plaintiff Catherine Doyle with the opportunity to se...
2005-01-05 - Los Angeles, United States.
A judge dismissed a case that might have resulted in another move for Ruby. She was relocated to the L.A. Zoo in November after spending more than one year in Tennessee. Ruby was moved from the Tennessee zoo after she did not integrate with a herd of African elephants. The case might be reopened if the zoo wants to move Ruby again. Zoo officials said Ruby is adjusting to her surroundings, but activists claim she should reside in an animal sanctuary.
2004-12-25 - SAN FRANCISCO, United States. Jane Meredith Adams, Special to the Tribune
Convinced that elephants at the San Francisco Zoo have led a miserable existence, the Board of Supervisors here has approved a law that will make it difficult for the zoo ever to keep elephants again. The law, which requires the creation of a 15-acre habitat before elephants can return to the zoo, comes as animal welfare groups nationwide are questioning whether zoos can provide an adequate environment for the world's largest land mammals.
2004-12-22 - Seneca, United States. Katrina Irwin, WROC-TV
Despite a controversial history, plans to expand the Seneca Park Zoo are moving ahead. There will be a new home for the elephants, including the baby elephant that's due in March of 2006. A new enclosed exhibit will create room for the calf Genny C is expecting and will also teach visitors more about elephants. Zoo Executive Director Rachel August says, "As part of the exhibit, we hope to build an interpretive education component. It's not only to provide the basics, like what...
2004-12-04 - Detroit, United States. TERESA MASK and HUGH McDIARMID JR.
Wanda and Winky -- two aging elephants at the heart of a bitter struggle between the Detroit Zoo and its accrediting organization -- will be headed to a sanctuary after all. In a pact Friday, the zoo, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Columbus Zoo and the San Antonio Zoo, which owns Wanda, agreed the sanctuary would be best for both animals.
2004-11-29 - Fort Worth, United States. U.S. Newswire
The fate of elephants is the focus of an intensive weeklong international elephant conservation workshop December 1-5 hosted by the Fort Worth Zoo and attended by more than 100 participants from around the globe. Leading elephant biologists and experts gather during the conference to accomplish one heroic goal, saving elephants from extinction.
2004-11-01 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
Kimba, the beloved 13-year-old Houston Zoo elephant who died Labor Day, succumbed, as suspected, of elephant herpes virus, laboratory tests confirmed. Despite valiant attempts to save her, the Asian elephant died 25 hours after exhibiting signs of a diminished appetite, swelling around the temple area and depression -- all symptoms of the disease which quickly attacks blood vessels after invading the body.
2004-10-29 - Charleston, United States. NADINE PARKS
Bill Morris III didn't have to run away to join the circus. He had one right at home. Morris trains elephants, part of a family tradition that took root in the 1930s at his grandfather's farm near Springfield, Ill. Grandpa Morris sold tickets for visitors to see trained animals at his farm and later began a traveling circus show. The elephants were passed down to Morris' father, who later passed them down to Morris.
2004-10-27 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Hollywood Office applauds yesterday's decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George H. Wu to retain continuing court jurisdiction over Ruby the elephant until a new status hearing on January 5, 2005.
2004-10-22 - MANCHESTER, United States. MICHAEL COUSINEAU, Union Leader Staff
Asia bent down on her left knee when hearing the word "knee" and raised the same leg when receiving the command "foot." No one, however, had to tell the 8,800-pound elephant to eat. She gobbled down an entire unsliced bread loaf from a reporter.
2004-10-18 - CHICAGO, United States. Jon Duncanson, cbc2chicago.com
An elephant has died inside Lincoln Park Zoo, and now the health of animal keepers is being closely watched. Tatima, an African elephant, was found dead inside her habitat on Saturday. Zoo officials believe she died of tuberculosis. It will take 12 weeks to confirm whether the elephant had tuberculosis.
2004-10-15 - WASHINGTON, United States. Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post
Hunters find the ancient tusks clustered on sandbars near the Arctic Ocean, carried there by spring-melt waters flowing from the Siberian tundra. A pair of them, dried, polished and elegantly mounted for a trophy room or home museum, can weigh 400 pounds and cost up to $75,000.
2004-10-14 - Boston, United States. Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor
Masquerading as Internet buyers, TRAFFIC investigators found that sellers of ivory on Internet "stores" regularly ship elephant ivory to the US via express-delivery services - often falsely labeling the shipment with such euphemisms as "bone carving." That exquisite little carved-ivory elephant for sale on eBay is described as a Chinese antique. Then again, it could be an illegal piece of tusk from an African elephant shot last year. That's the quandary Interne...
2004-10-13 - Washington, United States.
Despite a long-standing international ban on ivory trade, African elephants continue to be killed in large numbers for their prized tusks. But a team headed by a University of Washington biologist has devised a new means of determining the geographic origin of ivory that could prove a potent tool in slowing elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade by identifying hot spots where enforcement should be increased.
2004-10-12 - Washington, United States. Samuel K. Wasser, Andrew M. Shedlock, Kenine Comstock, Elaine A. Ostrander, Benezeth Mutayoba,and Matthew Stephens. The National Academy of Sciences
Resurgence of illicit trade in African elephant ivory is placing the elephant at renewed risk. Regulation of this trade could be vastly improved by the ability to verify the geographic origin of tusks. We address this need by developing a combined genetic and statistical method to determine the origin of poached ivory. Our statistical approach exploits a smoothing method to estimate geographic-specific allele frequencies over the entire African elephants' range for 16 microsatellite loci, using ...
2004-10-07 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States. Mary Pemberton, Associated Press Writer
Alaska zoo is to build what it believes to be the world's first elephant treadmill as part of plans to enrich its only elephant's life with better accommodation and activities.
2004-10-07 - CORAL SPRINGS, United States. Sallie James, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Despite protests from animal rights activists, the circus will come to town next month for four days. Just don't expect to see any elephants. The DeLand-based Cole Bros. Circus, which this year dropped the name "Clyde Beatty" from its title, will perform Nov. 11-14 at the Sportsplex near the Sawgrass Expressway. Circus officials pulled the elephants because of complaints, said circus spokesman Bruce Pratt.
2004-09-29 - Washington, United States.
New research shows that elephants in professionally managed zoological facilities have life expectancies similar to elephants in the wild. The finding, published in the August edition of the journal Zoo Biology (Volume 23, Issue 4), refutes a 2002 study that claimed wild elephants typically live longer. The new research used a different testing methodology, which its authors say corrects these earlier findings.
2004-09-28 - SEATTLE, United States. CAROL SMITH
It's like doing cold-case detective work on elephants, but University of Washington scientist Samuel Wasser has devised an innovative method for pinpointing the DNA fingerprints of poached elephant tusks. The method, reported yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could give conservationists their most powerful tool yet in the battle to hunt down the poachers who are decimating the African elephant population.
2004-09-28 - Washington, United States.
Washington - Using elephant dung and skin samples, researchers say they are able to make a map of elephant DNA that can help track down ivory poachers.
2004-09-25 - Pittsburgh, United States. Michelle K. Massie, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jack is back and he's looking for love. Jack, whose full name is Jackson, is a 10,400-pound African male elephant and the only naturally breeding bull in the United States. Due to his acclaim, Jack has made his rounds around the country, most recently at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, mating with willing adult female elephants. Since May, he's been back at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
2004-09-07 - Houston, United States. Danny Perez, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo staff members tried feverishly to save Kimba's life, but the 13-year-old female Asian elephant died Monday afternoon after a sudden illness.
2004-08-24 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States. TAREK EL-TABLAWY
Like any patient, Wanda needs positive reinforcement to wrestle through her physical therapy. At 46, time and a few extra pounds have taken their toll on this Royal Oak resident's bones, and her eyes roam to the treats the needed incentive to overcome the pain during her workout. "Leg up," says Mary Wulff, who guides Wanda through the routines. "Good girl!"
2004-08-18 - Houston, United States.
Asian Elephant Births 338-Pound Baby GirlAfter 22 months of pregnancy, Shanti, a 13-year-old Asian elephant at the Houston Zoo gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday evening, August 17, 2004, at the Houston Zoo to a healthy female calf with the name Bella!
2004-08-17 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States.
America's and the world´s northernmost elephant is staying put, to the relief of many visitors at the Alaska Zoo and the consternation of some animal advocates who say the African-born pachyderm needs a warmer climate, more space and the company of her own kind.
2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. Rosemarie Bernardo
A circus that includes elephant performances has not come to Hawaii since Tyke's rampage. However, there was an attempt last year by the Ringling Bros Circus. The organization filed for a permit to bring two Asian elephants for a February circus performance. There were no other requests to bring in elephants for circus acts, said Cravalho. An elephant, however, was brought to Honolulu for the filming of the Disney movie "George of the Jungle" in 1997 under strict safeguards.
2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. By Rosemarie Bernardo, Starbulletin
Makakilo resident Donna Wier remembers that horrible day 10 years ago when a man was trampled to death by an 8,000-pound elephant at the Blaisdell Arena. "It was pretty traumatic," said Wier, who took her sons Dillon, then 6, and Koa, 10 months, to the circus for the first time. "It's still in the back of our minds."
2004-08-10 - VANCOUVER, United States.
Tests show the Tina, the elephant who was moved from B.C. to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee last summer, died of heart failure.
2004-08-07 - POWELL, Ohio, United States.
The winning name in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Name the Baby Elephant Contest is Bodhi, entered by Alison Dutro of Dublin, Ohio. The announcement of the winning name was made today at 1 p.m.
2004-07-23 - VANCOUVER, United States.
Tina, the Asian elephant with the ailing feet, who moved from B.C. to Tenneessee has died. The 34-year-old pachyderm was transferred last August to the Elephant Sanctuary at Hohenwald, southwest of Nashville.
2004-07-20 - Los Angeles, United States. Lora LaMarca, Los Angeles Zoo
Working with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s (AZA) Species Survival Plan managers for elephants, the Los Angeles Zoo had been seeking a better and more social situation for Ruby, a 43-year-old African elephant. The decision was made to move Ruby from the Los Angeles Zoo to the Knoxville (Tennessee) Zoo in May 2003.
2004-07-07 - Lake Buena Vista, United States.
An 18-year-old African elephant gave birth to a 230-pound baby at Disney's Animal Kingdom, according to Local 6 News. The elephant calf arrived Tuesday night to join its 18-year-old mother, Vasha, after 22 months in the womb, according to an official. The elephant's name is Kianga, which means "Sunshine" in Swahili.
2004-06-01 - Vallejo, United States.
An elephant trainer at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo was in critical condition Tuesday after he was gored by one of the pachyderms, a fire department spokesman said. Patrick Chapple, 39, was standing next to 7,000-pound Misha, a 23-year-old female African elephant, at about 3:30 p.m. when the animal turned suddenly from grazing and knocked him to the ground.
2004-05-29 - Garden City, United States.
An animal rights group is continuing its campaign to persuade the Lee Richardson Zoo to send its two elephants to a more spacious sanctuary, despite the zoo's plans to expand the elephants' living quarters.
2004-03-08 - San Francisco, United States. Demian Bulwa
Calle the ailing elephant died at the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday morning, hours after another elephant attacked her, an attack that zoo officials are blaming on animal rights demonstrators who they say agitated the beasts. Zoo veterinarians quietly euthanized Calle, a 37-year-old female Asian elephant, at about 5 a.m., after she dropped to her belly and rolled on her side.
2004-03-08 - Richmond, Illinois, United States. Jeff Long, Tribune staff reporter
The owner of a circus-training facility in rural McHenry County has agreed to find new homes for his elephants under an agreement with federal authorities, officials announced today. The proposed agreement between John Cuneo, owner of Hawthorn Corp., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture would end the government's case against Cuneo and his company for dozens of alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act concerning the elephants' care.
2004-03-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. (KSL News)
Another animal has been euthanized at Hogle Zoo. The Zoo's grand dame, Kali the elephant was put down this morning. This morning zookeepers found Kali alert, but lying on the floor of her exhibit. She was unable to get up, due to her severe joint arthritis. Kali was 59, the third oldest living Asian elephant in the country.
2004-03-05 - San Francisco, United States. Patricia Yollin
The troubled life of Calle the Elephant, one of the San Francisco Zoos most beloved residents, will soon come to an end. The zoo has decided to euthanize the 37-year-old, 10,000-pound creature because her health has been declining since October. After Calle is euthanized, Tinkerbelle may be sent to another zoo.
2004-01-23 - ESCONDIDO, United States. ANDREA MOSS
The countdown has begun, even if nobody knows when it will end. Anticipation is mounting behind the scenes at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where keepers are closely monitoring a pregnant African elephant that is expected to give birth in the next month or two. Ultrasounds and hormone tests suggest the mother is about 21 months into a pregnancy that, if it follows the average, will last 22 months.
2004-01-01 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is mourning the loss of it's newest addition. A new born Asian elephant died at the zoo Monday. The female calf died about 30 hours after her mother, Methai, gave birth. Zookeepers said the calf appeared to be very healthy right after labor but suspected something was wrong a few hours later. The zoo said the calf's mother is in good health and is now in an area visible to visitors.
2003-12-21 - Honolulu, United States. Mary Vorsino
Steve Hirano, 57, died Friday evening at his Hawaii Kai home, less than two months after learning that he had pancreatic cancer. Steve Hirano made international news in 1994 when the rogue elephant tyke from a Blaisdell Center circus, for whom he was serving as publicist, charged and attacked him. The video of Tyke the elephant tossing Hirano out of the way as he tried to hold the animal behind a fenced gate is hard to forget.
2003-12-05 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. Feld Entertainment, Inc.
The new calf is the offspring of Ringling Bros.' bred elephants, expanding the largest gene pool outside of Asia. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® unveils white paper on the state of the Asian elephant in the 21st century. Vienna, VA-On December 5, 2003 at 9:25 a.m., Riccardo, a 232-pound male, Asian elephant, joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC) family. This newborn's arrival is historic, as he is the first offspring from two elephants born in...
2003-09-11 - Galt, California, United States. Diana Lambert
Tammy, one of four Asian elephants living at the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary, has died. The 53-year-old Asian elephant was euthanized Saturday at the sanctuary after staff members were unable to get her to her feet after she fell. Publicity surrounded Tammy's arrival at PAWS in 1990 when she and another elephant, named Annie, were retired from a Milwaukee zoo. Both elephants were captured in India in 1954. PAWS president and co-founder Pat Derby said both elephants had injuries s...
2003-08-16 - Murchison, Texas, United States.
It is with great sadness that The Fund for Animals announces the passing of Tara, one of our beloved elephants at Black Beauty Ranch. Tara was 59 years old.
2003-06-17 - Chicago, Illinois, United States.
This afternoon, Brookfield Zoo staff was saddened to lose Mame, a 32-year-old African elephant. Mame sustained severe injuries during an encounter with another elephant. Following the encounter, veterinary staff closely observed Mame and determined she had suffered disabling injuries to both her front legs. In the professional opinion of the zoo's veterinary staff, the prognosis for a successful recovery in this type of injury is very poor. Vets and animal collection staff were concerned Mame ...
2003-05-25 - Los Angeles, United States. Lora LaMarca, Los Angeles Zoo
Ruby, a 42-year-old female African elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, began her journey to her new home at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee the evening of May 25.
2003-05-23 - Orlando, Florida, United States.
The Walt Disney World Resort's animal care team welcomed the first African elephant calf to be born at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park Thursday night. The 296-pound calf was born at 10:05 p.m. to its 22-year-old mother, Moyo. The first-time mother was in labor on and off for four hours before giving birth to the calf, which was conceived through artificial insemination on Aug. 25, 2001.
2003-05-12 - Cheyenne, United States. Bruce Bailey, University of Nebraska State Museum
In June, we received a call from Mike Spaeth of Cheyenne County, reporting the discovery of a large fossil bone protruding from a stream bank. We arrived and uncovered not a dinosaur bone, but a complete lower jaw of the four-tusked elephant Amebelodon! This is the first skull, and only the second complete jaw (the first was collected in 1927) of Amebelodon known from Nebraska.
2003-04-10 - Washington, United States.
Aiming to stop what would be the first import of wild elephants to American Zoo Association (AZA) accredited zoos in the U.S. in more than a decade, a coalition of wildlife conservation and animal protection organizations today filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
2002-12-22 - Vienna, Virginia, United States. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Press release
King Tusk, a 57-year-old male Asian elephant living in retirement with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, was humanely euthanized yesterday (Saturday, December 21). A magnificent and beautiful Asian elephant with 6-foot-long tusks, King Tusk was a star performer with Ringling Bros. in the 1980s and early 1990s. He passed away quietly at Ringling Bros. elephant retirement facility in northern Florida in the company of his pachyderm companions and human caretakers.
2002-12-17 - Miami, United States. Jane Sutton
A 6,000-pound (2,700 kg) elephant smashed a rookie zookeeper against a rockpile at Miami's MetroZoo, badly injuring the man in what a zoo spokesman described as an attack to test dominance in the herd. The injured zookeeper, Michael Embury, 31, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery on Monday, zoo spokesman Ron Magill said. He suffered a broken arm, two broken shoulders, gashes to the head and bruising of the spleen and brain in the Sunday attack but was expec...
2002-11-29 - Pittsburgh, United States. David Conti
Visitors to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Saturday will get their first chance to see the elephants since one of the animals killed a trainer earlier this month. Gatti, 46, of Butler, was crushed to death by a 6,200-pound mother elephant called M. on Nov. 18 as he led the animal and its calf on a routine walk around the zoo. The elephant exhibit has been closed since the incident as federal authorities and former elephant manager Theison investigated.
2002-11-19 - Pittsburgh, United States. Ann Belser and Marylynne Pitz
On mornings when weather permits, elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo are brought out of their enclosure to walk with their keepers around the grounds. Yesterday, two keepers were about halfway around the zoo with a 20-year-old mother elephant and her 3-year-old female calf when the mother elephant stopped near the Northern Shores Cafe building. When the keeper urged her to move along, the elephant butted him and pinned him to the ground with her head, crushing him. The trainer, Mike Gatti, 46, an e...
2002-11-18 - Pittsburgh, United States.
An elephant keeper at the Pittsburgh Zoo died this morning after a 6,200-pound elephant pinned him to the ground, zoo officials announced. An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday on the body of Michael Gatti, 46, of Plank Road, Butler, authorities said. Two zoo keepers were taking the elephant and her calf on a routine walk through the Zoo grounds this morning, when the mother suddenly stopped. Gatti told the elephant to keep moving. But she knocked him to the ground with her head and then pinned him to...
2002-09-30 - Salt Lake City, United States. University of Utah
The study began after Prestwich identified proteins involved in the action of insect pheromones. He heard Rasmussen deliver a lecture about elephant pheromone and decided to look for proteins that help the pheromone do its job. Rasmussen collected urine and mucus for the study primarily from 14 elephants at Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in Greenbriar, Ark.
2002-08-28 - Portland, Oregon, United States.
The largest captive land mammal in North America ducks under the doorway. Behind him, a hydraulic steel door wheezes, then slams shut. Packy is isolated, but he is not alone. Outside the cage, attired in work boots and a blue polo shirt, Bob Lee crouches on a stool. Through the steel bars, Packy offers up his foot, and Lee goes to work. He is an elephant pedicurist.
2002-08-16 - Norman, United States. Erowid
In 1962, three men at the University of Oklahoma, lead by the idiosyncratic, CIA-collaborator Louis Jolyon "Jolly" West, injected LSD into an elephant for the first time. Their stated intent was to determine if LSD would induce "musth", a naturally occurring condition in which elephants become violent and uncontrollable. After a series of events, the elephant died. There is some controversy and confusion surrounding the cause of death.
2002-07-16 - Springfield, Missouri, United States.
The health of an Asian elephant calf infected with a deadly herpesvirus appeared to worsen Tuesday as treatment with an experimental regiment of drugs continued. Officials at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield remained hopeful that the nearly 3-year-old elephant calf, named "Haji," would recover from endothelial inclusion body disease, a herpesvirus specific to elephants. It is generally fatal within five days, zoo spokeswoman Melinda Mancuso said.
2002-05-23 - Springfield, Missouri, United States. Gigi Allianic, Dickerson Park Zoo
The staff of Dickerson Park Zoo is mourning the death of the bull elephant, “Onyx,” who died Wednesday evening, May 22. Onyx is more familiarly know as “Big Mac” to everyone in southern Missouri. Preliminary necropsy results indicate mesenteric torsion with subsequent intestinal rupture as the cause of death.
2001-12-17 - Washington, United States. Lee R. Berger, for National Geographic News
How do you miss a whole species of elephant? But that's just what has happened. Up until recently, scientists believed there were two species of elephant: the African elephant and the Asian elephant. Geneticists conducting a comprehensive DNA sampling of elephants from across Africa recently found that there are in fact two species of African elephants. Until this announcement, most zoologists had lumped all African elephants together into a single species, Loxodonta Africana, with four widely r...
2001-12-15 - SAN JOSE, California, United States.
One of the biggest stars of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is going on trial Monday for allegedly abusing an elephant with a metal hook just before a show. Activists hope the trial of animal trainer Mark Oliver Gebel, son of the legendary circus showman Gunther Gebel-Williams, will lend more credibility to allegations against The Greatest Show on Earth.
2001-12-12 - Portland, Oregon, United States. PR Oregon Zoo
1962 On April 14th, Portland, Oregon became nationally renowned for the first Asian elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in more than 44 years. The baby elephant named Packy sparked a frenzy of celebration around the world - the famous pachyderm even graced the cover of LIFE magazine. Now, Packy is grown up and turning 40!
2001-09-18 - Washington, United States.
Scientists say African elephants that live in the forest and those that live in grasslands are different enough to be considered separate kinds, or species. Until now, scientists believed all African elephants were the same genetically. They have long recognized the clear differences between African and Asian elephants.
2001-09-05 - SPRINGFIELD, Missouri, United States. KOMO Staff & News Services
A southwest Missouri zoo is fighting federal allegations that workers abused a Seattle zoo's female elephant in its breeding program in 1998. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday that it's has filed a complaint alleging Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield violated the Animal Welfare Act in its handling of the Asian elephant, named Chai. The incident allegedly occurred on Sept. 23, 1998, three days after Chai arrived from Woodland Park Zoo to participate in Springfield's nationall...
2001-08-30 - OAKLAND, United States. Julia Prodis Sulek, San Jose Mercury News
For hours after the birth Thursday morning, zookeepers were concerned about whether mother and son would bond: The mother, Lisa, was aggressive and swinging her trunk and the baby was desperately clutching the veterinarian's jacket, the mother's knee and the barn wall, looking for a teat.
2001-08-24 - Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. AP
Two Knoxville Zoo handlers were injured Thursday when Mamie, the zoo's painting African elephant, broke loose during a morning walk.Keepers Tom Troy and Mike Gaugler were taking Mamie on a daily get-acquainted stroll to a new exhibit space when she decided to make a run for some tasty tree leaves, zoo executive director Jim Vlna said. Troy had a cut on his head and Gaugler injured a rib.Both were treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, while Mamie went back to her pen and calmed d...
2001-08-24 - Washington, United States. Hillary Mayell, National Geographic News
Genetic fingerprinting shows that Africa's forest and savanna elephants are as different from one another as lions and tigers and should be considered as two genetically distinct species, an international group of researchers reports.
2001-07-03 - , United States.
An elephant in Essex has become the first in Britain to become pregnant through artificial insemination (AI). Tanya the African elephant, at Colchester Zoo, is almost three months pregnant. The insemination was carried out by experts from the Berlin Institute of Wildlife Medicine and Research. If the calf is born, it will be only the fifth elephant in the world to have been produced as a result of AI. The zoo decided to use artificial insemination after natural matings between Tanya and the zoo'...
2001-05-15 - La Jolla, United States. John B West
It has been known for over 300 years that the anatomy of the elephant lung is unique among mammals in that the pleural cavity is obliterated by connective tissue. Recent studies suggest that the elephant has an aquatic ancestry and the trunk may have developed for snorkeling.
2001-01-31 - Portland, Oregon, United States. PR Oregon Zoo
Oregon Zoo’s Assistant Director, Mike Keele, will attend the International Workshop on the Domesticated Asian Elephant, February 5-10, in Bangkok, Thailand. Keele serves as the coordinator of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s (AZA) elephant species survival plan and holds the studbook for all North American Asian elephants. He hopes to identify ways that North American zoos can contribute to the effort to reverse the decline of domesticated elephants in Asia.
2000-11-03 - Seattle, United States. Woodland Park Zoo- PRESS RELEASE
The mother, 21-year-old Asian elephant Chai, gave birth today on November 3, to a female calf. The newborn elephant weighs 235 pounds. In September 1998, the zoo sent Chai on a breeding loan to Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri. Her intended mate, Onyx, a 36-year-old Asian bull (male elephant), sired the calf.
2000-10-31 - Seattle, United States. Nina Pellegrini, The Seattle Times
Human tuberculosis, one of the leading infectious diseases in the world, has emerged as a threat to North America's aging Asian elephants, a species that already is inching toward extinction because of its increasing proximity to humans. Researchers think the animals - most of them born in the wild - were exposed in their homelands or while in close contact with infected handlers in zoos and circuses in North America.
2000-10-11 - Providence, United States. Schulte BA, Feldman E, Lambert R, Oliver R, Hess DL. Dept Biology, Providence College, Providence
The captive elephant population in North America is in reproductive decline and, without importation from the wild, may cease to be viable within the next several decades. The estrous cycle of three captive, reproductive-age African elephants was monitored for 3 years by measuring serum progesterone concentrations. Each elephant experienced one or more episodes of extended low progesterone (>12 weeks), analogous to supposed terminal cessation of estrous cyclicity or 'flatlining' that has been de...
2000-09-25 - SEATTLE, United States. Woodland Park Zoo- PRESS RELEASE
The Puget Sound Blood Center joined Woodland Park Zoo today to draw the final of 15 units of blood from the zoos pregnant Asian elephant, 21-year-old Chai. The first-time expectant mother is due to give birth late October. The milestone event will mark the first-ever elephant birth for Woodland Park in its 100-year history and also the first in all of Washington state.
2000-07-17 - Indianapolis, United States. CARL H. LAVIN
The elephant baby Amali made elephant history with her birth on March 6: she is the first African elephant conceived using artificial insemination. But on a recent afternoon, the 400-pound was grabbing a visitor's shirt with her trunk and chewing on the seam. ''She's a toddler,'' Lesley Mackie, an elephant keeper at the Indianapolis Zoo said. ''Everything goes in the mouth.''
2000-02-19 - WASHINGTON, United States.
A baffling disease that causes elephants to lose control of their trunks, making it hard for them to eat and communicate, is probably caused by a toxic plant. Kurt Hostettmann of Lausanne University in Switzerland said his group -- which usually searches for natural sources of new drugs -- believes a poisonous plant could be responsible and he has narrowed the list of potential culprits down to two or three.
2000-02-06 - Tampa, United States. DAVID PEDREIRA, St. Petersburg Times
Lance Ramos knew something was wrong when Kenya wouldn't eat the usual Friday dinner -- a batch of grain mixed with vitamins. An hour later, his concern turned to horror as the seemingly healthy elephant fell over, struggled to get up, and toppled again. Within minutes, the 21/2-ton elephant was dead.
1999-11-30 - Springfield, Missouri, United States. AP
In an important milestone for an endangered species, an Asian elephant has given birth through artificial insemination. Weighing in at 378 pounds, Haji was born Sunday at Dickerson Park Zoo. It was the world's first birth through artificial insemination of an Asian elephant, which are estimated to number only35,000 worldwide.
1999-04-03 - Webb city, United States. Robin Rosenthal and Bill Yahraus, The Pennsylvania Gazette
Before we met her, Patty was described to us as the son Tarzan never had. Not only is she a well-respected big-cat and elephant trainer, but she can drive a semi, weld, do basic truck repair and execute a neat split between the heads of two lumbering beasts. She is raising her two boys alone after the death of her husband in a Ringling train derailment just a couple of years earlier. She has an edge you could cut meat with. When I point my microphone down into a first-day conversation between he...
1999-03-24 - Honolulu, United States.
What ever happened to the body of Tyke, the 21-year-old female circus elephant whose rampage through Kakaako in 1994 was finally stopped by police gunfire? How was the body disposed? -When Tyke died, the city parks department moved the body to the animal quarantine station at Halawa, where state personnel did an animal autopsy, said city spokeswoman Carol Costa.
1999-02-18 - Washington, United States. Johns Hopkins, Baltimore and National Zoo
Researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., have discovered the cause of death of nearly a dozen young North American zoo elephants -- fatal hemorrhaging from a previously unknown form of herpesvirus that apparently jumped from African elephants to the Asian species.
1998-11-08 - Indianapolis, United States.
A 29-year-old female elephant, Cita, bludgeoned a zookeeper with her trunk, breaking the woman's ribs. Leslie Mackie was bathing four elephants at the Indianapolis Zoo when Cita, who had been aggressive toward other elephants, raised her head in a threatening manner toward another one of the animals. When Ms. Mackie told Cita, "No," the animal turned and struck the woman several times with her trunk, Ms Mackie lost consciousness briefly, and when she came to she called for help to other keepers.
1998-10-01 - Springfield, United States. Schmitt DL, Hildebrandt TB., Southwest Missouri State University
The implications of collecting semen from elephants for use in artificial insemination programs are profound in the context of propagating captive elephants. Using a manual manipulation technique, semen was collected and characterized from five adult Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and ejaculate fluid was obtained from one castrated elephant bull. The penis was stimulated to protrusion and erection by rectal massage of the pelvic portion of the urethra. During an ejaculatory response, massage ...
1998-05-01 - Iowa, United States. Phyllis Peters, Veterinary Medicine
His mother was in labor for more than two days, but Doc was up and standing within eight minutes of his birth. The 250- pound baby Asian elephant was born in Florida in June 1997 and named in honor of the ISU alumnus who contributed to his birth. Dr. Richard "Doc" Houck, who earned his DVM from ISU 40 years before his namesake's birth, developed the elephant breeding program for the owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Ringling Brothers owns the largest colle...
1998-04-22 - Washington, United States. CNN
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus forced a sick elephant to perform in two shows, leading to its death, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. The agency filed a legal complaint against the circus, charging it with violating the Animal Welfare Act. The complaint says the circus failed to properly look after Kenny, a 3-year-old Asian elephant, when he performed twice in Jacksonville in January.
1997-08-13 - Riverdale, California, United States. Jim Rogers, Jamie Ambrosi
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently charged licensed animal exhibitors John Cuneo and the Hawthorn Corporation, doing business in Grayslake, Ill., with violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
1995-11-28 - NEW YORK, United States. Sherry Dean (CNN)
Anna Mae, Ned and Amy are three giant performers who, with their nimble antics, regularly tug the mouths -- and hearts -- of spectators at Manhattan's Big Apple Circus. All it takes to make this elephant trio spry and graceful, say their trainers. While most children grow up with a family dog, Bill Woodcock was raised petting elephants, prompting him to follow in his father's footsteps and become an elephant trainer. Anna Mae was trained by the senior Woodcock almost 50 years ago, and she is sti...
1994-08-20 - Honolulu, United States.
Alan Campbell (1953-August 20, 1994) was an elephant trainer for The Hawthorn Corporation. Campbell was crushed to death on August 20, 1994 at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, after attempting to save fellow co-worker Dallas Beckwith from the performing elephant "Tyke" who had run amok.
1993-05-07 - Williston, United States. GLENN COLLINS
Axel Gautier, a leading trainer of elephants who had been a performer with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus for 35 years, died on Wednesday in Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He was 51. One of the elephants he was working with at the Ringling Elephant Farm in Wiliston, Fla., knocked him down and stepped on him, said Rodney Huey, a Ringling spokesman. Besides his sons, Michael, 28, and Kevin, 23, he is survived by his wife, Donna, three sisters and a g...
1982-11-25 - San Diego, California, United States.
Cindy, an elephant with a reputation as a dangerous animal after staying 17 years alone in cramped quarters, will be able to roam free, play in the dirt and take a dip in a pool at a new home here in the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The elephant keeper at the park says the new quarters will provide enough distraction so Cindy will lose interest in using people as toys. The elephant, 19 years old, will move here from Point Defiance Zoo, Tacoma, Wash. She had been called ''possibly the most dangero...
1972-07-17 - Oquawka, Illinois, United States.
Norma Jean was a 6,500-pound elephant and the star attraction of the Clark and Walters Circus. That ended abruptly on the morning of July 17, 1972, when she was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning. Her trainer, "Possum Red," was knocked 30 feet by the blast. With no elephant, the Circus went out of business a year later. Norma Jean was buried where she fell -- which, conveniently, was in Oquawka's town square.
1949-04-07 - Gonzales, United States. Murray Montgomery and The Gonzales Inquirer
Eighteen bulls out of the circus herd of 21 elephants went on a rampage and stampeded out the winter quarters of the circus to roar across the southeast end of Gonzales for more than two hours before all were rounded up and corralled in their barn to quiet down. Two men were slightly hurt in the stampede, Rex Williams, 26, former Marine, a head elephant man with the circus, was bumped by a bull and sent flying probably 20 feet. He was cut and bruised.
1937-08-23 - Washington, United States.
Behind the Zebra House at the Washington, D. C. Zoo last week, laborers, dug a number of large holes. Then, sombrely, they carted into them, piece by piece, some 8,500 pounds of elephant flesh. Thus to her last resting place went Babe, described in the eulogistic Washington press as not only the oldest, but the most celebrated elephant on earth. No elephant since Phineas Taylor Barnum's Jumbo has had a legitimate claim to the distinction of being more famous than all others of the species.
- Anchorage, United States. Jenna Kunze
Twelve-year-old Quinton Barnes was out playing by the river when he found something more than 1,000 times his age: a mammoth leg bone, found lying on the eroded ground of a ledge on the Nigiliq River, which connects to the Colville River, in Nuiqsut. "I thought it was a rock and then I got closer and saw what I think is a dinosaur bone," Barnes told The Sounder this week. "I just picked it up and started walking with it."
2024-04-26 - Blackpool, United Kingdom.
The latest round of pregnancy tests at Blackpool Zoo has revealed that two of its elephants are expecting babies. Mother and daughter Noorjahan and Esha are both pregnant and due to give birth in late...
2024-04-02 - Sen Monorom, Cambodia.
There was sad news from Mondulkiri Province, with the death of 2 year old elephant “Chi Pich” being announced. Sources from the Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment Organization (ELIE) said ...
2024-03-26 - Kochi, India.
Popular tusker Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan, 55, 55, died at Mangalamkunnu in Palakkad on Monday. The elephant owned by M A Haridasan had been under treatment for the past few months.
2024-03-23 - Kegalle, Sri Lanka.
The 76th elephant calf was born at the Rambukkana Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on March 20.This baby elephant was born to 32-year-old she-elephant Shanthi and 19-year-old Pandu at the Pinnawala Elepha...
2024-03-23 - Pretoria, South Africa.
In the ongoing efforts to curb poaching and snaring of animals within the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, South African National Parks (SANParks) is working to create more partnerships with neighbour...
After weeks of voting and thousands of submissions, the Toledo Zoo has officially chosen the name of their precious baby elephant and we're personally thrilled about the news! Ladies and gentleman, Ki...
A baby elephant was born at Reid Park Zoo. The zoo said Semba, the facility’s African elephant matriarch, gave birth to a 265-pound calf around 3:31 a.m. Friday, March 8. Reid Park Zoo said the calf...
2024-03-04 - Copenhagen, Denmark.
A female baby elephant in Copenhagen Zoo has been named Chin after the Tha Chin river in central Thailand. The elephant was born last week in the Danish zoo. The zookeepers, who take care of the young...
2024-02-29 - Alappuzha, India.
Evoor Kannan, the elephant known for his murderous rage and with a history of killing two mahouts is in a bad mood these days. He had been gentle under the care of his former Mahout Sharath Parippally...
2024-02-20 - Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands.
African elephant Punda has become the mother of a healthy elephant calf after a 22-month pregnancy. This is the third calf born in the Safari Park Beekse Bergen k in four months. Never before have thr...
The zoo said Tsuni died Thursday after a sudden, brief battle with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Her EEHV was detected through routine blood testing on Feb. 8, even though she presente...
2024-02-15 - Seoul, South Korea.
The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday. The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered fr...
2024-01-30 - Bangalore, India.
The Bannerghatta Biological Park is brimming with excitement as it welcomes a delightful new addition—a baby boy elephant calf. This adorable arrival brings the elephant count in the Bannerghatta zo...
2024-01-27 - Guruvayur, India.
Elephant Kannan, of the Guruvayur Devaswom Elephant Camp, a nine-time winner of the festival-related elephant race, has passed away. His demise was around 5:30 pm on Saturday. The tusker's age at the ...
2024-01-27 - Koh Nhek, Cambodia.
Villagers found a baby elephant dead in Koh Nhek district, Mondulkiri province in the middle of the forest on January 26, 2024, suspected of being shot. Mondulkiri Provincial department of environm...
2024-01-13 - Beijing, China.
A recent study published in the journal eLife has uncovered new findings on the development of dextrous trunks by indigenous elephants. According to Dr. Shi-Qi Wang, a senior author of the research, t...
2024-01-13 - Pekanbaru, Indonesia.
The Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan District, Riau Province, again lost one of its Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) after a poacher allegedly killed it for its tusks. The 46-year...
In a narrow but sprawling curatorial space at the uptown museum, The Secret World of Elephants, now opened, tells the story of elephant species and their relatives through life-size models, videos, gr...
2024-01-11 - Mysore, India.
In response to the escalating threat posed by leopards, elephants and other wild animals in the Mysuru region, specialised task forces have been established to address the situation. A dedicated Leopa...
The Los Angeles Zoo is grieving the death of 53-year-old Asian elephant Shaunzi. Zoo staff observed that Shaunzi was unable to stand up in her exhibit at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, according t...
