Tiger cubs at the Bronx Zoo pounce and bounce through the snow during their first blizzard.
Tag Archives: zoos
Best Buddies
Photo provided by Busch Gardens
At Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay there is an unusual pair of best friends. Zoo keepers have noticed that Bea, a three year old giraffe, and Wilma the ostrich have been spending time together. This is unusual because animals have a tendency to prefer the company of their own species.
Read more about giraffes at Animal Fact Guide.
Baby Flamingo at SeaWorld Orlando
Photo by Jason Collier/SeaWorld Orlando.
Walker is a four-week-old Caribbean flamingo at SeaWorld Orlando. He eats fish, krill, hard boiled eggs, and cereal. When he matures, he’ll also eat a special formula made just for flamingos. At three years, he’ll develop the characteristic bright pink plumage. The coloring results from eating carotenoid pigments found in a variety of plant and animal life.
For more info, see Seaworld.org.
Photo by Jason Collier/SeaWorld Orlando.
Photo by Jason Collier/SeaWorld Orlando.
VIDEO: Jacksonville Zoo Welcomes Jaguar Cub
Harry, a jaguar who was born January 1st, made his official public debut on Monday at the Jacksonville Zoo.
He been staying in a holding area with his mother, Zassi. To mark his first appearance officials made speeches and then the mother and cub tore open pinatas containing meat.
Harry is the first jaguar born at the zoo in 28 years. He was named by an 11-year-old girl whose parents had won the naming rights at a fundraiser; Harry is the name of her younger brother.
For more visit Jacksonville.com
Study Shows Elephants Lead Shorter Lives in Zoos
Researchers from the journal Science have concluded that elephants in European zoos have shorter lifespans than elephants living in protected areas in Africa. Specifically, they have calculated the median lifespan for a zoo-born African elephant to be 16.9 years as compared with 56.0 years in a protected park. Similarly, Asian elephants born in a zoo live 18.9 years as compared with 41.7 years. Researchers have also found that although survival rates have improved in recent years, mortality rates for elephants in zoos is still significantly higher.
Causes of the shorter lifespans can be attributed to disease, infanticide, obesity, and stress. In the wild or in protected parks, elephants are able to roam vast distances with their herd. At zoos, space is more limited, thereby accounting for some issues like obesity and stress.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has sharply criticized the study, noting that data was collected from only European zoos as opposed to North American zoos. Further, the AZA contends that the study is flawed because it does not take into account the many elephants who are killed by people in the wild.
For more information:
Boston Globe: Zoo elephants at far greater risk of premature death
New York Times: Critical Report on Health of Zoo Elephants Is Debated
Houston Chronicle: Elephants have shorter lives in zoos, researchers find
For more information about African elephants and what you can do to help them, read Animal Fact Guide’s article: African Elephant.
Baby Bison Introduced at Australian Zoo
The Taronga Western Plains Zoo, located in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia (400 km northwest of Sydney), recently announced the birth of a bison calf. Born to parents Shashone and Cherokee Bob, the yet-to-be-named calf is healthy and growing strong.
Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
Newborn bison calves have a reddish, light brown coat and lack the distinctive hump of the adult bison. They begin turning brown and developing the hump after a few months.
For more information about bison, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: American Bison.