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Orphaned African Painted Dog Pups at Pittsburgh Zoo Adopted
Pittsburgh, PA - A domestic mixed-breed dog is acting as a surrogate mom for nine African painted dog pups after their mother died just a few days following their birth. “Vega, our 10-year-old female African painted dog, gave birth to a litter of pups last Sunday. As a first-time mom she was doing very well,” says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. “The pups were nursing and Vega was very attentive to her brood.” On Wednesday, keepers noticed that Vega seemed lethargic and by 4 p.m. she stopped moving. “We are all very saddened by Vega’s death,” says Dr. Baker. “Our keepers develop close relationships with their animals and feel the loss very deeply.” A necropsy determined that Vega died from a ruptured uterus. Doctors also found that Vega retained one pup in her uterus, which may have contributed to the rupture. The mother’s death put the pups’ lives in great jeopardy. “The mortality rate for African painted dog pups is 50 percent, even with a healthy mother,” says Dr. Baker. “Our dilemma was whether to attempt to hand-raise the pups or to contact the local animal shelters to find a female dog that had just given birth and was nursing her pups.” The Zoo started a search for a surrogate mom and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society had the perfect candidate – a mixed-breed named “Honey” who had delivered six pups several weeks earlier. Staffers had just started weaning Honey’s pups so she was still able to nurse. Honey and the African painted dog pups took to each other almost immediately. There are nine pups, six males and three females. “Of course it is still a tentative situation and we are keeping a close watch, but so far everything seems to be good,” says Dr. Baker. The Zoo has two male dogs-Draco and Puck. African painted dogs are endangered, with only 3,000 to 6,000 remaining in the wild. The Zoo is part of a conservation effort to protect these wonderful animals. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is open year round. For directions, hours, tickets and group sales information, call 412 665-3640. Visit the Zoo’s website at www.pittsburghzoo.com . The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. For more information visit www.aza.org . To view Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-85-Pittsburgh_Zoo_&_PPG_Aquarium |
By Tracy Gray
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Unusual to have three snow leopard cubs
Congratulations to ABQ BioPark and the proud cat parents on the birth of three snow leopard cubs. That's fantastic news and we look forward to these three playing an important role in snow leopard survival breeding and also helping educate people about their endangered cousins in the wild.
Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme environments on earth - in high altitudes and freezing temperatures. If we don't do a lot of work with communities and governments in snow leopards 12 range countries, these beautiful cats may be extinct in the wild in our life time.
Sibylle Noras
Founder and Publisher
“Saving Snow Leopards” website. See how conservationists and zoos are working to help these rare and elusive cats avoid extinction.
http://www.snowleopardblog.com
Love penguin fluffballs.
I especially liked if you go to the zoo's homepage and click on the info about naming the baby, the winner says she'd like to be able to tell her dad that a penguin was named after him for his birthday. Adorable!
If you have any interest in reading a new blog, featuring conservation of adorable animals and their habitats, please check out my website...
Conservation:Cute
http://conservationcute.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
World Oceans Day
For more information about World Oceans Day and a list of other events in your area you can visit www.WorldOceansDay.org
Elephants
Asome news on the new baby! I agree with everyone here on the fact that animals should not be in captivation. If you want to check out a really cool place in Thailand where you can care for elephants check out http://www.elephantstay.com this place is a sanctuary for retired working elephants, it's an amazing place and they do so much good for the animals who live there. I went a few months ago and it was amazing.
Kimberly Juchnowski
Publisher, http://www.tikikiki.com
zoo animal diet's
It's ridiculous to try extrapolate zoo animals diet to human beings, and it flies in the face of all science of the last 30 years that looked into nutrition and health research. Maybe Rudy Socha was being sarcastic? I hope so.
response to starseed
I fully agree with you when it comes to the captivity of orcas. These animals live considerably shorter, unhealthier lives than they normally would have in the wild. I am disgusted by what I have seen at Sea World. They claim to be trying to educate people on the animals when really it is all nothing but a circus with the animals being made to perform to attract customers. I am a little more on the fence however when it comes to some other species of dolphins, such as the ones they keep at Vancouver Aquarium. While I do not support the capture of wild dolphins, I do recognize the fact that there are species that actually live longer and perhaps healthier lives in captivity than in the wild. One of the neat things at the Vancouver Aquarium is that none of the dolphins were captured for the purpose of entertainment: they were all animals that were rescued after getting caught and injured in fishing nets and are unable to return to the wild due to their injuries. I have seen the shows and the aquarium are truly focused more on educating visitors than trying to entertain them at the animals' expense.
Christian's Award
I know that Christian is dedicated to her aquarium job and to the rehab of sea turtles. I am proud of her.
Dry Tortugas National Park
The seashore, our accredited Summer Learning Adventure Camps merge scientific exploration Dry Tortugas National Park with hands-on fun and learning. Campers investigate marine habitats, create ocean art projects, learn about careers in oceanography, and combine the science and sports of surfing and snorkeling, all while making new friends and memories.
hey
http://www.deafmatching.com is an online community for deaf, ASL and hearing-impaired friends and singles!
Have fun with photos, message boards, chat, blog and more.
Don't support it anymore
I think we should move on from having dolphins in captivity now - we all know this isn't good for them.
diabetes
diabetes
pacaya samiria national reserve
The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is a magical place. The flora, fauna, remoteness and beauty are exquisite. Another interesting aspect is how the indigenous people there live. To learn more and see photos taken by indigenous children in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, you can visit ninosdelaamazonia.org
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