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Twycross Zoo's Baby Bonobo Will Be Taken By Plane To Meet His Surrogate Mother
Twycross, UK -Twycross Zoo has the only collection of bonobos in the United Kingdom and on 8th October 2008, Maringa gave birth to a beautiful tiny 1.6 kilo male bonobo baby. Although in the early weeks the youngster was unwell and needed extensive nursing and medical care, which involved a MRI scan, there are great expectations for the baby as he will be travelling to Frankfurt Zoo shortly to meet a new bonobo foster family. Keepers at Twycross Zoo decided to name the baby “Bili” after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the species originates from. Frankfurt Zoo keepers will play a vital part helping to rear Bili, as well as the bonobo collection that will play and interact with him, helping Bili to develop as he becomes part of their social group. Keepers at Frankfurt have trained a female bonobo to assist with hand rearing babies. Bili will be a part of the group and the female will hand the baby to the keeper so the keeper is able to feed and monitor him. Bonobos are our closest living relative as they have 99.6 % similar DNA to humans. These apes are under threat every day from hunters and habitat destruction hence they are extremely endangered. The bonobos at Twycross are the only ones in the UK and are part of an international breeding program. In the spring of 2008 Twycross Zoo’s Director Suzanne Boardman and Conservation Officer Claire Pipe visited Lola Ya Bonobo, the only bonobo sanctuary in the world, to find out how Twycross Zoo could make a difference to bonobo conservation in the wild. Twycross Zoo has pledged to help to secure the future of the bonobo in the wild by 2020. They will also contribute to the work of Lola Ya Bonobo, by assisting with the project in the wild and raising as much public awareness as possible – all through a new programme “BONOBO”! Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo East Midland Zoological Society is a registered charity (No 501841) and aims to “care for our world’s animals and environments through conservation, communication and integrity” Twycross Zoo is the most comprehensive collection of primate species and subspecies in the western world. Twycross is a popular visitor attraction for families and school children welcoming over 500,000 visitors annually. Opening times for visitors are summer 10.00 am – 5.30 pm and winter 10.00 am - 4.00 pm; the Zoo is open 364 days a year only closing Christmas Day. Twycross has informal and formal education programmes for all sectors of society about wildlife conservation. We incorporate our animals wherever possible into regional and global breeding programmes to aid species conservation. We have developed environmental enrichment programmes to give our animals a fulfilled life, both physically and mentally. Twycross Zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and Wildlife Information Network (WIN). These organisations represent their member collections and promote the values of good zoos and aquariums. |
By Kim Riley 
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Irresponsible Board of Management
Maybe , just maybe The Toronto Zoo Board Is In The Middle Of A Financial Crisis And There Is No Place To Go But To City Council like a wayward son go to Mom and Dad for more money...
Although it was made clear by Shelley Carroll (the City's Budget Chief) that the Toronto Zoo has to behave more financially responsible, perhaps the problem is that there is no place else to go. The $250 Million fund-raising plans are a pipe dream (especially after firing the Zoo Foundation), it is not possible to raise admission prices any longer (or face a significant drop in attendance) and the "junkets" (especially to China for the Giant Pandas) by members of the Zoo Board can not be cut significantly for any reason. In other words, there is no place to go but City Council. What a crock! The Toronto Zoo Board needs a reality check, as it has become clear that they do not understand the problems they are facing. Perhaps the thousands of free Zoo passes given to Councillors on the Zoo Board could be cut to zero, perhaps the Zoo Foundation could be re-instated, and perhaps a citizen's advisory committee could be formed to provide much-needed guidance to the existing members of the Board.
This is Proof positive
that citizens should have more direct say in the budget process. Line item veto by a citizen's budget committee might get the desired cuts we must attain. The citizens of Toronto should stand with one voice that we just won't allow a property tax increase this year.
By Latinoboy in TORONTO
Ethyl Mercaptan
I would be quite interested in any reference you might have to the presence of ethyl mercaptan in carrion. Most literature indicates that dimethyl sulfide and methyl mercaptan are the sulfur containing entities involved. I had also thought that vultures, like many carrion eating and inhabiting species (flies, etc) were attracted to the rather bad smell of the nitrogenous materials (cadaverine, putresceine, etc) produced during decomposition.
Ant farms
Very nice ant exhibit! I wrote a small ant farm post with a reference to your article.
Train Business Directory Available for Visitors
A "Train Business Directory" shows over 850 locations near all of the Portland MAX light rail at PortlandLightRail.net.
Happy Birthday, Boomer!
You are a great ambassador for your cousins in the wild, Boomer!
Orangutans are critically endangered because of rapid deforestation and the expansion of palm oil plantations.
If nothing is done to protect orangutans, they could be extinct in just a few years!
Your fans can visit the Orangutan Outreach website to make a difference!
Orangutan Outreach
http://redapes.org
Reach out and save the orangutans!
Facebook Cause: http://causes.com/redapes
Venemous snakes?
What is it with people that want to exterminate venemous snakes? If they weren't an integral part of the food chain and ecosystem, they wouldn't be here! Evolution and natural selection has chosen them as survivors! The fact that they are "harmful" to humans is only a result of humans encroaching on their territories and habitats. Be mindful of your surroundings and situation and you can safely live with the so called "harmful" species that we share this planet with!
Local wildlife day
Good luck with the event. We have some fabulous wildlife in Devon that's really worth celebrating. We recently had a botanical survey of our small Devon nature reserve, which recorded more than 180 species in about 3.5 acres. And even more amazing was the depth of local knowledge the visiting naturalists had to share - on everything from obscure moths to lichens.
Local wildlife day
Good luck with the event. We have some fabulous wildlife in Devon that's really worth celebrating. We recently had a botanical survey of our small Devon nature reserve, which recorded more than 180 species in about 3.5 acres. And even more amazing was the depth of local knowledge the visiting naturalists had to share - on everything from obscure moths to lichens.
Sadly, a lack of common sense is the trend
What is sad to me is the lack of common sense regarding venomous snakes that seems to becoming more commonplace.
It has become trendy for government agencies to defend venomous snakes, saying they kill rodents, etc., but non-venomous snakes also kill rodents. I have not heard one logical argument as to what a venomous snake contributes to an ecosystem that a non-venomous snake doesn't.
Any non-biased biologist can affirm species extinction has always happened naturally. It's common sense to kill a venomous snake, rather than let it continue breeding and increase the potential for harm.
The unfortunate consequence of naturalists defending venomous snakes is they make them appear so necessary and harmless that both people and agencies--hospitals, for example--do not expect or prepare for snake encounters.
It's doubtful that many hospitals near the snakes stock the expensive antivenin. Governments should help fund snakebite treatment rather than fund snake protection.
Skype Usage
Very cool and novel way to use Skype. Glad to see that people are thinking outside the box with its collaborative application. If it's not too late, you may want to submit this to Skype as a good use of their software for the Skype in business contest they're running.
Shawn
OnState Communications
Word Oceans Day - June 8
And don't forget to "Wear Blue and Tell Two"
Another great way to celebrate World Oceans Day is to wear blue in honor of the ocean and tell people two things they likely don't know about the ocean and two ways they can take action. For more Information check out this website:
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