Sunday, January 31, 2010

Picture of Baby Asian Elephant in Tall Grass

Baby elephants are born big, standing approximately three feet (one meter) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91 kilograms) at birth. They nurse for two to three years, and are fully mature at 9 (females) to 15 (males) years of age.




www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/wallpaper/animals/photos/baby-animals/baby-asian-elephant/

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Vote for Baby Giraffee Name!

From Six Flags Discovery Kingdom:

A big thank you to all of you who entered our Giraffe Baby Naming Contest.
The contest closed on January 15 and we went to work to compile the more than 650 names sent in. There were some very creative and thought-provoking names. Many of you also took the time to do research to find the perfect name for our little “big” guy. We appreciate your attention to detail!

You can now vote for the Top 5 names as selected by a panel of judges from our animal care department. Please vote once from January 20-29, after which the polls will close. The winning name will be announced on or about February 1.

The Top 5 names met the contest criteria that included use of a name that included a special meaning related to the reticulated giraffe's native range of northeast Africa, Somalia and northern Kenya. These included words in Swahilli, other languages, or based on a cultural or historical reference.

Please note that the rules indicate that the duplicate submissions of the winning name will be picked randomly for the final grand prize. If your name is selected, like submissions will be placed together and the final winner will be randomly pulled from a hat.


VOTE FOR Jabari (YOUNG, POWERFUL AND STRONG)

VOTE FOR Mosi (FIRST BORN)


VOTE FOR Zuberi (STRONG)


VOTE FOR Zuwadi (GIFT)


VOTE FOR Kendi (the loved one)





http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/animals/babygiraffenamingcontest.aspx

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Question of the Day: Eagle vs. Wolf

I didn't believe this until I saw it for myself. Apparently, hunters in Mongolia use golden eagles to hunt wolves and foxes. Check out this video:



I feel bad for the wolves but I assume the Mongolians need to eat them to survive.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Pictures from SeaWorld Orlando



Behind the Thrills recently visited SeaWorld Orlando to check out the latest goings on. They've got a small photo update from Sea World Orlando including loads of pictures of Atlantis, Manta, and Omaka Rocka. Check it out!


Sunday, January 17, 2010

Detroit Zoo Pictures 2009


I got a new Nikon camera for my birthday so we decided to put it to good use by visiting the Detroit Zoo. It was a little on the cold side so we thought it was going to be a crappy day but it turned out even more enjoyable than our visit last summer. Animals of note that were a treat to see were the baby red panda, arctic foxes, wolverine and, of course, feeding the giraffes. Enjoy the pictures!





















Thursday, January 14, 2010

New Whale at Sea World San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego welcomes Sully, a new young male pilot whale, to the park this week. Sully had beached himself on Curacao last July, an island in the Caribbean, and was nursed back to health. The local rescue teams made several attempts to re2010_0105_SullyArrival-introduce Sully back into the wild but each time Sully would follow the boat back to shore, showing no sign of wanting to return to the ocean. With no long term care facility to take care of Sully, it was determined that SeaWorld San Diego was the most suitable new home for him, as the park has a long history of care and experience in taking care of pilot whales for over 20 years.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Zoo Park Map Spotlight: St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park





Today is our first Park Map Spotlight! Similar to the Brochure Spotlight feature, I will be displaying old park maps of zoos that I have collected over the years. Our first trip takes us to the Alligator Farm of St. Augustine, Florida. This park map is from the mid-nineties and according to Wikipedia: The park began in 1893 on St. Augustine Beach as a minor attraction at the end of a railway running through neighboring Anastasia Island. The alligators were added at first to get visitors to buy souvernirs and see the museum there. Soon, though, the reptiles themselves became the point of interest. Growing in popularity, the park moved to its current location in the early 1920s. The park changed owners in the 1930s, and after a devastating fire, they started reconstruction and expansion of the facilities.




The highlight of the trip to the Alligator Farm back then was Gomek, one of the largest crocodiles to ever be put on display. Gomek even has his very own Wikipedia page:



Gomek was a large Saltwater Crocodile captured by George Craig in Papua New Guinea. He was purchased by Terri and Arthur Jones in 1985 and was kept in Ocala, Florida for five years before being sold to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida. For 8 years he wowed spectators with both his amazing nutria-tossing abilities and his even more amazing tolerance of people. Feeders of the large croc were allowed to go into the enclosure and get as close as 1 meter from the large animal (a normally suicidal proximity) without any fear of attack. While feeders still used long tongs to feed Gomek, he was generally considered to be a "tame" crocodile and was the favorite of the Alligator farm and people around the nation.






After many years, Gomek died of heart disease on March 6, 1997. By then, he was a very old crocodile, and one of the largest and tamest captive crocodile in existence. When he died, he was 17 feet 8 inches (5.5 m) long, and weighed nearly 2,000 pounds - as confirmed by St. Augustine Alligator Farm - and probably between 80 and 90 years old. There is a tribute to Gomek in St. Augustine.




I’ll have to dig up some of my pictures of Gomek from our visit but for now enjoy this feeding video courtesy of YoutTube:

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Blind seal finds new home at Detroit Zoo

Blind seal finds new home at Detroit Zoo
JEREMY CARROLL
Published: January 6, 2010
ROYAL OAK - A blind seal that was rescued from a beach in Massachusetts earlier this year has moved into the Detroit Zoo's Arctic Ring of Life. The 70-pound male seal, believed to be approximately 1 year old, was taken to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut after it was found in August. A medical exam revealed that the seal had congenital blindness and would likely not survive if returned to the ocean.

The Detroit Zoo announced the seal's arrival on Dec. 21.

"We're happy we can provide a home for this little guy who can't be returned to his natural habitat," said Scott Carter, the zoo's chief life sciences officer, in a statement. "The Arctic Ring of Life is a great place for seals and we think he'll do very well here." The Arctic Ring of Life is North America's largest polar bear and seal exhibit, according to the zoo. It encompasses more than four acres, including a 70-foot-long clear underwater tunnel that allows visitors to view the polar bears and seals swimming.

The new addition, named Pequot, is a harp seal, which is native to North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, according to the zoo. An adult male normally weighs approximately 300 pounds and can live 30 years in captivity. The harp seal is considered a threatened species due to commercial hunting and climate change, the zoo said.

The Detroit Zoo is the only zoo in the United States to care for harp seals.

Pequot, who gets his name from an American Indian tribe that originated in Connecticut, joins the zoo's only other harp seal, Mack, who was rescued from a beach in Maryland in 1997 after having been shot.

For more information on the Detroit Zoo, visit them online at www.detroitzoo. org or call (248) 541-5717.

Caption:Photo provided by the Detroit Zoo Pequot, a harp seal that was rescued on a beach in Massachusetts earlier this year, has taken up permanent residence at the Detroit Zoo's Arctic Ring of Life.


Copyright, 2010, Royal Oak Review (MI), All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Brochure Spotlight: SeaWorld Cleveland

This is the first post in our new feature called Brochure Spotlight where I will be sharing pictures of old zoo brochures I have kept. The first is a look back at the now defunct SeaWorld of Cleveland. This particular brochure was printed in 1998.




Built in 1970, this second SeaWorld park was built in Aurora, Ohio, 30 miles southeast of Cleveland. The park was relatively successful until February 2001, when Anheuser-Busch sold the Ohio park to Six Flags. Sea World executives claimed that their park had been sold because of the short season for animals due to Northeastern Ohio's cold winter months, and also because they were not able to get the rights to build roller coasters like the other Sea World properties had been able to. The site is now the location of Wildwater Kingdom water park.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Video: Wild Lights at the Columbus Zoo 2009

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I made it out to the Columbus Zoo a week ago for Wild Lights. Below is a short video I took of some of the dancing lights to music around the center lake. I will have more pictures and a review coming soon. Enjoy!