by Claire Tierney
Scarlet Staff
A picture’s worth a 1000 words
The atmosphere surrounding the London zoo was sheer excitement and exhilaration over the news that the zoo would soon be acquiring a 12-year-old male gorilla from a French nature preserve. While avid zoo fans and zoo officials were pleased and happy at the news, their excitement paled in comparison to that of the three older gorillas inhabiting the zoo. They were experiencing sheer ecstasy when shown the male gorilla “yeoman”; Zaire “shrieked in delight”, Effie “wedged the poster into a tree and stared at it”; and Mjukuu “held the photo close to her chest, “then ate it.”
Gay vulture chicks
Two chicks were recently born on the same day at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo to a gay vulture couple that had a history which spanned about ten years. Zoo keepers provided an artificial egg for the male vulture to pretend to incubate before it was replaced by a just hatched vulture; essentially fooling the male couple into thinking they birthed it. Eventually, the two male vultures split up, and both began mating with their own female vultures. Coincidentally, the two women’s eggs hatched on the same day.
Animal Rights
The Washington D.C. National Zoo has come under negative light for an impeding investigation being headed by The Washington Post about suspicious animal deaths at the zoo. The zoo director refused to release a deceased giraffe’s medical records on the claim that the giraffe was entitled to a right of privacy. This is not an isolated incident either, back in 2004 it was revealed that University of George’s veterinary hospital provides privacy rights to animals similar to the rights hospitals are required to give humans.
Elephant treadmill
The Anchorage Alaska Zoo has finally completed their long-worked on project of “the elephant treadmill”. Over a year ago 23-year-old Maggie, an overweight elephant, was promised the treadmill, so she could work on her figure and health concerns. Since the treadmill was installed, Maggie has lost 1,000 pounds, an entire 10% of her weight through exercise and dieting. Maggie’s treadmill is simply an incredibly massive version of a treadmill for humans. Good going Maggie! Keep up the good work!
Viewing/dining zoological experience
The Beijing Zoo differs from traditional zoos in that patrons may visit a hippopotamuses’ exhibit, then step into the zoo restaurant and dine on one of the zoo’s specials, like the “toe of hippopotamus.” Other interactive viewing/dining zoological experiences include: kangaroo tail, deer penis and ant soup. Not surprisingly, the Beijing Zoo is facing much condemnation.
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