ZOO BEAR NEWS

(adapted from Current Zoo & Conservation News, Zoological Society Library- SDZ archives; Peter Dickinson's Zoo News Digest; and additional sources (as cited))

March 2006

Photo in the News: Polar Bear Triplets Born in Zoo -- A First?

National Geographic News: Polar Bear Triplets at the Ouwehands Zoo (Netherlands)

APRIL-MAY 2006

Calgary Zoo Unveils Mega-Exhibit

Calgary Zoo hopes to open "Arctic Shores", a $100-million exhibit for polar bears, beluga whales and other Arctic animals in 2010. President and CEO Alex Graham said it will be a replica of the ecosystem of the Canadian North and is believed to be the largest of its kind in the world. It is part of the zoo's Project Discovery initiative, which includes expansion of the elephant enclosure, a redesign of the north entrance and an upgrade of the conservatory. Graham admitted Calgary's construction boom could now push the cost of Project Discovery to $140 million -- $20 million more than the original budget. The zoo has already secured $35 million from the province and $30 million from the city and is looking for a federal grant and corporate money. The complex will be as big as a football field, contain 10 million litres of water and fall 10 metres at its deepest point. Visitors will be able to see the animals from the warmth and security of a viewing concourse and underwater acrylic tunnels. The facility will also showcase a splash of Antarctica with penguins in their own ecosystem, with separate areas for bears and belugas, although Dr. Clement Lanthier, the zoo's director of live collections, said there's no guarantee of securing whales.

Greenpeace Studies Arctic Polar Bears

LOS ANGELES - Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larson, two U.S. explorers, will begin a four-month expedition to the North Pole and back to Greenland starting May 1. Project Thin Ice 2006 -- Saving the Polar Bear is sponsored by Greenpeace, and will involve 1,100 miles of travel by foot and canoe to test the depth and density of the ice. According to some scientists, the Arctic Ocean could become ice-free in the summer within a hundred years, and polar bears cannot survive without sea ice. The U.S. government said in February it would consider whether the bears should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Currently, polar bears are losing weight as their hunting grounds melt away, making it harder for them to hunt seals. According to Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the polar bear population fell 14 percent to just 950 between 1994 and 2004.

Sloth Bear Born at National Zoo

WASHINGTON -- Veterinarians at the National Zoo have gotten their first look at the sloth bear cub that was born in Jan. 9. They were able to conduct a quick exam Thursday after numerous attempts by animal care staff to separate the cub and its very protective mother, Hana. Veterinarian Carlos Sanchez, who gave the cub a de-wormer and a rabies shot, said the male cub, which weighs about 11 pounds, appears strong and healthy. This is the third cub for 11-year-old Hana. She gave birth to two cubs in December 2004, but both cubs died within four days of being born. At birth, sloth bear cubs are very small, fragile and dependent on their mothers. They are known to stay in their dens until they are a few months old. Zoo officials said Hana and her cub will go on exhibit in a few weeks. The cub's 24-year-old father, Merlin, can be viewed at the sloth bear exhibit at the bottom of the zoo's Beaver Valley.

Thai Pandas Get Man-made Snow

CHIANG MAI, April 23 (TNA) - Thailand's Zoological Park Organisation has O.K.d the construction of an artificial snow building for a pair of pandas, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, at the Chiang Mai Zoo. Zoo director Thanapat Pongphamorn said that the planned structure was proposed by the zoo to create a setting that will be more to their natural habitat in China. The project is expected to cost Bt50 million and construction will begin next year with completion expected in 2009. Zoo visitors will also enjoy the artificial snow and will be allowed to touch and play with it. The planned artificial snow habitat is designed to encourage the pandas to produce baby pandas.

$10 million Donated to Memphis Zoo

FedEx founder Fred Smith and his wife, Diane, have given $10 million to the Memphis Zoo for a new, three-acre grizzly bear exhibit. The donation is the largest private contribution in the zoo's 100-year history and part of a $28 million, 10-year campaign that also will include a new hippopotamus exhibit. Zoo officials said about $18.6 total has been raised. The "Teton Trek" exhibit will be similar to the environment of the Yellowstone River basin in Yellowstone National Park. Bears will have room to swim, dive for fish, and bask in the sun on rock formations. The design also features a replica of Yellowstone's Old Faithful and the historic landmark Old Faithful Inn, which will serve as a climate-controlled viewing space of the grizzly habitat, where timberwolves, elk, sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans will also reside.

Pittsburgh Zoo Enhances Polar Bear Viewing

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s newest exhibit is called Water's Edge, and will feature polar bears, sea otters and walrus. The polar bears will begin arriving in June and the walruses in fall 2007. The polar bear pool will hold 148,000 gallons of water and the walruses will have a 265,000-gallon pool, and the sea otters a 57,000- gallon pool. The zoo has raised $14.4 million for the project, which will cost at least $19 million. The campaign also includes construction of a new animal hospital. On Monday, a 30’ viewing tunnel was installed in the polar bear exhibit and a 40’ long tunnel was installed in the walrus exhibit. Both tunnels are seamless, 12 feet wide and made of clear acrylic to enhance visitors' view of the animals' underwater activities. The tunnels were built by Reynolds Polymer Technology, of Grand Junction, Colo.

Zoo adds tunnels for polar bear exhibit

First Panda in Captivity Freed

WOLONG, China, April 29 (UPI) -- Xiang Xiang, a 4-year-old panda, was released into the wild of Wolong, following three years of survival training. The first-ever human-raised giant panda to be released in the wild will be monitored through a global position device on his collar, China Daily reported. Xiang Xiang was selected from more than 100 giant pandas bred in captivity for natural habitat training, mostly because he was strong and healthy, said experts. He learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark his territory, and developed defensive skills by howling and biting, said Zhang Hemin, head of the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center. "Xiang Xiang is like my child who has grown up and left the family to live independently," said Liu Bin, who helped look after him for three years. "I hope he can survive on his own without forgetting me," said Liu who turned away with tears in his eyes.

Asiatic Black Bear Cubs at Denver Zoo

DENVER -- The Denver Zoo's 3 Asiatic Black Bear cubs, born January 16, and their mother are now on exhibit at the Denver Zoo. Zoo officials said the cubs, Chai, Thai and Omai, were big enough to move to their outdoor habitat in the historic Bear Mountain exhibit. 32 Asiatic Black Bears now reside in 12 North American Zoos. This is Denver's second set of cubs. In the wild they are limited to east and southeast Asia. Because of the white crescent on their chests they are sometimes referred to as "moon bears"

More US Zoos Want Pandas

Representatives of U.S. zoos that have pandas: National Zoo, the San Diego Zoo and Zoo Atlanta, as well as zoos that want them, Henry Doorly, Toronto and Albuquerque are part of the Giant Panda Conservation Foundation. They are planning a trip to China to check on the programs funded by the loan fees zoos pay to display the animals and to try negotiating better terms. Most American zoos pay at least $1 million (euro790,000) a year to borrow pandas for the display and research. That money pays for projects in the pandas' natural habitat, like wildlife preserves, reforestation and training conservation workers, The Commercial Appeal reported. Dave Towne, the foundation's president and retired director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, told the paper that during a recent trip to China he observed 16 baby pandas being raised in facilities improved by funding and expertise from American zoos. ''I am impressed with the progress that's been made,'' Towne told the paper. Before the loans began, ''China really had no money for wildlife conservation. The money that came out of U.S. zoos has made a major difference.'' Chuck Brady, Memphis Zoo's president and CEO, said the aim of lowering loan fees is to allow more zoos to help efforts to revive the species.

Saskatoon Zoo Plans Expansion

The Saskatoon Zoo and Forestry Farm park has announced its most ambitious expansion plan. They have already raised $540,00 and hope to raise a total of $2.1 million to develop an education centre, a bear exhibit, Phase 2 of the PotashCorp ark, the Raptor Flight Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre and an accessible park playground. Mayor Don Atchison announced the city will also donate $1.3 million to visitor services at the zoo. "People need to understand this is the only zoo we have in the province of Saskatchewan," he said. The zoo is not only a tourist attraction, but also a national heritage site. A rotating group of Canadian wildlife will be displayed at the PotashCorp Ark, and the zoo will have a permanent bear exhibit. The new Raptor Flight Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre will provide a space for rehabilitated birds to redevelop their wing muscles and for endangered species to breed. The zoo conducts 500 educational programs each year on the environment and conservation. The new educational facility will enhance the program

Giant Panda Release at Wolong

DPA, HONG KONG -- Four-year-old giant panda, Xiang Xiangwas was carefully selected at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Area to be the first giant panda ever to be bred in captivity and then released into the wild. On April 28th he was released in front of a crowd of onlookers, policemen with tranquilizer guns and the 28-year-old keeper who raised him from a cub. But the high-profile breeding program in Sichuan is controversial and some experts say that rather than releasing giant pandas bred into the wild, China should instead be concentrating its resources on preserving habitats for pandas like Xiang Xiang to live in. Since the 1970s, 50 percent of the pandas' habitat has been wiped out by deforestation and rapid industrialization. So as Xiang Xiang begins his battle to survive life in modern China, the pressing issue is not whether pandas should be released to the wild but whether there is sufficient wild to release them to.

Como Zoo"s $9 Million Upgrade

ST PAUL -- Lawmakers have approved $9 million in improvements to the Como Zoo, giving primates and polar bears more space and upgraded facilities. The primates' new habitat is four times bigger than their current home and has some additional features. "The outdoor exhibit will have heating features that will allow the animals to warm up if they are out in the snow which will allow expand the amount of time the gorilla's can be outside," said Michael Hahm, the zoo campus manager. The zoo eventually wants to have a family of gorillas and now it will be possible to add a female gorilla. Twin polar bears, Buzz and Neil, are also getting a bigger home. The polar bear exhibit will be eight times the size of the existing exhibit, Hahm said, and include a new upgraded water system. "The new polar bear exhibit will have salt water features -- the salt water is the new standard for Canadian polar bears will be extremely important in enhancing our conservation mission at the zoo," he said. The Duluth Zoo will receive $600,000 for its polar bear exhibit. The Little Falls Zoo has been allotted $400,000 for overall improvements and the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. is getting $15 million for several projects.

Sloth Bear Cub Goes On Display At Zoo

For details, visit:
http://library.sandiegozoo.org/News/news_current.htm