2007-12-31 - Kegalle, Sri Lanka. B. W. Eheliyagoda
The elephant 'Suranimala' of the renowned Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in the outskirts of Kegalle town created a scene when it was taken by its mahouts for a bath in the 'Maha Oya' just by the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on December 24. While bathing 'Suranimala' became restless and started to run amok threatening the many visitors to the elephant orphanage on this Christmas eve. There were both foreign and local visitors watching the elephants bathing. The efforts of the mahouts to bring the ...
2007-12-31 - Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand.
A herd of wild elephants trampled a Karen man to death and injured his friend near a road in Hua Hin district yesterday. The dead man was identified only as Bird. He died of head injuries and multiple broken bones. Haepo, 19, also a Karen, was treated in hospital for less serious hand and leg injuries. Mr Haepo told police he was driving a motorcycle with Bird riding pillion. They were on their way home after a night out when they came across the elephants, which were blocking the Hua Hin-Ban Hu...
2007-12-31 - Sauraha, Nepal.
Nepal has hosted the fourth annual International Elephant Race. Hundreds of specatators gathered in Sauraha in Chitwan National Park in Narayani for the Elephant Extravaganza. Organisers said they hope to draw the attention of tourists to Nepal's wildlife and show that it is so much more than just a land of mountains. The keepers, known as mahouts across Nepal, spend hours washing their animals and dressing them so they are in tip top shape for the race. This year 20 national and international c...
2007-12-31 - Cuttack, India. LALMOHAN PATNAIK
Orissa is facing a Catch-22 situation over elephant conservation, as more pachyderms are moving into human habitats due to destruction of elephant corridors. Wild elephants lumbered into Athagarh, a sub-divisional headquarters in Cuttack on December 25. The presence of a big herd of 40 wild elephants in areas near Chilka Lake, earlier in the month, was also unprecedented. The presence of elephants in Athagarh and Chilka, experts believe, is symptomatic of the alarming fallout of man-made disturb...
2007-12-30 - Colchester, United Kingdom.
AN elephant never forgets, and we won't either. Since Kito and Jambo were born at Colchester Zoo thousands of adoring visitors have enjoyed watching them play, eat and grow. And The Evening Star has followed their progress closely too, reporting on their development and training. But now the duo are off to pastures new to take part a European breeding programme. So from early next year five-year-old Kito and Jambo, who will turn four in March, will be in Valencia in Spain.
2007-12-30 - Thiruvananthapuram, India.
The Kerala government on Sunday ordered a probe into the death of two baby elephants at a camp for the pachyderms at Kodanad in Ernakulam district. Talakkad Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) would conduct the probe, an official release said here today. The elephants Aswathi and Niranjan had died recently after showing symptoms of 'herpis virus' infection. But the real cause behind the death could be determined only after getting final laboratory report, the release said. However, the officials...
2007-12-30 - NARAYANI, Nepal.
A big race for some big guys is turning into tradition in Nepal. For the past four years people have been getting together for the "Elephant Race" Jockeys climb on the backs of the giant mammals and race them as excited villagers look on. The event was organized to boost tourism and to draw attention to Nepal's elephant population. In all, 20 elephants competed in this year's race. The winner took home a trophy shaped like an elephant.
2007-12-30 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Yerevan Zoo in Armenia was in the news last year as animal rights activists battled Sri Lankan authorities in the Supreme Court to stop nine year old Asokamala, born at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage from being exported to that zoo. Rights activists say the Yerevan Zoo which boasts of 2,300 animals is in a deplorable state. Recreational Minister, Gamini Lokuge who was the mover and shaker of the proposed gift reportedly denied to media, claims by animal rights activists that there was a co...
2007-12-29 - TEMERLOH, Malaysia. LISA GOH
Sanom may be just a baby but she is a fighter. Despite wounds all over her body, believed to be from a tiger attack, the four-year-old elephant is still on her feet. When she was first brought to Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre on Monday, Sanom was covered in maggot-infested puncture wounds on her back, and had gaping wounds on the soles of both hind feet. Where her tail should be, there is another open wound. “The orang asli in Kg Sanom (in Sungai Siput, Perak) found her n...
2007-12-29 - YAMUNANAGAR, India.
Haryana forests minister Kiran Chaudhry on Friday laid the foundation stone for an elephant rescue centre (ERC), first of its kind in India, at Bansantour forest here. The ERC was earlier planned in Chakbala Sahib area but it could not be realized due to land constraints. Centre has already released Rs 50 lakh for the Rs 90-lakh project. Construction of ERC is expected to be completed within a few months.
2007-12-29 - Tokyo, Japan.
The frozen carcass of a 37 000-year-old baby mammoth unearthed this summer in Siberia arrived in Japan on Saturday for tests that researchers hope will shed new light on the internal structure of the ancient beasts, an official said. The 1.2m grey-and-brown carcass arrived at Tokyo International Airport on Saturday afternoon, said Mitsuyoshi Uno, an official with the joint Russo-Japanese mammoth-study project that is overseeing the research.
2007-12-29 - Tokyo, Japan. Gwen Thompkins
Sometime early next year, tons of African ivory will be sold at auction to Japan. Despite the international ban on the trade, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia will be allowed a one-time purge of their stockpiled ivory. Conservationists hope the sale won't reignite widespread demand for elephant tusks.
2007-12-29 - UDHAGAMANDALAM, India. B Ravichandran
The Tamilnadu Green Movement (TNGM) has alleged clearing of forest area for constructing a resort. An extent of about 12 acres of green lands in Madhugatta at Bokkapuram, an elephant corridor, which comes under the purview of Supreme Court’s definition of forests is being cleared, presumably for the purpose of constructing resort, the movement said and threatened to move the apex court against the District Forest Officer (DFO) of Nilgiris North Division.
2007-12-29 - Subrahmanya, India. Daijiworld Media Network
Now on, pilgrims to Kukke Shri Subrahmanya temple here will have a friendly animal to greet them when they arrive at this religious centre. A baby elephant named 'Yashaswi' has been donated by B S Anand Singh, a businessman from Hospet in Bellary district of northern Karnataka. The three-and-a-half-year-old pachyderm had been originally brought from Gopalganj near the Nepal border and purchased from the elephant 'mela' held in Assam.
2007-12-28 - Yamba, Australia. PETER ELLEM
THE close-knit Stardust Circus community is in mourning after one of its two star performing elephants crushed a handler to death at Yamba late yesterday. A police spokesman last night confirmed that the unidentified man, aged in his sixties, was found by a fellow male handler lying facedown with a serious back injury in an elephant exercise enclosure about 5.15pm. While WorkCover has been called in to investigate the fatality, police who attended the scene are still unsure whether the victim ha...
2007-12-28 - Yamba, Australia. Evelyn Yamine
SHE has entertained millions of circus-goers but Arna the elephant's illustrious career spanning more than 40 years has not been without scandal. The 50-year-old Asiatic elephant is regularly at the centre of a tug-of-war between her owners and animal activists over her alleged treatment. But tragedy hit close to home yesterday, with police and WorkCover officers today continuing investigations into the freak death of Arna's handler. Paramedics said the man died of a heart attack and had suffere...
2007-12-28 - Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
A group of wild elephants, came down from the hilly terrain, today killed four people including a mother and two children at Eidgaon area of Sadar Upazila under the district. The angry elephants also damaged eight households in Satgharia Para of West Gazalia of Islamabad union in the same Upazila. The elephants were hungry and became mad, according to the experts of the Department of Forest. Police and the local residents said the elephants at first attacked the house of Mojaher Mia and his wife...
2007-12-28 - Yamba, Australia.
Initial reports said the man had been crushed to death by an elephant that fell off a plank while being unloaded, but police later said the man had been found dead in an enclosure with the elephants. He is believed to have been the elephant's handler for the past two years. Ambulance officers who arrived at the scene yesterday said it appeared the man had suffered a cardiac arrest. The Stardust Circus was making its first appearance at Yamba with a show due to start tonight, and the circus has t...
2007-12-28 - Colchester, United Kingdom.
COLCHESTER Zoo's two young African Bull Elephants, Jambo and Kito, will be transferring to a new zoo in Spain in February or March to take part in a European breeding programme, it has emerged. The two young elephants are particularly important genetically, so have been selected to take part in a breeding programme at BioParc Valencia in Spain. Zoological Director of Colchester Zoo, Anthony Tropeano, said they would be “extremely sad” to see the elephants go. He said: “We have always known...
2007-12-28 - Yamba, Australia. Rhett Watson
A CIRCUS worker, possibly trodden on and killed by an elephant on the NSW north coast, had suffered a minor heart attack three weeks before he died. News of Ray Williams's medical problems were revealed yesterday as the possibility emerged that the 57-year-old's crush injuries were caused by the elephant, Arna, trying to nudge him awake after his heart stopped. Mr Williams has spent the past two to three years caring for Arna and her friend, Gigi, at the Stardust Circus.
2007-12-27 - Blackpool, United Kingdom. LIZ HULL
It was a marriage proposal guaranteed to stick in Emma Morgan's memory - since it was delivered by a six-ton Asian elephant. Her boyfriend Oliver Thompson persuaded zoo bosses to let him use one of their animals to help him pop the question. Fortunately, the 23-year-old didn't hesitate to say Yes when the chosen pachyderm, named Marcella, extended its trunk and handed her a ribbon with a ring attached. Miss Morgan, an optical assistant, said yesterday that she was surprised but delighted when th...
2007-12-27 - Jaldapara, India.
Two elephants, Rahul and Devi, were ferried to Yokohama zoo from Calcutta on Wednesday by Air India’s ‘combo’ flight (passenger and cargo aircraft). The two elephants were brought to Calcutta airport on Tuesday from Jaldapara sanctuary. The aircraft landed at the airport around 6am and took off at 10am. The flight, usually from Delhi to Tokyo via Bangkok, was diverted through Calcutta on Wednesday for carrying the elephants.
2007-12-27 - Chester, United Kingdom.
A marketing campaign for Chester Zoo which attracted a record number of visitors was the mastermind of North East creative agency, Robson Brown. Stunning images were displayed high up on the lamp posts and were wrapped around the poles themselves. The unusual adverts included a giraffe and an elephant (pictured), and also delivered a variety of interesting facts.
2007-12-27 - Kolkata, India.
The violent, erratic behaviour of an elephant at a city circus about a week ago has triggered debate on the treatment meted out to animals in captivity. Animal rights activists are saying the circus authorities were not taking proper care of Bhola, the tusker of Nataraj Circus, which created a flutter, smashing furniture, ripping iron rods and damaging the ticket counter before being tranquilised by forest officials. "Wild animals cannot be tamed fully," said People for Animals (PFA) member Deba...
2007-12-27 - Sydney, Australia. Rhett Watson and Evelyn Yamine
A CIRCUS handler died - believed to have been crushed by an elephant on the state's North Coast. Authorities are investigating the mysterious death of the Stardust Circus handler at Yamba at 5.15pm. The man, aged in his 60s, was found lying face down in an exercise enclosure with the 50-year-old circus elephant Arna nearby. Paramedics said the man died of a heart attack and had sustained a serious back injury. WorkCover investigators will today try to determine whether the injury contributed to ...
2007-12-27 - Sydney, Australia.
Mystery surrounds the death of a circus worker originally believed to have been crushed by an elephant at Yamba on the NSW north coast. It is not yet known if the elephant's handler, aged in his 60s, died of a heart attack today before suffering an injury to his back, or even if an elephant caused the injury. Early police reports said one of The Stardust Circus elephants fell on the handler as it was being unloaded from a truck at the Angourie Road Sports Reserve about 5.15pm. An ambulance spoke...
2007-12-27 - St. Louis, United States.
Raja, the St. Louis Zoo's male Asian elephant, turns 15 today, and the zoo is having a special party for him at 11 a.m. The event will take place at the elephant exhibits at River's Edge at the zoo. Raja, the first Asian elephant born at the zoo, will be partying with his daughters, Maliha and Jade.Raja will get special presents and visitors are invited to sing "Happy Birthday" and sign a giant birthday card for him. The Zoo is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with free admission. U.S. Bank Wild Ligh...
2007-12-27 - Mangochi, Malawi.
A woman, who thought could save her maize and other farm produce by confronting and scaring away the marauding elephants, only ended up cutting short her own life. 35-year-old Alausi Missi, from the lakeshore district of Mangochi, has died after a looting elephant trampled one her last week, police and close sources have confirmed the incident. The woman heard an elephant was in her maize garden early in the morning so she set off to the field, which was about a kilometer away from her home, Ric...
2007-12-27 - Masai Mara, Kenya. Jane Wheatley
A little after dawn on a matchless morning in Kenya’s Masai Mara a group of riders and horses stood quietly in the first warming rays of the sun watching a herd of cow elephants with their young browsing a tree covered ridge. Five minutes later we were galloping for our lives, hearts pounding, crouched low over our horses’ necks as a dozen angry elephant charged down the slope towards us, trumpeting their displeasure. They moved at an astonishing speed, not stopping until they had thoroughly...
2007-12-26 - Baltimore, United States.
The elephants - from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Greenbrier, Ark. - are Tuffy, a 23-year-old male, and Lil' Felix, a 24-year-old female. They join Anna and Dolly, the zoo's two female African elephants. Zoo officials say the elephant exhibit is in the midst of a $1 million renovation, and the four animals are expected to go on public display together in March. The zoo will be closed for January and February, as has been the case in recent years.
2007-12-26 - DHENKANAL, India.
Attacks on wild animals besides elephants have been on the rise in the forest areas of Dhenkanal district. The poachers, mainly jobless villagers, attack these animals for their valuable tusks and flesh. They make local bombs from the waste products of goat belly, gun powder and fire cracker powder to shoot at the jumbos the moment they strike. In one such incident in a forest near Bhagabanpur village, an elephant sustained serious injuries after coming in contact with a bomb. The wounded elepha...
2007-12-26 - Chandigarh, India.
The Haryana government Wednesday announced that a centre for rehabilitation of elephants would be set up in the state shortly. The new rehabilitation centre for the tuskers will be set up in Chhachhrauli block of Yamunanagar district in the state, 150 km from here. The centre will be spread in over 20 acres. A Haryana forests department spokesman said only those elephants illegally kept by people would be rehabilitated at the centre. He said that Haryana's forest minister will lay the foundation...
2007-12-26 - Ranchi, India.
Jharkhand forest department officials are seeking to execute a rampaging wild tusker, an official has said. The 20-year-old elephant, called Laden, has killed 17 people in the past one year in Silli block of Ranchi district and neighbouring Purulia district in West Bengal. If Laden is not executed, more human beings could be killed by the tusker in the area. To save human beings the rampaging tusker must be executed, a forest department official told IANS.
2007-12-25 - Johannesburg, South Africa. Robyn Dixon
Rising elephant numbers in South Africa has been a cause for concern for the authorities concerned. They fear this jumbo overpopulation might have disastrous consequences on other animals. Samson, otherwise known as Elephant No. 1, is twisting his trunk around tufts of grass and throwing them into his mouth. He is aware we have sneaked up on him but is willing to ignore us.
2007-12-25 - SOMWARPET, India.
The Kodlipet citizens would organise a meeting at Kodlipet bus stand on December 27 to protest the government's inaction in not helping the victims who have been facing problems due to wild elephants menace. They also formed a committee to seek help from the government. Speaking to newspersons here on Monday, committee Convener and Kirikodlimutt Pontiff Sadashivaswami said that everyday wild elephants enter human habitats in Niluvagilu, Kyathe, Dodda bhandara, Besur, Kattepura, Janardanalli, Nee...
2007-12-25 - Central Highlands, Vietnam. Tran Ngoc Quyen
Amidst century-old tamarind trees in the quiet village of Jang Lanh in the Central Highlands, 95-year-old Ama Kong is as busy as ever. He is truly a living legend thanks to a 40 year career as Vietnam's most famous elephant tamer.
2007-12-25 - Sydney, Australia. Saffron Howden and Kelly Ryan
IF there is any truth to the rumour that weight gain is associated with happiness, Taronga Zoo's Thai elephants are positively ecstatic one year after moving into their new home. Thong Dee has piled on a whopping 1400kg in the three years since being rescued from begging on the streets of Bangkok.
2007-12-24 - Kobe, Japan. Katsunori Sotari
A male baby at Oji Zoo, Kobe, Japan, was named on 15 December 2007. The name is "Ouji". Ouji (o-wu-ji) is the same pronunciation as Oji, the name of zoo. And the Japanese 'ouji' means 'Prince' also, peples wish the baby grow to be a prince-like young. Ouji is now fed by bottle, because of not succeeded to back to his mother.
2007-12-24 - Surin, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
Sucking up sugarcane with their trunks and circling busy traffic roundabouts, the elephants that roam Thai towns at festival time seem as much at home in the city as in the forest. Shows that feature elephants painting pictures, playing polo and whirling hoola hoops on their trunks have become an economic lifeline for more than a thousand domesticated elephants, who lost their incomes when Thailand banned logging in 1989.
2007-12-24 - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sangduen "Lek" Chailert plays with ex-working elephants at her rescue centre for domesticated elephants in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on November 19. 2007. Elephant conservationists such as Chailert worry that captive elephants, considered beasts of burden in Thailand, have little protection from abuse if their owners work them all day to bring in more tourist dollars.
2007-12-24 - Jharkhand, India. Amarnath Tewary
Forest officials in eastern India have advised villagers to stock tiger urine and excrement to scare away a killer elephant and his marauding herd. The elephant, named after al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, and his herd have trampled seven people to death in the past three months in Jharkhand. Forest officials say elephants stay away from areas frequented by tigers.
2007-12-24 - Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia.
On Dec. 11, 2007, "World News with Charles Gibson" correspondent Nick Watt introduced us to the World Wildlife Fund's Flying Squad — a group of five trained elephants that are working to help save the endangered Asian elephants in Tesso Nilo National Park in central Sumatra. We are happy to report that, since then, the Flying Squad welcomed its sixth member — a baby elephant named Saree, born just in time for the holidays.
2007-12-24 - DHENKANAL, India.
Government may have implemented a number of projects for the rehabilitation of poor and physically challenged people, but it has turned a blind eye towards the sick and ailing elephant population of the state. With the increasing number of elephant rampage, the man-animal conflict has not only troubled the villagers, but also forest officials. The condition has further been aggravated by the local poachers, who have evolved strategies to target wild animals including elephants who continue to ra...
Sucking up sugarcane with their trunks and circling busy traffic roundabouts, the elephants that roam Thai towns at festival time seem as much at home in the city as in the forest. Shows that feature elephants painting pictures, playing polo and whirling hoola hoops on their trunks have become an economic lifeline for more than a thousand domesticated elephants, who lost their incomes when Thailand banned logging in 1989. But entertaining locals and tourists has become a life or death business f...
2007-12-23 - Auckland, New Zealand.
Auckland Zoo is calling on gardeners to help supply fresh vegetation for its two elephants, Kashin and Burma, because feed supplies are running low. Zookeeper Andrew Coers says the two female elephants chew their way through about 100 kilograms of food a day. He says if anyone is cutting down un-sprayed bamboo, sugar cane, banana palm and willow plants during the summer, the zoo would appreciate the extra supplies. However, he says the plants need to be delivered to the zoo on the same day they ...
2007-12-23 - Bangalore, United States.
More than one thousand wild elephants have been given a right of passage today, with the safeguarding of a wildlife corridor that links two reserves in Karnataka, Southern India. The land was handed over by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to forest officials in a ceremony in Bangalore – the first time land has been bought by a non-profit wildlife organisation and signed over to the government to prootect the habitat of the endangered Asian...
2007-12-23 - Guwahati, India. PULLOCK DUTTA
After a brush with infamy last week when two royal Bengal tigers ripped off an overly keen amateur photographers arm, Guwahati zoo has gone into overdrive to project a friendlier face. If the zoo has Govardana and Divya — the two tigers who killed Jayprakash Bezbaruah — it also has Madhavi, an elephant that has played “surrogate mother” to at least six of the nine elephants in the zoo and “adopted” a seventh a few days ago. Madhavis enclosure is just a few paces from that of Govardan...
2007-12-22 - Springfield, United States. Michael Crocker, superintendent of Dickerson Park Zoo
Our guests tell us elephants are their favorite animals at Dickerson Park Zoo. Elephants are magnificent, intelligent creatures that form strong bonds among the individuals in the herd and with their human caretakers. Following the death of our Asian elephant calf, 16-month-old Nisha, many of you conveyed your sympathies to our staff. You related how much you enjoyed watching Nisha grow, play and interact with the adults and how she was your child or grandchild's favorite. You recognized the obv...
2007-12-22 - Bangalore, India.
All the States that come under the centrally sponsored Project Elephant scheme will henceforth have to submit an action plan about conservation and other measures to get the annual financial assistance, Inspector-General of Forests and Director of Project Elephant A.N. Prasad has said. Mr. Prasad said the action plan to be submitted for a period of five years should contain “monitorable” targets. “For example, a scheme related to elephant corridors should have the number of corridors to be...
2007-12-22 - Kolkata, India.
The circus elephant Bhola, whose tantrums had forced police to suspend all shows, was tranquillized and ferried to Domjur in Howrah on Friday. The authorities of Nataraj Circus at Tallah Park in north Kolkata used a crane to haul Bhola on a truck, which took him to a Domjur farmhouse. Veterinarians agreed that shifting the elephant will help change its behaviour. They added the pachyderm will turn normal after effects of the tranquilliser wears off in 36 hours. The decision was taken as Bhola wa...
2007-12-22 - Luang Prabang, Laos. VanderWoodzanden
What an amazing experience to ride on the back (actually closer to the head) of an elephant and just trek through the jungle. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience the life of a mahout (elephant keeper and trainer) and join them in their daily activities. The elephant camp has been established outside of Luang Prabang. There are seven female elephants and one baby male elephant. The females were all rescued from their former life of logging and the male was purchased from Siam Rea...
2007-12-22 - BHUBANESWAR, India. Siba Mohanty
What Sansar Chand had done to tigers of Sariska, Asfaque and Ram Thapa are doing to the elephants of Orissa. Slowly but surely, the jumbos are being hunted down, their tusks fetching millions in wildlife trade circuits across the country. Thapa was nabbed by police last fortnight but Asfaque continues to evade arrest till date. One of the better elephant habitats in India, with over 1,600 pachyderms, the State is fast becoming an operating ground for organised groups, some of which have had nexu...
2007-12-21 - Bangalore, India.
ELEPHANTS will get a clear run between two forest reserves in southern India after an "elephant corridor" is set up. More than 1000 elephants will gain passage through the corridor linking the Edayargalli and Doddasampige reserves when land deeds are handed over to the Karnataka state forest department yesterday. India is home to an estimated 25,000 wild elephants, the most in Asia, but their numbers have been vastly depleted by poaching and habitat loss.
2007-12-21 - Ayutthaya, Thailand.
An elephant entertains children at a school in Ayutthaya province in northern Bangkok
2007-12-21 - Lahore, Pakistan.
The Lahore Zoo has planned special Eid programmes including puppet and other entertainment shows to attract children and visitors during the Eid holidays. The tiger, lion and monkey cages are expected to attract the maximum number of visitors. Children may also look forward to ride Suzi the elephant.
2007-12-21 - Calcutta, India.
Bhola, the 42-year-old male elephant of Nataraj Circus, shook off the effects of the tranquilliser that was administered to him on Wednesday evening and tore down a part of the big top on Thursday. He remained restless all day, prompting police to ask the circus management to cancel all shows until he was shifted off the premises.
2007-12-21 - Ontario, Canada. Locke M. University of Western Ontario
Profiles with all orientations have been used to visualize the 3D structure of ivory from tusks of elephant, mammoth, walrus, hippopotamus, pig (bush, boar, and warthog), sperm whale, killer whale, and narwhal. Polished, forming, fractured, aged, and stained surfaces were prepared for microscopy using epi-illumination. Tusks have a minor peripheral component, the cementum, a soft derivative of the enamel layer, and a main core of dentine = ivory. The dentine is composed of a matrix of particles ...
2007-12-20 - Changchun, China.
At the beginning of this year, Mr. Ren, a citizen of Changchun City in northeast China's Jilin Province, found an extraordinary stone while working in a sandpit near Dong'antun. His workmates thought that it was just an ordinary stone and suggested throwing it away. However, Ren was convinced that it was a fossilized bone. The stone is about the size of a man's palm and it was cracked in two places. "At first, when I saw the lower part of the stone, I thought that there should be an upper part j...
2007-12-20 - St. Louis, United States. TERI MADDOX
The zoo is inviting the public to celebrate Raja's 15th birthday at 11 a.m. Dec. 27 by singing "Happy Birthday" and watching him pose for pictures and receive gifts. Raja made history in 1992 as the first Asian elephant born at the St. Louis Zoo. Fifteen years later, he's still living up to his name, which means "king" in Hindi. One of his mates recently gave birth to his second daughter. "The situation for Asian elephants is pretty bleak," said Cory Nordin, zoological manager for the River's Ed...
2007-12-20 - Bangalore, India.
An "elephant corridor" linking two forest reserves is being opened in southern India, giving the endangered animals unrestricted movement to feed and breed in the region, officials say. More than 1,000 elephants are set to gain right of passage through the corridor linking the Edayargalli and Doddasampige reserves when land deeds are handed over to the Karnataka state forest department on Thursday. India is home to an estimated 25,000 wild elephants, the most in Asia, but their numbers have been...
2007-12-20 - Columbia, United States. Joey Holleman - McClatchy Newspapers
Riverbanks' new elephants must mesh with the old-timers before they go public. The two new African elephants at Riverbanks Zoo didn't appear at the Ndoki Forest exhibit magically, even if they do have Disney heritage. It's been a major undertaking to get the new girls - 37-year-old Robin and 34-year-old Petunia - to Columbia from Disney's Animal Kingdom and get them used to their new situation at Riverbanks, said mammal curator John Davis. "Moving elephants is quite an operation," Davis said. Si...
2007-12-19 - Riverbanks, United States. JOEY HOLLEMAN
Riverbanks’ new elephants must mesh with the old-timers before they go public. The two new African elephants at Riverbanks Zoo didn’t appear at the Ndoki Forest exhibit magically, even if they do have Disney heritage. It’s been a major undertaking to get the new girls — 37-year-old Robin and 34-year-old Petunia — to Columbia from Disney’s Animal Kingdom and get them used to their new situation at Riverbanks, said mammal curator John Davis. “Moving elephants is quite an operation,...
2007-12-19 - Los Angeles, United States. Carla Hall
The elephant researcher stood in the living room of the sleekly modern Pacific Palisades home perched high on a hill. Slides of an African preserve flashed by on a screen. Elephants "are so social, so communicative, so intelligent," said Joyce Poole, who has dedicated her life to documenting and protecting pachyderms. It is a task that takes money, and the admiring audience was ready to help. "I'd like to put up $25,000," businessman Gil Michaels said. His condition: The rest of the room had to ...
2007-12-19 - ANCHORAGE, United States.
Putting a pachyderm amongst stories about war, corruption and environmental woes may seem crazy. Unless the elephant is named Maggie. Maggie captured the attention and hearts of people throughout the state and the Lower 48 this year when she became ill and collapsed. The event increased the pressure on the Alaska Zoo to find Maggie a new home in a warmer climate. After spending most of her 25 years in Alaska, the zoo decided it would best for the elephant to go some place warmer. Officials chose...
2007-12-19 - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A lone elephant attacked a rice farm, killing at least four members of the same family in southern Bangladesh, media reports said on Wednesday. The daily Bangladesh Observer said the wild elephant left its herd and entered a village Tuesday near the resort district of Cox's Bazar, 300 kilometres south of the capital Dhaka, and demolished a mud and straw hut where the family was asleep. The dead included a six-month-old girl, the newspaper said.
2007-12-19 - Bangalore, India.
More than 1,000 wild elephants have been given a corridor that links two reserves in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, wildlife officials say. The land was handed over by the animal welfare groups to forest officials in a ceremony in Bangalore. They say that it is the first time that land bought by non-profit wildlife groups has been handed over to a state government to protect wild elephants. They say the corridors are vital to ensure their survival.
2007-12-19 - Kolkata, India. Kumar Sarkar
A giant male tusker on circus Natraj in Kolkata went on the rampage on Wednesday uprooting poles, tearing apart tents, flinging aside tin sheets and scaring circus employees out of their wits. The police, the fire brigade, forest department officials and wild life experts rushed to Tala Park where the Natraj Circus is performing.
2007-12-19 - Cardiff University, United Kingdom. Johnson MB, Clifford SL, Goossens B, Nyakaana S, Curran B, White LJ, Wickings JE, Bruford MW.
Our data do not support the separation of African elephants into two evolutionary lineages. The demographic history of African elephants seems more complex, with a combination of multiple refugial mitochondrial lineages and recurrent hybridization among them rendering a simple forest/savannah elephant split inapplicable to modern African elephant populations.
2007-12-18 - Indore, India. Rajni Khaitan
An elephant walking around with designer shoes in the town has turned a big attraction for people, especially the kids. Radha, the female elephant, was gifted designer shoes for its front foot by Raju Sagar, who is a neighbour to her. The brown shoes are about two feet in length and shaped to suit the elephant's foot. It has thick leather at the bottom. "It took me a lot of time, almost six months to make these shoes. Though the shoes are now ready, I want to make more modifications for a better...
2007-12-18 - Harare, Zimbabwe.
There is such an acute food shortage in Zimbabwe that people are resorting to shooting elephants to stave off the hunger. Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said game poaching had increased in the past three months. A recent report noted that 900 elephant carcasses had been seen from the air over Chisarira Park in the northwestern region of Zimbabwe.
2007-12-18 - Ranchi, India.
Tribals in the remote villages of Jharkand have launched a massive hunt in the State's dense forest areas to end the mayhem and carnage unleashed by a 'killer' elephant. The killer elephant has become synonymous to a terrorist and the villagers have named the jumbo as 'Laden,' after the al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
2007-12-18 - VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam.
The Central Highlands are very beautiful in spring, with white pansies blooming along the streams, rivers and forests. The villages in this region are already preparing for the holiday season in the spring that will last until the dry season. For the ethnic people, this is a relaxing time of year, with many leisurely activities to enjoy during the days and nights. The sounds of the gong and the drum invite everyone to join. Tourists from all over the country will be attracted to the numerous fes...
2007-12-18 - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A wild elephant trampled to death three members of a family in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, 310 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, early Tuesday. Locals were quoted by the private news agency UNB as saying that the victims were asleep when the animal attacked the house before dawn. A group of wild elephants coming down from the hills also demolished a number houses and standing crops.
2007-12-18 - St. Louis, United States.
Raja's daughters Maliha and Jade are throwing their father a birthday party! Their "#1 Dad" will receive special presents at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 27 in River's Edge at the Saint Louis Zoo, weather permitting. Visitors are invited to sing "Happy Birthday" and cheer for Raja who turns 15 this year.
2007-12-18 - Bhubaneswar, India.
About 40 elephants have fled the Chandaka Sanctuary here and were on the rampage. This is described as a "winter phenomenon". The forest authorities came to know about the "sanctuary-break story" late Monday when reports reached them that a herd of jumbo inmates trampled a 62-year-old farmer to death. They also injured seven people and destroyed huge crops in a village called Tartua, which is about 50 km from here.
2007-12-18 - Tokyo, Japan. Irie-Sugimoto N, Kobayashi T, Sato T, Hasegawa T., University of Tokyo
The present study explores to what extent Asian elephants show "means-end" behavior. We used captive Asian elephants (N = 2) to conduct four variations of the Piagetian "support" problem, which involves a goal object that is out of reach, but rests on a support within reach. In the first condition, elephants were simultaneously presented with two identical trays serving as the "support", with the bait on one tray and the other tray left empty. In the next two conditions, the bait was placed on o...
2007-12-17 - Surin, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
Trudging the city streets with a hungry four-tonne elephant at your heels is not a job for everyone. But add a cute baby, and tourists flock to pet and feed the grey-brown giants, making the plodding pachyderms more of an investment than a curse for modern mahouts working in Thailand, one of Asia's top holiday destinations. With logging banned in 1989, more babies are hitting streets and trekking camps to meet tourism-driven demand for docile, good-looking animals, said the director of the Thai ...
2007-12-17 - Saigon, Vietnam. Ngoc Minh
The Central Highlands is the land of elephants, with troupes of both tamed and wild elephants, and tourists can witness exciting elephant races every year on March 26 organized by the M’nong people, who are famous for their ability to tame wild elephants.
2007-12-17 - , United States. Timothy Simelane
A Swazi female elephant calf born at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park has been named “Phakamile”. Phakamile was born to a Swazi elephant named Umoya this year, Zoo officials told a San Diedo newspaper on Monday. They said the name ‘Phakamile’ was selected because they understood it to mean ‘noble’. However, the name actually means “the one who has risen high”. The calf was born Sept. 19 this yeat to 17-year-old Umoya, becoming the third pachyderm born at the Wild Animal Par...
2007-12-17 - Fresno, United States. Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
Both sides in a dispute over the future of Fresno Chaffee Zoo said Monday that they have worked out their differences and have a plan to proceed with the zoo's $80 million expansion plans at Roeding Park. By 2014, zoo officials want to create an entry plaza, add a predators habitat with lions and hyenas, create a grasslands area with giraffes and pygmy hippos, and expand the elephant exhibit. A cafe would overlook the grasslands.
2007-12-17 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
One person B Chhotray was killed and four others injured when a herd of seven elephants which had moved out of the Chandaka forests entered a village near Nirakarpur last night. Forest officials said the herd had moved to stretches of wild grassland close to Chilka and since yesterday they had entered Aridi village of Nirakarpur. The injured have been admitted to SCB Medical College & Hospital, Cuttack, the Capital Hospital at Bhubaneswar and the Khurda Hospital. Five squads headed by div...
2007-12-17 - , United States. Terry Weber
As I was watching television the other day, the commentator talked about the elephants of Africa. One of things he said was: “Elephants are probably the most intelligent creatures on earth.” As I thought about his statement, it dawned on me that he was probably right. Why? Well, in the first place, have you ever noticed how big an elephant’s ears are? They are huge! Elephantine! Jumbo! Immense! Another thing I’ve noticed is that elephants have a rather limited vocabulary – they don’t...
2007-12-17 - DHENKANAL, India.
With loss of lives and property escalating day after day due to the ongoing man-elephant conflict, the wildlife and top forest officials directly interacted with the villagers to know their plights for the first time. Suggestion were also given for an action plan to the locals. The direct interaction programme and information, education and communication [IEC] programme started yesterday at Mahavir road. Wildlife conservator, Mr PK Mohan, the former additional principal chief conservator, Mr Sur...
2007-12-16 - Livingstone, Zambia.
After some hiatus in the regular supply of Elephant Pepper products, we are proud to announce the grand re-opening of our revamped website http://www.elephantpepper.com See our new range of grinders and other cool stuff! Importantly the Trust is growing, and we are working with farmers in many countries where elephants raid crops. Thank you for your interest and support. The Elephant Pepper Team
2007-12-16 - Arkansas, United States. Scott Riddle
Here is Amy and Miss Bets. She was born Dec.8 at 5:18am, weighed 263lbs. 35 inches tall, she is very sweet and Amy is doing a great job of taking care of her. She is a natural Mother which makes life much easier on everybody.
2007-12-16 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Eleanor Momberg
Four of the 12 juvenile elephants captured in Hwange in November 2006 by Shearwater Adventures for its elephant-back safari operations have died in captivity. One escaped, and the ZCTF is investigating reports of cruelty towards the pachyderms.
2007-12-16 - Chiang Mai, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
Lily is an ex-drug addict, BK's tusks were sawed off by poachers and Max was a streetwalker. The wrinkled residents of Thailand's Elephant Nature Park make Babar and Dumbo look like lightweights. While they may sound like the cast of a soap opera, the trio are some of the 30 stars of an elephant conservation project that draws thousands of visitors, curious to hear their stories and see the world's largest land mammals up close. Unlike other tourist attractions involving elephants, the Nature Pa...
2007-12-16 - Yerewan, Armenia.
The zoo in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, has marked the wedding of two elephants Grand and Candy. Hundreds of guests attended the ceremony, complete with traditional Indian dances. The bride came all the way from Moscow. She was a star of Moscow's Animal Theatre, but abandoned her career to be with the elephant she loved. New living quarters were built at the zoo especially for the newlyweds. To watch the story click the VIDEO button.
2007-12-16 - Jeli, Malaysia. Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah
Wildlife rangers have captured a bull elephant which strayed into Kampung Kalai here on Friday. The elephant, which have been nicknamed "Awang Kalai", is believed to have been separated from the main herd while moving to higher grounds to avoid rising flood waters. Jeli wildlife chief Mohd Hazlin Qozek Alladdin (correct) said the elephant, aged between 10 and 15 years, was found by a villager who alerted the department.
2007-12-16 - Angul, India.
After a lull of one year, elephant poachers in Satkosia wild life Sanctuary have awaken to activity again. According to a report a tusker is running wild in Kadalikhola area under Majhipara reserve forest of Satkosia with a bullet lodged in its head. Blood stains were also found which proved the fact that the tusker was indeed hurt. Local residents suspect the poachers are on the look out for the injured tusker.
2007-12-16 - Fresno, United States. Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee
An ambitious expansion plan at Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been stalled by City Hall, zoo officials say. By 2014, zoo officials want to create an entry plaza, add a predators habitat with lions and hyenas, create a grasslands area with giraffes and pygmy hippos, and expand the elephant exhibit. A cafe would overlook the grasslands.
2007-12-16 - Tulsa, United States. ALTHEA PETERSON
A statue of the late Maverick, a 7-year-old Asian elephant, remains at the Tulsa Zoo's Elephant Encounter area, 14 years after his 1993 death. One animal protection organization worries that the disease that Maverick died from also remains at the zoo. In Defense of Animals, an organization based in San Rafael, Calif., named the Tulsa Zoo at "high risk" for spreading Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus, or EEHV, this month.
2007-12-15 - Kolkata, India. Rajib Chakraborty
Savitri, a circus elephant who made headlines a few months ago after she went off with a tusker in Ranigunj, is expected to give a New Year's gift to the circus company she is working with. The gift will be a calf, as she became pregnant. The elephant spent 10 days in the jungle with the tusker in August. The circus company found the elephant 20 days ago on the city's northern fringes, where people in their thousands thronged daily with food, including banana and coconut leaves, cabbages and cau...
2007-12-14 - Brooklyn, United States. Sabine Heinlein
In my initial investigations I discover that there is indeed an animal clinic and holding facility in the middle of JFK. Michael Jackson’s elephant once spent a night here. Vetport is run by Dr. Weinstein, who leases the building from the Port Authority. It takes in any animal that gets sick on a plane or is found dumped in the airport’s vicinity. It cares for thoroughbred horses that are about to fly around the world to compete in shows and races. Every once in a while, a crate with a tiger...
2007-12-14 - Tezpur, India.
Wild elephants are giving sleepless nights to farmers in the Helam revenue circle near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Sonitpur district. The man-elephant conflict has assumed an alarming proportion in this area with the increasing incidents of the tuskers damaging houses and destroying crops. The menace is taking a toll on the already distressed economic condition of the villagers.
2007-12-14 - WAUCHULA, United States. Linda Lee
If the thought of spending a holiday slathered in mud conjures images of a spa - well, you probably haven't been fossil hunting in Florida lately. That's how I spent part of a recent visit, and somewhat to my surprise, I found it as relaxing as a massage and a lot more stimulating.
2007-12-14 - INDIANAPOLIS, United States.
Dan Buesching still remembers the day he stumbled across the bones of a mastodon while working at the family peat bog in northeastern Indiana. When he hit the skull entombed in the soil of an ancient lake in 1998, he thought it was a tree stump. But then he saw the white enamel of the fist-sized teeth. “I was just kind of shocked,” Buesching said.
2007-12-14 - Yerevan, Armenia. Marianna Grigoryan
Armenia’s bachelor elephant, who has been desperate for a wife already for several years, has finally found his match. The “wedding of the year” between Grand and Masha from Russia took place at Yerevan’s Zoo on Sunday and proceeded in a pompous atmosphere in the presence of hundreds of guests.
2007-12-13 - COIMBATORE, India.
The State has allocated funds to acquire 400 acres of elephant corridors, encroached in Tamil Nadu, said Forest Minister N Selvaraj here on Wednesday, after visiting forest watcher R Perumal, hospitalised following an attack by an elephant. A sum of Rs 2.68 crore has been allocated to make elephant corridors free of encroachments, the Minister told reporters.
2007-12-13 - , United States.
Animal lovers can do their bit for conservation with a virtual gift that will help some charismatic species, including the Asian elephant. The zoo has launched its Wildest Wishes range, offering gift-buyers the chance to pick up a range of gifts that will help animals. From £15 upwards, people can pick from gifts including The Spice of Life or the Purrfect gift for Cat Lovers. To help people who have left their Christmas shopping to the last minute, Wildest Wishes can now be bought through the ...
2007-12-13 - Waterberg, South Africa. Robyn Dixon
Samson, otherwise known as Elephant No. 1, is twisting his trunk around some succulent young tufts of grass, tugging them up and throwing them into his mouth, perfectly aware we have sneaked up on him but willing to nonchalantly ignore us, for now. We crouch on a rock about 40 yards away -- about as close to a wild bull elephant as it is safe to get on foot. Even though Samson shows no signs of irritation, it's nice to be with David Powrie, who is something of an elephant whisperer.
2007-12-13 - Waco, United States.
Cameron Park Zoo’s new elephant, Tanya, is now on exhibit. Tanya, who is a 28-year-old female African elephant, arrived from the Abilene zoo in late October. She and Tembo are now on exhibit together. Cameron Park Zoo, in conjunction with the Elephant Species Survival Program (SSP), sent one of the zoo’s African elephants, Zoe, to the Kansas City zoo. The Kansas City zoo has the largest herd of African elephants within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Zoe is on breeding loan to the Kan...
2007-12-13 - DHENKANAL, India.
With food and water becoming scarce in the forests, wild animals like elephants, monkeys and bears continue to change their habits. It has become a cause of concern for the people who live in rural areas of the district. Instances of crops being damaged by elephants have become quite common. The locals have to spend sleepless nights as a result of this.
2007-12-13 - Tacoma, United States.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium of Metro Parks Tacoma is seeking an Animal Care Technician to perform a variety of skilled duties involved in the care, observation, maintenance, propagation and management of assigned animal species. This position will be initially assigned to the Southeast Asia area (e.g. tapirs, anoa, small clawed otters, gibbons, siamangs, tigers, crested porcupines and fill in for elephants) and will be tasked with the care, breeding and operant conditioning/training of the ani...
2007-12-12 - COIMBATORE, India.
A man was injured following an attack by one among the herd of elephants which strayed into the Chettipalayam region on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday. The forest department personnel were trying to chase the herd comprising one tusker, two cow elephants and a calf, when one of them stamped Perumal, a forest ranger. According to District Forest Officer I Anwardeen, District Collector Neeraj Mittal has been contacted and arrangements have been made to admit the injured to a private hospital...
2007-12-12 - Singapore, Singapore. Melanie Lee, Neil Chatterjee and Miral Fahmy
Sexy Manolos or Jimmy Choos may top the wishlist of many women this Christmas, but huge waterproof boots were the ideal festive gift for two jumbo females at Singapore's zoo. Vets on Wednesday fitted Asian elephants Tun and Jamilah with specially-made protective boots made from a durable, breathable fabric in a bid to relieve their chronic foot lesions. Tun, 20 years old, has one front leg longer than the other. Her problems started when a male elephant in the same exhibit mounted her and caused...
2007-12-12 - Coimbatore, India.
The Tamil Nadu government was taking steps to acquire the land encroached by private parties along the forest fringes across the state, in a bid to curb straying of wild elephants to human inhabited areas. State Forest Minister N Selvaraj said today that the Government had already identified 400 acres of such encroached land. The government has allocated Rs. 2.68 crores for the purpose. Selvaraj was talking to reporters here, after visiting a forest official, injured in an elephant attack, at a ...
2007-12-12 - California, United States. Rex Dalton
Bullet-like pieces of what is thought to be an ancient meteorite shower have been found embedded in mammoth tusks and bison bone. The discovery of the 2–5 millimetre holes left by meteorites opens a window into a impact event thought to have happened over Alaska and Russia tens of thousands of years ago. And it could provide a whole new way to chart impacts from space.
2007-12-11 - COIMBATORE, India.
A herd of four wild elephants- a calf, one tusker and two cows-strayed into Chettipalayam region causing a flutter on Monday. A forester sustained minor injuries after he was given a `gentle’ kick by an elephant, while another officer sustained bruises following a chase by the animals. The forest officials received information about the wild elephants on the rear side of the government employees’ residential quarters at around 5 am. Around 7.30 am, Forester Natarajan, gone in search of the h...
2007-12-11 - Tshering Palden, Bhutan.
A herd of 24 elephants, the biggest herd seen so far in Samtse, ravaged several acres of paddy, millet and potato fields in Chargarey on December 3. The elephants also trampled on and destroyed several doma (betel nut) trees on their rampage. Villagers told Kuensel that it took more than seven hours for about 150 people, including soldiers, 17 foresters and the villagers, to chase the elephants from the fields. Villagers suspect that the elephants entered Bhutan via Thaljora in India and moved u...
2007-12-11 - DHENKANAL, India.
Elephants are found everywhere, along the road, in rural and urban habitations and even in places of tourist interest. Fearing that presence of elephants in large numbers would lead to decline in tourism, the forest officials here launched an awareness campaign,'Be aware of elephants' to educate tourists about the alarming situation. As thousands of tourists throng places like Kapilas, Saptasajya, Deer Park, Science Centre, Ganesh Khola and many other areas of importance the forest division aler...
2007-12-11 - Munich, Germany. Michaela Rehle
German actress Wolke Hegenbarth and elephant trainer Rene Casselly perform on an elephant's back during the charity circus gala night with VIPs as participants in Munich's circus Krone December 1, 2007. The well-known TV gala 'Stars in der Manege' will be broadcasted on December 26 on German television.
2007-12-11 - San Diego, United States.
A female African elephant calf born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park late this summer has been named Phakamile, which means "noble" in the African language of siSwati, zoo officials announced Monday. The calf was born Sept. 19 to 17-year-old Umoya, becoming the third pachyderm born at the Wild Animal Park over the previous 12 months.
2007-12-11 - Francistown, Botswana. Martha Makwates
Our government wisely wishes to diversify the economy. A carrot is dangled by underscoring job opportunities - more than 3000 jobs at a minimum wage of P600 per month - by cultivating 10,000 hectares of sugar cane and harnessing the water of the Zambesi River. But count the cost -10,000 hectares of Kasane forest reserve replaced by sugar cane! In a country with a land surface consisting largely of Kalahari Desert, every tree is precious.
2007-12-11 - Bhopal, India.
Re-emergence of wild elephants in Madhya Pradesh's forests is ironically both exhilarating as well as a cause for concern. Lately, pachyderms have been observed roaming in the jungles of Sidhi and Shahdol districts adjoining Chhattisgarh while isolated cases of elephant poaching were also reported, Forests Department officials informed.
2007-12-11 - Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia. Adam Tomasek, World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund inspects damage to a village home in Sumatra. A woman was asleep in the bedroom with her husband and baby son when a wild elephant crashed into their kitchen. Here villagers clear land for palm oil and food crops. But in other areas farmers have burned much of the elephants' habitat to make coffee sold in Europe and North America. The elephants must struggle to survive alongside humans, who see them as a dangerous nuisance.
2007-12-11 - Francistown, Botswana.
Many government officials believe there are too many elephants in Botswana and they would like to be able to make a bit of cash from regular sales of ivory and other cull by-products. It stands to reason then that they wouldn't be too upset if the proposed sugar plantation in Kasane were to create a need to shoot 'problem' elephants that tried to break through the fence to feast on the sweet plants.
2007-12-10 - Berhampur, India.
Andhra Pradesh may have to wait for a few more days before taking any steps for driving away a herd of wild elephants back to their natural habitat at Lakhary Valley elephant reserve in Orissa. This was recommended by a high-level expert committee, constituted by the central government to resolve the row between the two neighbouring states over translocation of the pachyderms which had strayed into Andhra Pradesh from Orissa, official sources said today.
2007-12-10 - Orissa, India.
A canal project in Indias Orissa state has hampered the movement of the areas elephant population, resulting in the local government being forced to draw up a conservation plan to protect both the movement and welfare of the animals. Construction of the Rengali canal, and an irrigation project in particular, has directly affected the movement of over 600 elephants, the New India Press reported.
2007-12-10 - RANI, India. Kishore Talukdar
The man-elephant conflict has assumed an alarming proportion here at the remote rural parts bordering Meghalaya with the incidents of killing as well as colossal destruction of standing crops by the herd of jumbos becoming the order of the day. The ill-fated farmers are reportedly on the receiving end as the menace has taken heavy toll on their already distressed economic state. Yet the Government is far from taking the matter seriously.
2007-12-09 - Jakarta, Indonesia. Kurniawan Hari
Save Our Species (SOS) is an educational campaign for elementary to high school students grouped in the WWF Junior Conservationist program. This year, the campaign centers on efforts to save the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), two endangered, indigenous species. About 120 students from several schools took part in the Nov. 24 event.
2007-12-08 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Michele Hofmeyer
Elephants are hefty herbivores and are well known for their destructive feeding behaviour, which has been shown in areas around Africa to change the look of the landscape. But how does this affect the smaller creatures further along the food chain? This is a question that is being tackled by an ambitious research programme being led by the Organisation for Tropical Studies (OTS) who are currently working in the Kruger National Park (KNP).
2007-12-08 - Nagercoil, India.
With the onset of the pilgrim season in Sabarimala hill shrine, elephants in the nearby jungles were moving to the adjacent forests of Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, forest officials said on Saturday. According to District Forest Officer of Kanyakumari, Sundar Raju, around 60 elephants have entered the forests in Kaliyal, Kulasekaram and Azhagiyapandipuram of the district. Speaking to reporters, he said that the elephants were terrified by the huge flow of pilgrims to the hill shrine.
2007-12-08 - Goshen, United States. Chris McKenna
Sure, it's December, so you expect to see a manger and menorah amid the bureaucratic humdrum of the Orange County Government Center lobby. But, gee, what's that other exhibit squeezed between the holiday displays? Why, of course: A large brown mastodon skull. Enclosed there in a glass case, pointing its tusks at all the bored homo sapiens waiting at the motor vehicles counter, is a life-sized replica of the noggin of the famous Warren Mastodon, prehistoric pride of Orange County.
2007-12-08 - Coimbatore, India. V.S. Palaniappan
The forest department in Coimbatore district is initiating a series of measures to mitigate man-animal conflicts in the fringe areas of the reserve forests during the coming summer beginning from end of January 2008. The measures include provision of solar fencing in man-animal conflict-prone pockets, deployment of anti-depredation squads, installation of high power search lights to scare away pachyderms and habitat improvement programmes in the reserve forests.
2007-12-07 - San Diego, United States.
In October 2007, construction began on the San Diego Zoo’s newest exhibit, The Harry and Grace Elephant Odyssey, a seven-acre habitat that will house a variety of animals which inhabited Southern California more than 10,000 years ago. The $44-million project, slated to open in spring 2009, will be the Zoo’s largest multi-species habitat in its 91-year history, bringing together a herd of nine Asian elephants, lions, wild horses, California condors, and sloths.
2007-12-07 - BARIPADA, India.
The elephants have struck once again, and this time they have damaged standing crops of over 24 acres of land in Pal, Dhansul, Kasdihi, Ghanghana and Tadki villages during the last couple of days. According to agitated villagers, a herd of 30 elephants had crossed over from Chapaban forest of West Bengal and destroyed crops as well as seven huts in Kasdihi village. From then on, they are on the move, trampling crops at will, alleged the locals. The villagers have urged the administration to sanc...
2007-12-07 - , United States. Pam Vetter
Tom Rider, a former employee of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is on a mission to save elephants from cruelty. Early next year, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Rider, the Animal Welfare Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Protection Institute, and the Fund for Animals, will get a trial date. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2000, has taken a long path toward trial.
2007-12-07 - London, United Kingdom. Gillian Hargreaves
Today few circus goers find it palatable to watch tigers jump through hoops or elephants dance. A ban on circus animals looked inevitable... then the experts delivered their verdict. Once the spectacle of seeing a lion, tiger or elephant performing under the Big Top was commonplace. Now, only one British circus keeps big cats, and fewer than 50 wild animals perform in four UK-owned circuses including seven tigers, eight camels, five lions, several zebras and a retired elephant called Anne who to...
2007-12-07 - San Diego, United States. Imperial Valley News
In a year that has already seen the birth of two African elephants at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, the birth of one more of the threatened species is icing on the proverbial cake. And it is sweet, as Lungile (Loon-gee-lee), a 16-year-old elephant, gave birth November 29, to a female calf. "This birth is a culmination of quite a successful year for African elephant births at the Wild Animal Park, with three births in 2007," said Jeff Andrews, San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park animal care ...
2007-12-07 - Toronto, Canada. Randy Boswell
A Canadian zoo is at the centre of a bizarre cross-border controversy after animal-rights advocates in Washington state urged American wildlife officials to halt a planned U.S.-bound shipment of semen from a Canadian elephant suspected of having bad seed. Biologists at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle are seeking sperm from 39-year-old Rex, an Asian elephant at the African Lion Safari west of Toronto to impregnate 29-year-old Chai, who recently lost her six-year-old daughter Hansa to a newly discove...
2007-12-06 - COAL VALLEY, United States. Kristy Mergenthal
An animal rights group is attacking zoos who house Asian elephants, saying they're not taking proper care of them. The group called In Defense of Animals released a report saying zoos with Asian elephants aren't doing enough to protect the endangered species from a virus. It's a form of herpes found in Asian elephants. Niabi zoo says its elephants do have the virus but there's no risk of it spreading.
2007-12-06 - BERHAMPUR, India.
The high level committee appointed by the Centre to resolve the row between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh over translocation of elephants is scheduled to meet on Wednesday at Visakhapatnam. The committee, headed by a retired forest official from Karnataka, was appointed by the Centre following mounting pressure from Andhra Pradesh when the State Government strongly opposed forcible translocation of elephants from their territory to Orissa.
2007-12-06 - Rockton, Canada. Randy Boswell
A Canadian zoo is at the centre of a bizarre cross-border controversy after animal-rights advocates in Washington state urged American wildlife officials to halt a planned U.S.-bound shipment of semen from a Canadian elephant suspected of having bad seed. Biologists at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle are seeking sperm from 39-year-old Rex - an Asian elephant at the African Lion Safari west of Toronto - to impregnate 29-year-old Chai, who recently lost her six-year-old daughter Hansa to a newly disc...
2007-12-06 - Bangalore, India. Team Mangalorean
The outskirts of Bangalore city today resembled an African Safari. A large herd of pachyderms roamed about freely trampling on the gardens, fields and chasing curious onlookers who came out of their houses. There were some calves also which were found in a bamboo grove near the village Jigani of Anekal Taluk in Bangalore Urban area. The herd lingered there for more than six hours since Thursday morning.
2007-12-06 - Chiang Mai, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
The Thai Elephant Orchestra is about to release a third CD and, like all real artists, the world's only non-human musical ensemble doesn't give a thump about the critics or the charts. The 14-member group at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampung, northern Thailand, plays simple woodwinds, harmonicas, a few string instruments and drums under the guidance of maestro Dave Soldier, the orchestra's composer and co-founder.
2007-12-06 - New Delhi, India. Mausam Sharma
The 80-year-old elephant, Arundhati, who succumbed to her injuries at Rajaji National Park in Dehradun in October due to multiple fractures in her right leg wouldn’t have undergone such an agonising end if she had been given the right pain killing drugs at that time. The incident has forced officials to formulate a policy on ‘problematic elephants’.
2007-12-06 - Siliguri, India.
Wild elephant trampled a 60-year old lady to death at Mongpong Bhanga Basti under the Rambhi police station in Kalimpong subdivision last night. The deceased, Guma Devi Khadke was trodden by the tusker after she failed to escape the foray into her house at about 11 pm. The wild elephant also ravaged three hutments at the village before going back into the nearby forest from where it had arrived. The death of the aged lady sparked off an agitation in the area as no police or forest officials reac...
2007-12-06 - Guwahati, India. PULLOCK DUTTA
Assam is having a lean season not only in terms of winter tourists but migratory birds, too. If violence is keeping tourists away this winter, migratory birds are staying away from one of their favourite seasonal habitats in the state because of the man-elephant conflict. For the past three months, the forest department and residents of villages in Jorhat district have been bursting crackers regularly to keep rampaging elephant herds at bay. The cacophony may not have scared the elephants away f...
2007-12-06 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Fort Worth Zoo has an open keeper position working with Asian elephants, Asian rhino, and Nile hippopotamus. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing animal care, monitoring animal health, maintaining cleanliness of animal areas, providing enrichment and training, and making minor exhibit modification. The position requires a high school diploma or equivalent, one-year experience working with elephants preferably in a zoo setting, good communication/organizational skills, a...
2007-12-06 - San Antonio, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian. Minimum qualifications include ability to work weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours assignments; valid driver...
2007-12-06 - Springfield, United States.
Dickerson Park Zoo has suspended elephant breeding for the time being. This week a California group called “In Defense of Animals” called on the Springfield Zoo to stop breeding Asian elephants because of the frequency of the herpes virus. Herpes caused the death of Springfield’s 16 month old elephant calf, Nisha, a few days ago. Zoo Director Mike Crocker said the suspension has nothing to do with the criticism. Instead, the zoo is without a reliable male breeding elephant.
2007-12-05 - London, United Kingdom. Lewis Smith
Members of an elephant family may be out of sight but they are always in the minds of the herd’s matriarchs, reseachers have found. Tests have found that female elephants are able to remember the whereabouts of at least 17 family members simultaneously and perhaps as many as 30. They can keep mental tabs on which of their relations are ahead of them when the herd searches for food, which of them are lagging behind and which are travelling in separate groups.
2007-12-05 - London, United Kingdom. Helen Briggs
Elephants keep track on up to 30 absent relatives by sniffing out their scent and building up a mental map of where they are, research suggests. Herd members use their good memory and keen sense of smell to keep in touch as they travel in large groups, according to a study of wild elephants in Kenya.
2007-12-05 - Budapest, Hungary.
A real estate developer has paid half million forints (about 2,000 euros) to adopt a female elephant in the Budapest zoo and asked a popular actor to serve as stepfather, it was announced on Wednesday. Actor Sandor Csanyi said he would be delighted to be pachyderm Zitta's stepfather on behalf of Elephant Holding and stated that he had loved babar as a child and had written to Santa Claus asking for an elephant when he was eight years old.
2007-12-05 - Seattle, United States. Amy Rausch
An animal rights group criticized U.S. zoos for breeding and transferring Asian elephants despite the known risks of a deadly virus, but a local zoo official said facilities are handling the risk appropriately. In Defense of Animals distributed its report Tuesday and claimed U.S. zoos are putting Asian elephants at risk for spreading Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus. This weekend, a young Asian elephant died from the virus at a Missouri zoo.
2007-12-05 - Los Angeles, United States. Pam Wetter
Melya Kaplan is a teacher and an activist. As the Founder and Executive Director of Voice for the Animals Foundation, Kaplan speaks out on behalf of the elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo. “The tide is turning. Elephant exhibits are being phased out all over this country. The Bronx Zoo is phasing out their elephant exhibit.
2007-12-05 - Kaziranga, India.
A 60-year-old tamed Asiatic tusker which killed an American tourist as well as the elephant she was riding in 1999 at the Kaziranga National Park has died of old age, but not without leaving behind some fond memories for park rangers. The nearly 10-foot elephant, named Godapani, died Sunday at the park, 220 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, bringing tears to the eyes of many officials and forest guards at Kaziranga.
2007-12-05 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
The memories of Kalinga - the nine month- old baby elephant of Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary which met with a sudden death after 40 days of ‘captivity for a cause’ - could now come through a documentary film to reveal the real story and more. The real life story will be transformed into the digital documentation with the active support of the sanctuary authorities who are producing the film and a team of volunteers who have come forward to contribute their efforts to make the venture a lifetime...
2007-12-05 - Guwahati, India.
A delegation of wildlife NGOs of the Northeast and the World Wildlife Fund today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop the killing of elephants in Assam and ensure conviction of people who intentionally kill them. Citing Assam’s Sonitpur district as an example where the problem is at its worst, members of the delegation requested Singh to generate political will at the state level to protect the forests and wildlife in the state.
2007-12-04 - Kotdwar, India.
One person was killed in an elephant attack at Sigaddi in Uttarakhand on Sunday night. Bharat Singh, 68, was trying to chase the tuskers away from his field. One of the elephants caught and crushed him to death. The district forest officer has declared an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5,000.
2007-12-04 - western ghats, India.
Illegal electrification of farm fences has resulted in the death of many elephants due to electrocution in the western ghats. Shivakumar Kanasogi assesses the jumbo problem. Recently, in the western ghat region, a baby elephant died when it came in contact with the electrified fences of a paddy field. It had come in search of food along with its mother, when it was struck by death. The grieving mother ran amuck and ransacked the nearby village. It destroyed a cow shed and even attacked a calf.
2007-12-04 - Onondaga County, United States. Meghan Rubado
Major projects in downtown Syracuse, Fayetteville and at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo received a big boost last week from a state grant fund. The Environmental Protection Fund will supply the recently announced zoo enhancement project with $400,000. That will cut to $6.3 million the sum that Onondaga County will need to borrow for the $7.7 million upgrade to expand the zoo's Asian elephant exhibit.
2007-12-04 - Indianapolis, United States. Rob Schneider
Six conservationists recognized for their work on behalf of animals have been named finalists for the 2008 Indianapolis Prize and its $100,000 cash award. The 2008 finalists are: Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Rodney Jackson, K. Ullas Karanth, Laurie Marker, Roger Payne, George Schaller. The Indianapolis Zoo, which bestows the award biennially, selected the finalists from 29 nominees. The winner will be announced next summer, and the $100,000 and Lilly Medal will be formally presented at a gala in India...
2007-12-04 - New York, United States. C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Q. How keen is an elephant’s sense of smell, and where in the trunk is it handled? A. The sense of smell is very keen indeed, said Pat Thomas, general curator of the Bronx Zoo. “In fact it has been reported that elephants can smell water several miles away,” he said.
2007-12-04 - Syracuse, United States.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is ready to make a major upgrade to its Zoo program. Tuesday afternoon, Onondaga County lawmakers okayed a $7.7 million project at the zoo for the elephants. The elephants just need more space and that´s what the project will create. Most importantly a bigger indoor facility also part of the project is a pavilion for people to watch the elephants when they’re in the day yard.
2007-12-04 - LAHAN, Nepal.
Five persons were killed and a woman was injured in an attack by a mad wild elephant in Siraha, Saptari and Udayapur districts. Ram Kripal Mochi,45, Tulai Mahato,45, and Manbir Yadav,55, were killed by the elephant in a place called Ekartiya Haripur of Taregana Govindapur VDC of Siraha district while the same elephant killed one person each in Manpur of Saptari and Hadiya of Udayapur. Their identity is not known. Likewise, Malwa Paswan,55, of Laxmipur-5, Siraha was injured when she was attacked ...
2007-12-04 - Las Vegas, United States.
“In the USA, only one person dies per year as a result of attacks by captive big cats, 1.5 by captive reptiles, 0.81 by captive elephant, 0.125 by captive bear and 0 by captive non-human primate. In comparison, 45,000 people die each year in traffic accidents, 47 by lightning, and 1,600 by falling from stairs. We have detailed information on our website http://www.rexano.org about our ongoing fight against uninformed legislators and animal rights (AR) activists,” says Scott Shoemaker, a co-f...
2007-12-04 - Surin, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
Trudging the city streets with a hungry four-tonne elephant at your heels is not a job for everyone. But add a cute baby, and tourists flock to pet and feed the grey-brown giants, making the plodding pachyderms more of an investment than a curse for modern mahouts working in Thailand, one of Asia's top holiday destination. With logging banned in 1989, more babies are hitting streets and trekking camps to meet tourism-driven demand for docile, good-looking animals, said the director of the Thai E...
2007-12-04 - Royal Bardia, Nepal.
Raja Gaj, a bull (male) elephant who stands nearly 12 feet tall at the shoulder, has not been seen for a year in Nepal's Royal Bardia National Park, Japan Today reported Tuesday. Raja Gaj was the subject of scientific speculation several years ago, as his sheer size and peculiarly domed head led some to wonder if he might be a genetic throwback to extinct species such as the mammoths and mastodons. But a DNA test later confirmed he was a regular Asian elephant.
2007-12-04 - St Andrews, United Kingdom. Bates LA, Sayialel KN, Njiraini NW, Poole JH, Moss CJ, Byrne RW. University of St Andrews
Monitoring the location of conspecifics may be important to social mammals. Here, we use an expectancy-violation paradigm to test the ability of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) to keep track of their social companions from olfactory cues. We presented elephants with samples of earth mixed with urine from female conspecifics that were either kin or unrelated to them, and either unexpected or highly predictable at that location.
2007-12-04 - Orlando, United States.
Maintain the care, well-being, management, behavioral conditioning and enrichment of the elephant collection. Ensure the daily routines of cleaning, animal observation, diet preparation and reporting medical needs and abnormal conditions to zoological managers. The keeper is also responsible for maintaining daily records, collecting and logging information and insuring this information is communicated to management and the central record keeping system of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
2007-12-04 - Memphis, United States.
We have an opening for a Keeper in our Elephant area. This position requires a minimum of two years of experience in exotic animal care, including knowledge of training concepts and philosophies needed to work with pachyderms and a varied collection of hooved animals and birds, and a college degree in zoology, biology or a related field (or the equivalent combination of education and experience). Prefer significant experience with operant conditioning. One to two years experience working in a pr...
2007-12-03 - SPRINGFIELD, United States. Melinda Arnold, Dickerson Park Zoo News Release
The 16-month-old elephant calf, Nisha, at Dickerson Park Zoo died in the early hours of Saturday morning from elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Animal care staff administered medications last night at 8 p.m. and remained with the elephants throughout the night. Nisha first showed signs of EEHV on Thursday afternoon when elephant keepers recognized initial symptoms: tongue discoloration and a lesion on the roof of Nisha's mouth.
2007-12-03 - DHENKANAL, India.
Presently elephants are found everywhere in Dhenkanal district. They rule the road, forest, rural and urban communities. Forest officials have launched awareness campaign to educate tourists and picnickers to be aware of elephants. As December arrives the thousands of tourists throng to tourist places and places of importance like Kapilas, Saptasajya, Deer park, Science center , Ganesh Khola and many other places of importance. In addition to these visitors take a lot of interests to visit art a...
2007-12-03 - Chennai, India. T.S. SUBRAMANIAN & DESIKAN KRISHNAN
STANDING on the beach, Yevgeniya watches wide-eyed as Vijayakumari, a seven-year-old elephant, hauls logs of wood up a slope and on to a platform from where they are rolled down. The young Ukranian had come on a tour of the island archipelago with her husband Indranil Chaudhury from Kolkata. And the deserted beachfront of Havelock Island, where young elephants are being trained by mahouts in logging operations, provides just the right kind of entertainment.
2007-12-03 - Kolkata, India.
Frequent deaths of elephants due to collision with trains in north Bengal have finally forced the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to sit up and take notice of the situation. In a significant step, the ministry has identified four vulnerable elephant corridors in the area and has accordingly given recommendations to the Railway Board.
2007-12-02 - Kolkata, India.
Frequent deaths of elephants due to collision with trains in north Bengal have finally forced the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to sit up and take notice of the situation. In a significant step, the ministry has identified four vulnerable elephant corridors in the area and has accordingly given recommendations to the Railway Board. In a span of seven years, 26 elephants have been killed in North Bengal. Nine elephants have been killed in the last two years alone.
2007-12-02 - Guwahati, India.
Kaziranga National Park today lost its loveable rogue, a 78-year-old tusker who ferried tourists through the grasslands of the rhino habitat for 30 years before a mid-safari joust with a rival elephant killed an American woman and forced it into premature retirement. “We will miss him,” divisional forest officer Bankim Sarma said of Gadapani.
2007-12-02 - Springfield, United States. Michelle Sherwood
Veterinarians at Springfield's Dickerson Park Zoo are studying the death of Nisha, she’s the 16-month old elephant that died yesterday morning at the zoo. Officials say she was treated for a herpes virus that usually kills elephants in just five days. Zoo officials say Nisha received aggressive treatment and good care, but now one California-based animal group called In Defense of Animals, is calling for the zoo to stop breeding. The group claims that the facility is contaminated.
2007-11-30 - Asheboro, United States.
Successful candidate will be assigned to the Watani Grasslands section, working with African elephants and/or white rhinoceros, a variety of African antelope, and some African birds, including ostrich. Specific animal assignment will depend on the section needs and the skills and experiences of the candidate. Regardless of primary assignment, candidate will be expected to assist working with the care of other species within the work unit. Responsibilities include daily assessment and care of exh...
2007-11-29 - SILIGURI, India.
The villagers of Dabgram, Salugara, Fabri and Bedgara villages adjacent to Eastern Bypass in Siliguri, are spending sleepless nights because of a scattered herd of 22 wild elephants. The pachyderm raids are keeping the forest officials deputed in these localities wide awake as well since they are finding it difficult to keep the beasts at bay. Last night, a group of four wild elephants, entered the village of Fabri and ravaged three huts. They also destroyed a sizeable volume of crops. No one wa...
2007-11-29 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
Seizure of ivory, weighing about 42 kg in Rayagada, has once again pointed at a strong illegal wildlife trade in the State. Police on Wednesday seized the ivory from Rayagada district’s Muniguda area and handed them over to forest officials. Two persons have been arrested in this connection. The value of the tusks could be several lakhs since the average price per kilogram now depends on what a smuggler quotes, a forest official said.
2007-11-29 - Guangdong, China. Liu Fang
Ivory carving is a time-honored craft for centuries in south China's Guangdong province. The craft reached its acme during the Ming and Qing dynasties. For many years the ivory trade was brisk. Then in the late 1980's that trade came to an end as an international ban was imposed on trading ivory. Then, local craftsmen began seeking a new medium for their artistic creations. Zhang Minhui in Guangzhou, chose ox bones.
2007-11-29 - New York, United States. Les C. Stutzman
Chembio Diagnostic, Inc. (OTC BB: CEMI.OB – News) announces that it has been issued an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) license for its ElephantTB STAT-PAK Assay designed to rapidly (< 20 minutes) detect tuberculosis (TB) in both Asian and African elephants. Chembio’s other rapid serological TB assay – PrimaTB STAT-PAK received USDA licensure earlier this year. Both products belong to a larger family of rapid immunochromatographic assays currently under development at Chembio...
2007-11-28 - KOLLAM, India.
Health cards issued by the Animal Husbandry Department have become mandatory for elephants to participate in temple rituals and gaja melas. At a camp organised at Kottiyam on Tuesday, 35 tuskers were issued the health card. The camp was organised by the department in association with the Forest Department, the Kerala Elephant Owners Federation, and the Kollam unit of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Senior veterinary surgeon of the AHD B. Aravind said that the tuskers wer...
2007-11-28 - PALAKKAD, India.
Animal lovers have demanded that the government take action against the Elephant Welfare Trust of India for organising a Gajamela here on November 25. The Wildlife Protection Society of India, in a complaint sent to the Forest Minister and the Chief Wildlife Warden on Tuesday, said that the Elephant Welfare Trust of India organised a Gajamela and a march on the city roads on Sunday. It was organised with the support of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Forest and Police Departmen...
2007-11-28 - DUN, India.
A female elephant has gone missing from the Rajaji national park of Uttarakhand. Mamata was roaming in Chilla range of the park along with two other elephants yesterday when a wild tusker approached them. While the other two, Ragini and Radha, went back to their training camps, Mamata decided to follow her ‘date’ and is missing since then.
2007-11-28 - New York, United States.
Paris Hilton was on "Ellen" today, and Ellen asked her about the rumors circulating a few weeks ago that Paris was embarking on a "Global Elephant Campaign" to save drunk elephants in India. The AP originally published the story, but then they killed it, leaving us very confused. Now, Paris sets the record straight:
2007-11-28 - Wendy Edelstein, United States.
Among her colleagues at the Tang Center, primary-care nurse Julie Barnett is known as “elephant girl.” Barnett earned her nickname because she’s committed to aiding Asian elephants, a cause she came to several years ago after visiting a sanctuary for the abused mammals in northern Thailand. Julie Barnett rides Pang Lom, a 4-year-old elephant who was malnourished and frightened before being rescued from the streets and moved to an elephant sanctuary.
2007-11-27 - San Andreas, United States. BETH BRAGG
About the only thing keeping Alaska's favorite ex-pat from mixing it up with those elephants on the other side of the fence is a little muscle. With that fitness goal in mind, we bring you Maggie's 10-minute workout video. It's not quite Carmen Electra on a pole. But fans of Maggie will crack a smile, if not break a sweat, watching the latest video from the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., where Alaska's lone elephant took up residency at the beginning of the m...
2007-11-27 - Washington, United States.
An underwater archaeologist has found what may be an etching of a mastodon at the bottom of Grand Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan. Members of a local tribe believe that there is a spear in the mastodon, which would be hard evidence that humans hunted the prehistoric elephant-like animals. Tom Kramer of Interlochen Public Radio reports.
2007-11-27 - Calcutta, India.
Villagers in Teldhala had heard the same blood-curdling cries a year ago. This time, it was Kanchi Marak. The cornered fifty-year-old could do little to save himself as rogue elephants trampled him to death in his village on Dalangiri hills under Mancachar police station last week. In October last year, rampaging elephants killed four persons in the same village, located on the state’s border with Meghalaya. Months before that, four people, including a newborn, were trampled by a wild herd of ...
2007-11-27 - New Delhi, India.
PARIS HILTON has denied claims that she’s been helping drunk elephants sober up. In the last few months there have been a number of cases in Northwest India where wild elephants have caused themselves harm after becoming inebriated by drinking homemade rice beer. It was reported that socialite Hilton had spoken up after hearing about six deaths in the elephant community which occured after they drank the potent brew. Conservationists applauded Hilton’s interference in the matter, hoping her ...
2007-11-26 - Washington, United States. David Chircop
During the most recent Ice Age, this slice of North America was a prime stomping ground for mammoths. The giant elephant-like beasts were heavily concentrated in the central and northern Puget Sound lowlands. Why they became extinct is still a mystery. Molars of the Columbian mammoth are the most common mammoth remains found in Washington. In fact, the Columbian mammoth — which foraged grasses along meadows, bogs and ponds 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago — is the state fossil.
2007-11-26 - Surin, Thailand. Antoinette van de Water
Only a few minutes after we sent out the urgent call for help last week, the responses came in. Thank you so much for all your support and sympathy! It is special to notice how much involved everyone is. Together we were able to rescue Faa Sai! I’m so proud of Bring the Elephant Home. Beneath you will find a report about the rescue of Faa Sai.
2007-11-26 - Surin, Thailand. Gillian Murdoch
2007-11-26 - PALAKKAD, India.
The gajamela-2007 organised by the Elephant Welfare Trust at the BEM high school ground here on Sunday was witnessed by hundreds of people. Fourty-one elephants were paraded during the show. More than 50 foreign tourists were brought to witness the show. Every elephant was brought to a specially erected platform and three foreign tourists were assisted to get on top of each elephant. A bed sheet was spread over the back of each elephant and two ropes were tied on each side for the tourist to hol...
2007-11-26 - PARALAKHEMUNDI, India.
One of the elephants belonging to the jumbo herd, that sneaked into Andhra Pradesh recently, died of electrocution in AP on Sunday. The herd from Lakhari forest entered the AP limits recently and had caused extensive damage following which ‘Operation Gajendra’ was started. On Sunday, a herd of eight elephants was reportedly seen near K Gopalpuram village in Birgotam mandal, AP. Receiving information, a team of forest officials reached the village and found an elephant dead near a power trans...
2007-11-26 - Tokyo, Japan.
This Christmas, elephants are all set to bring some cheer to Japan. Three Asian elephants have been practicing intensively over the last few weeks to learn "Jingle Bells" to mark the holiday season. The elephants use their trunks to beat, or ring the bells while the Christmas song is played. The Christmas show, in which the elephants will perform, will officially open to the public on December 2.
2007-11-26 - Srikakulam, India.
One more elephant of the group of nine which had been moving in these parts died, reportedly of electric shock, in Gopalapatnam village in Veeraghattam mandal on Sunday. With this, the death toll of elephants had risen to three. It may be recalled that this group of rogue elephants had been moving in these parts for the last two months and a journalist Nagaraju was one of its victims.
2007-11-26 - Montgomery, United States.
Tina, an African elephant, stands with her baby, a male elephant weighing 247 pounds, at the Montgomery Zoo in Montgomery, Ala., earlier this month. The baby was born on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.. (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh)
2007-11-25 - London, United Kingdom. Susie Boniface
Environment minister Hillary Benn is to rule on whether Britain's last circus elephant - Anne - can go free. Campaigners had hoped that the new Animal Welfare Bill would mean she had to be released from captivity. But an 18-month inquiry into the treatment of circus animals was said to be inconclusive. A spokesman for environment department Defra said: It will have to be a political decision.
2007-11-24 - MIDNAPORE, India.
Farmers in the Chandra range in West Midnapore have been spending sleepless nights over the last few days because of the presence of 22 elephants, including two tuskers, in the region. These elephants - now on their way back to the Dalma habitat after spending three months in Bankura - had wreaked havoc there.
2007-11-24 - Johannesburg, South Africa.
Gerald Durrell once said: "Anyone who has got pleasure from Nature should put something back. Life is like a superlative meal and the world is the maitre d'hotel.What I'm doing is the equivalent of leaving a reasonable tip." Photo-journalist David Paynter has left more than a resonable tip in this stunning coffee table book depicting the lifetime of a young bull elephant named Tempo Ndhlovu.
2007-11-24 - Melbourne, Australia. Siggyg
I have a great-great uncle who was killed by an elephant. Yes, I am telling the truth. He was an elephant keeper at the Melbourne Zoo here in Australia, and he was crushed by one of his charges. The coroner's report discusses the places, the layout and daily routine of a zoo that I know well, but from 50-60 years later. I have found that being able to access coroner's reports through my State's Public Records Office has allowed me to find some fascinating stories that can then lead to a better u...
2007-11-24 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Kumudini Hettiarachchi
An elephant has been taken to court, not just any court but the highest in the land, the Supreme Court. Asokamala, born and bred at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, has kicked up dust being in the centre of a controversy over whether she should be “exported” as a gift from Sri Lanka to Armenia. While animal rights activists battle the authorities in the Supreme Court, in a fundamental rights case, Asokamala, oblivious to being in the eye of the storm is following her routine. Her fate will ...
2007-11-24 - Nandarbuni, India.
Villagers in West Bengal’s Birbhum District continue to be affected by elephants’ intrusion in human populated areas. In last five days, the Nandarbuni village in the District has witnessed two incidents of elephants running amok causing severe damage to standing crops and houses. On Friday, a herd of 15 elephants entered the village and damaged standing crops. Tuskers often come out of their natural habitat due to dwindling forests and enter human inhabited areas in search of food, r...
2007-11-24 - CHETOPA, United States. COLLEEN SURRIDGE
Life science teacher Tim Blankenship was elated to find part of a mammoth tooth along the banks of the Neosho River near Chetopa two years ago. His excitement mounted last summer when he discovered a second, larger mammoth tooth within 30 meters of the first. “I found the first one in the summer of 2005,” said Blankenship, who teaches at Chetopa Grade School. “I went to Wyoming looking for dinosaur fossils and mammoth fossils (in 2006). Then I found this tooth this year, and I didn’t eve...
2007-11-23 - Mumbai, India. B K Sharma
The author, Inspector General of Police and head of the State Crime Branch of Orissa, has an abiding interest in wildlife and is recognised as one of India’s leading experts on the illegal wildlife trade. It will come as no surprise to readers of Sanctuary that the world’s largest terrestrial mammal continues to be besieged from all sides. In addition to threats to its habitat throughout Africa and Asia, smuggling and illicit trade in ivory pose major challenges to law enforcement authoriti...
2007-11-23 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: · Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. · Perform night feeds as assigned. · Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down...
2007-11-23 - Kasese, Uganda. Michael Karugaba
A Herd of Elephants from Queen Elizabeth National Park has invaded Kisinga, Lake Katwe and Kyalhumba sub-counties in Bukonzo East, destroying several acres of crops. speaking to the press on Tuesday, the LC 1 Chairman for Rwentutu village in Lake Katwe Sub-county, Mr Semu Bwambale, said the most hit villages are Kabirizi, Rwentutu and Kighenge, where crops have been destroyed causing fear of a famine out break in the near future.
2007-11-23 - VIZIANAGARAM, India.
The Central Elephant Board is likely to depute a team soon to tackle the vexed elephant menace, which has badly affected the two districts of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam during the last four months. As many as 10, including a journalist of a vernacular daily, were killed and standing crops in hundreds of acres in both the districts were damaged by the jumbos.
2007-11-22 - Gauhati, India.
Four wild elephants were electrocuted after becoming entangled in low-strung power cables while foraging for food in the forests of India's northeast, officials said Thursday. The deaths, following the electrocution of six elephants last month, prompted conservationist to call for shifting the cables out of the elephants' shrinking habitat.
2007-11-22 - Auckland, New Zealand. Alanah May Eriksen
After almost 40 years in the circus, Tony Ratcliffe is hanging up his clown shoes and sending his beloved elephant Jumbo to Australia. The Whirling Bros Circus owner is retiring and giving the star of his show, a 35-year-old, 8ft, four-tonne African elephant to the Western Plains Zoo near Dubbo, New South Wales. Mr Ratcliffe, 62, and his wife Vicki will take the animal across the Tasman by ship and stay in Australia "as long as it takes" for her to settle in.
2007-11-22 - London, United Kingdom.
An innovative Chester Zoo project that uses smoke bombs comprising chilli powder to ward off marauding elephants from human habitation and crops in Assam was awarded the field conservation award at this year's annual BIAZA awards on Wednesday evening. Charles Walker, MP, presented the prestigious conservation and wild life awards at the Marwell Zoological Park in Hampshire on behalf of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).
2007-11-22 - JORHAT, India.
The riverine areas of the district have been reeling under the impact of the depredations caused by a huge herd of wild elephants since the last fortnight. Villagers in Neamati, Meleng and Jhanjimukh areas along Brahmaputra river in northern Jorhat have been perturbed by the presence of the herd which has been devouring standing crops at random. The marauding jumbos are believed to have crossed over Brahmaputra from Majuli subdivision in search of food reserves.
2007-11-21 - Mangaldihi, India.
Two persons were injured in a village in West Bengals Birbhum District while chasing away a herd of elephants, that went on rampage in paddy fields. Mangaldihi villagers said these types of incidents are common in the area. Tuskers are forced by their dwindling natural habitat to emerge from time to time in search of food, and therefore, come into conflict with the village population. “I saw an elephant around 6.30, it was drinking water in the pond, I informed others about it, a...
2007-11-21 - London, United Kingdom. James Randerson
Sinbad and Zebedee will be pounding the sawdust under their big top for a while longer thanks to a government-backed report which concluded there was no evidence that circus animals were kept in worse conditions than animals in other captive environments
2007-11-21 - Chester, United Kingdom.
2007-11-20 - Atlanta, United States.
Zoo Atlanta may soon hear the stomping of little feet. One of the zoo's three elephants, Dottie, is pregnant. If all goes as expected, the zoo's first newborn Loxodonata african should arrive in April 2009. The baby could weigh up to 300 pounds and measure 3 feet tall at birth. A team of specialists from Berlin artificially inseminated the 25-year-old Dottie in June after plans to mate her with a male elephant at the North Carolina Zoo fell through.
2007-11-20 - Surin, Thailand.
A mahout, or elephant keeper, sits on the back of his elephant while waiting for the show to start during the 47th annual Elephant Roundup in Surin province, northeastern Thailand, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. The festival, which attracts thousands of tourists to the small city of Surin, celebrates the elephant as both a noble patriotic symbol and a longtime companion of local tribal minorities.
2007-11-20 - Guruvayur, India.
The elephants of the Sri Krishna temple here were taken in a solemn procession to pay tribute to their "legendary peer" Guruvayur Kesavan on his 31st death anniversary on Tuesday. The pachyderms, sans their glittering caparisons, stood before the statue of Kesavan in the temple premises for a while, raised their trunks and the team leader 'paid floral tributes' to the tusker.
2007-11-19 - Hong Kong, China. Nishika Patel
Growing consumer spending power in south China has been fueling the illegal trade of endangered Southeast Asian pangolins and African ivory, making Hong Kong a crucial strategic hub. Statistics obtained by The Standard from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department show that the amount of imported ivory seized in Hong Kong rocketed from 26.8 kilograms to 4,027.9kg between 2004 and last year, while pangolin seizures jumped from 1,005.5kg, or 939 carcass heads, to 2,037kg, or 6,478 ca...
2007-11-19 - Montgomery, United States. Bill Rice
On Friday, November 9, 2007 at approximately 8 p.m., a female African elephant was born at the Montgomery Zoo. The calf weighed in at 247 lbs. This birth marks the first African elephant born in the state of Alabama, ever; and the third known birth this year to U.S. Zoological facilities.
2007-11-19 - Lampang, Thailand.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has named the King’s Cup Elephant Polo as one of Thailand’s “Seven Amazing Wonders” in a new promotional campaign aimed at capturing the nation’s unique attractions. The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is the sixth largest event on the TAT calendar. Organised by Anantara Resorts, the tournament was first introduced in 2001 as a charitable endeavour to assist country’s National Elephant Institute in Lampang, Northern Thailand. The event has rais...
2007-11-18 - Kent, United Kingdom.
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, situated in the south of Kent near Folkestone, is an established wild animal park with significant success in the captive breeding of rare and endangered animals. We house four African Elephants, one bull and three cows who form a breeding group and use protected contact methods to which the herd responds well.
2007-11-18 - Harare, Zimbabwe. Myrtle Ryan and Peta Thornycroft
This week three Zimbabwean elephants proved that rhinos and elephants can form close bonds, and that elephants do mourn. Gruesome pictures flashed around the world this week of the three black rhinos shot by members of the Zimbabwe Army, dressed in camouflage uniforms and carrying AK-47 rifles. Each rhino had had a guard, but they were assaulted during the attack at Imire Safari Ranch in Wedza last week.
2007-11-18 - PALANI, India.
Herds of wild elephants from the Ayakudi and Ponnimalai jungle ranges near Palani in Dindigul district have started entering the plantations once again. The herds have moved towards the plains from the hilly terrains of Kodaikanal because of the extreme cold in the area. One herd, which had entered the plantation of Marudhamuthu at Ayankulam near Ponnimalai, uprooted the coconut palms and banana trees there.
2007-11-17 - San Diego, La Jolla, United States. Moore J., University of California
Perhaps the most important 'decision' made by any animal (or plant) is whether to disperse leave kith and kin, or remain with the familiar and related. The benefits of staying at home are obvious, so dispersal requires an explanation--and the most popular is that dispersal functions to avoid inbreeding depression. Strong support comes from the observation that dispersal is so often sex biased. Simply put, all else being equal members of both sexes should prefer to remain philopatric, but this wo...
2007-11-15 - Montgomery, United States.
Tina and Studla will be given some time to bond with their newborn - a 247-pound female African elephant - before visitors to the Montgomery Zoo view them outdoors. The newborn arrived Friday and has not yet been given a name, zoo spokeswoman Sarah McKemey said Sunday. She said the community will be involved in naming her.
2007-11-15 - Nairobi, Kenya.
IT SOUNDS too cute to be true — orphaned elephants learning to love again under the gentle guidance of Kenyan keepers on the plains of Nairobi. And while there's plenty to coo over in Elephant Diaries (baby elephants playing football, chasing wart-hogs and nuzzling their keepers), the program doesn't shy away from the reality of wildlife in peril. Co-presenter Michaela Strachan, who hosts a variety of British wildlife and children's programs, says the adorable antics of the show's stars are an...
2007-11-15 - Kolmarden, Sweden.
Saba, who had been alone elephant in Zoo Le Pal for many years, and in PC the last three years, had difficulties to adapt to the newcomers, there was fights between the elephants and she missed the contact with humans. In 2007 it was decided to bring her to Kolmarden Zoo in Sweden, where the two asian elephants belonging to the swedish king are worked in free contact. She was transfered at 7th of November, and was traight away worked hands on in free contact. She is now happier, and gets a lot o...
2007-11-15 - Washington, United States.
I've heard that one since I was a little kid. So to check it out, we went looking for some elephants. We found them at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where the head clown let me ask the audience. The resounding answer from the audience: "Mice. Mice. Mice." Many people, however, learned about elephants fearing mice from cartoons like "Dumbo." But why would a big animal fear such a small one? Well, it seems logical to us or at least plausible because if you think about it, as adult...
2007-11-13 - GAUHATI, India.
Paris Hilton is being praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India. Activists said a celebrity endorsement such as Hilton's was sure to raise awareness of the plight of the pachyderms that get drunk on farmers' homemade rice beer and then go on a rampage. The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them,'' the 26-year-old socialite said in a report posted on World ...
2007-11-13 - Maputo, Botswana. Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
Mozambique earns more than 17.6 million meticais (about 700,000 US dollars) a year in the export of wild animal trophies, particularly elephants and leopards. According to the National Director for Conservation Areas, Bartolomeu Soto, hunters are allowed to kill 80 elephants a year and, as from this year, also 120 leopards, and then export the trophies.
2007-11-12 - Hamburg, Germany.
The First European Elephant Management School is a practical orientated course on different elephant management tactics. Free contact as well as protected contact management technics and procedures will be trained.
2007-11-12 - Palakkad, India. A Satish
Brothers M.A. Haridas and M.A. Parameswaran of Mangalamkunnu in the district who chose to rear elephants for the sheer love for them and who went on to become the largest individual owners after the Guruvayur Devaswom have begun to feel the heat of venturing into one of the riskiest business. From 18 elephants, they have begun to reduce their herd which now stands at 12. They had donated a 30-yearold elephant, Gajendran, to the local Pariyanampatta temple last year.
2007-11-08 - Colchester, United Kingdom. James Hore
ONE of Colchester Zoo's favourite elephants has been put down after suffering from serious health problems. Rosa had been part of a circus but came to the zoo in 1998 where she quickly became popular with both staff and visitors. The African elephant gave birth to Jambo in 2004 but since then showed signs of severe discomfort. A team of experts carried out a series of investigations into her condition, but concluded surgery was not a viable option.
2007-11-07 - Kolmården, Sweden.
Saba, who had been alone elephant in Le Pal for many years, had difficulties to adapt to PC and newcomers, there was a lot of fights between the elephants and she missed the contact with humans. In 2007 it was decided to bring her to Kolmarden Zoo in Sweden, where the two asian elephants belonging to the swedish king are worked in free contact. She was transfered at 7th of November, and was traight away worked hands on in free contact. She is now happier, and gets a lot of attention and care.
2007-11-05 - Montgomery, United States.
Zookeeper I (Elephants) provide animal care to the elephants housed in the Montgomery Zoo. Major work functions include observing elephant collections and exhibits, maintaining elephant exhibits, performing building and grounds maintenance, feeding elephants, and communicating with others. The Elephant Zookeeper I may be asked to work with other animals or in other animal areas as deemed necessary by the department. Visit our job website at www.montgomerypersonnel.com for additional information ...
2007-11-03 - Robin Miller, United States.
What was arguably the United States Air Force's largest passenger ever arrived at Travis Air Force Base in the wee hours of Friday morning. Maggie, an 8,000-pound, 25-year-old African elephant, was flown from Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base to Travis on a C-17 cargo aircraft, arriving shortly after midnight. Maggie then was transferred to a flat-bed truck for delivery to her new home - Ark 2000, an elephant sanctuary in San Andreas owned and operated by the Performing Animals Welfare Society (...
2007-11-03 - Kodanad, India. Naveen Nair
One and a half year old Bharti is still struggling to stand up. She was found by the caretakers at the elephant training camp at Kodanad in central Kerala last year with severe injuries. The baby elephant was apparently carried by the currents of the rain-swollen Chaliyar River in Nilambur district. Caretakers at the centre have now switched to ayurvedic treatment. In a few days we hope she will get up and walk, says Bharti's caretaker, Subramanian.
2007-11-02 - Orlando, Florida, United States.
This important symposium presented by the International Elephant Foundation and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation will concentrate on the research and conservation needs of captive and wild populations of elephants. We invite researchers from around the world to present conservation projects and research results on human-elephant conflict, population management, health, nutrition, reproduction and behavior. Papers specifically addressing in situ and ex situ ...
2007-11-02 - FAIRFIELD, United States.
After living nearly her whole life in Alaska, Maggie the elephant on Friday made her way to a new home in California. The 25-year-old African elephant arrived at Travis Air Force Base here bound for the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in the northern California town of San Andreas 85 miles away. The Air Force agreed to transport Maggie — for years Alaska's only elephant — as part of a training mission after officials with PAWS and the zoo discovered she was too big for a commercial ...
2007-11-02 - Bedfordshire, United Kingdom.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo seeks an experienced Elephant Keeper to join their world renowned elephant section. This is a fantastic opportunity to become involved in one of the most exciting and challenging elephant programmes in Europe. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of elephant handling, training and management; they will be able to demonstrate a range of skills and knowledge in this field. The positions would be well suited to someone looking to develop further. In return, we ...
2007-11-02 - Central Florida, United States.
The world renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey® Center for Elephant Conservation located in central Florida is pleased to announce a unique training opportunity in Elephant Care. Three training programs will be offered in 2008. Interns will be exposed to the combined talents of some of the worlds’ most capable trainers, handlers and veterinarians in a free contact environment. The curriculum will include twelve (12) weeks of both classroom and hands-on instruction with some 25 Asian ...
2007-11-02 - Chester, United Kingdom.
It has been another mad week here in Manchester. The above photograph was taken 7 days ago on a trip to Chester Zoo. I wasn’t able to post this photo due to the Apple event in the evening, then being in Lincolnshire at the weekend and posting photographs over Halloween it has been really intense. It was my first visit to Chester Zoo with my digital SLR camera and although I was able to capture better images because of the fast burst mode, the zoom still isn’t really good enough to get really...
2007-11-01 - Kodanad, India.
The traditional ayurveda treatment has become the last resort for the female elephant calf Bharati, which is struggling hard to survive from arthritis at the Kodanad Elephant Orphanage in Kerala. When other inmates of the Kerala's famous elephant orphanage so far a morning with their mahouts on the road sides of Kodanad Forest range, the dilemma of the baby elephant Bharati and its Mahout Subramaniam are make to do so.
2007-11-01 - Sofia, Bulgaria. Sapundzhiev E, Pupaki D, Zahariev P, Georgiev G, Ivanov I., Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry
The result of the histological diagnosis from postmortal investigation of the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) uterus structure is presented in the current study. The rare anatomical finding showed altered nodular part from the uterus wall. Through conventional and histochemical staining neoplasmatic formations were determined and diagnosis Fibroleiomyoma was established, which should not be accepted as the prime cause for the animal's death.
2007-10-31 - Kobe, Japan.
a male baby was born at Oji Zoo, Kobe on 21 Oct. 2007. The father is Mac (Boy), born at Circus Knie in Switzerland and mother is Zuzanna, born in Riga Zoo in Latvia. The elephant calf is presently bottle fed, but the zoo is trying to back him to the mother Zuze.
2007-10-31 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Supreme Court today issued an order not to transfer nine-year-old female elephant "Asokamala" to the Yerevan Zoo in Armenia. The court made this order following a lawsuit filed by an animal rights activist Vijitha Fernando who protested that the cold climate in Armenia does not suit the animal.
2007-10-30 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
A judge has ruled that Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis. Robert Culp arrives at NBC's 75th anniversary celebration in this May 5, 2002, file photo in New York. Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn has rejected a...
2007-10-29 - Asheboro, United States.
Three African elephants arrived at the North Carolina Zoo this past weekend, bringing the zoo's elephant collection to seven, the largest in its history. Artie, a 24-year-old male, arrived Friday. Tonga, a 29-year-old female, and her 5-year-old female calf, Batir, were delivered Sunday, according to a news release. All three traveled to Asheboro via truck from Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary near Greenbrier, Ark.
2007-10-29 - Los Angeles, United States.
Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward. Judge Reginald A. Dunn has rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.
2007-10-29 - Waco, United States.
The Cameron Park Zoo in Waco has some new residents. The zoo has three new animals, including a brand new baby jaguar. The female cub was recently born at the zoo, and made her first public appearance Monday. There’s also a new elephant, Tanya on-loan from the Abilene Zoo. And zoo keepers are also caring for a 2-month-old East African Kori Bustard, hatched in Waco from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The zoo says new animals are always good for business.
2007-10-28 - Anchorage, United States. MARY PEMBERTON
Alaska's only elephant is getting a one-way ticket out of town. After months of a tug of war between those wanting Maggie to stay and those advocating for a warmer climate where she could be in the company of other female elephants, the 25-year-old African elephant at The Alaska Zoo is heading to sunny California on Thursday. Her new home will be at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in San Andreas.
2007-10-28 - VIZIANAGARAM, India.
Operation Gajendra is in full swing with officials trapping one more rogue elephant near Seemavanivalasa in Jiyyammavalasa mandal on Saturday. They shot tranquilisers at the herd found grazing under palm trees near the village. But as they hurried on to trap the wild pachyderms, three of the four tranquilised animals managed to escape. The latest success comes close on the heels of the taming of three rogue elephants. Nonetheless, five more are still at large.
2007-10-24 - Bangalore, India.
Karnataka hosts a healthy population of the gentle giants. That's the finding of the agency which recently conducted a study of the elephant population in the state. The census carried out by the state forest department in May deduced that Karnataka has an estimated elephant population of 4,035. This is less than the 4347 in the 2005 census. Experts state that this is not a cause for worry, for the numbers tend to vary as elephants migrate from one state to another continuously. Also, this figur...
2007-10-24 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Authorities in a northern Vietnamese province are seeking government permission to shoot a domesticated elephant that has killed two handlers this year, an official said Wednesday. The Forestry Department of Thanh Hoa province sent a request to the Ministry of Agriculture last week asking for the go-ahead to kill the rare Asian elephant, which is more than 30 years old, according to Le Quoc Viet with the department. The elephant is very angry now and it may kill anyone getting close to it, Viet ...
2007-10-23 - HYDERABAD, India. Ravi Reddy
Andhra Pradesh has sought the assistance of neighbouring Orissa and Karnataka forest officials to tackle the elephant menace causing untold misery to the people of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts for the past few weeks. With the death toll mounting to eight and panic-stricken people in the rural areas spending sleepless nights, forest department has chalked out an action plan to drive back the nine-strong herd of elephants into the Lashkari wildlife sanctuary in Orissa.
2007-10-23 - Karnataka, India. Ashwin Aghor
Wild elephants from Karnataka regularly stray into these villages and damage crops. Following the ever-increasing incidence of crop damage, and at times of human killings, by wild elephants on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border has led the state forest department to consider domesticating the rampaging tuskers. Tired of compensating the farmers for deaths and trampled crop, the department is trying to explore the utility of the wild animals for proposed eco-tourism which includes elephant safaris ...
2007-10-23 - Nhan Dan, Vietnam.
Quang Nam Central Province’s People’s Committee has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to approve a plan on the establishment of two new elephant and Sao La deer (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) preservation zones. Accordingly, the elephant preservation zone is to be located in a lowland area with an area of 18,765 hectares in Que Phuoc and Que Lam communes of Que Son district. This zone contains wild elephants, five special kinds of birds (only existing in this zone) and turtl...
2007-10-23 - Gauhati, India.
Six Asiatic wild elephants were electrocuted as they went berserk after drinking rice beer in India's remote northeast, a wildlife official said Tuesday. Nearly 40 elephants came to a village on Friday looking for food. Some found beer, which farmers ferment and keep in plastic and tin drums in their huts, said Sunil Kumar, a state wildlife official. They got drunk, uprooted a utility pole carrying power lines and were electrocuted in Chandan Nukat, a village nearly 150 miles west of Shillong, t...
2007-10-23 - London, United Kingdom.
Officials in the African country of Sierra Leone have expressed concerns that recent elephant killings could highlight an upsurge in poaching activity. According to the AFP news agency, ten elephants have been killed in the west African nation in the past two months. Senior wildlife official Kailie Bangura explained that most of the deaths occurred in two wildlife parks in the remote northern Outaba Kilimi and Loma Mountain parks, fuelling speculation that foreign nationals were behind the new w...
2007-10-23 - BRIDGEPORT, United States. Tracy Deer-Mirek
The circus didn't roll into town this morning, it jogged. Six elephants, some clasped trunk-to-tail to keep up the brisk pace, bounded beneath the railroad underpass at Water Street and Stratford Avenue on the last leg of a two-mile journey from the Union Avenue rail yards to the Arena at Harbor Yard.
2007-10-22 - Mysore, India. Krishna Kumar
A slice of the royal orient unfolded to a sea of humanity as the caparisoned elephants led the Jamboo Savari or the Vijayadashmi procession to mark the grand finale of the 10-day Dasara festivities here on Sunday.Bringing the curtains down on the “Naada Habba,” the Vijayadashmi procession, symbolising the triumph of good over evil and a tradition inherited from the Vijayanagar emperors, rolled out of the palace premises complete with ensemble of folk troupes and caparisoned elephant Balarama...
2007-10-22 - San Andreas, United States. LENORE RUTHERFORD
More than 500 people paid $100 each to watch elephants play and tour Ark 2000, the 2,300-acre exotic animal sanctuary complex near San Andreas. A silent auction and an outdoor market featuring donated items were also held. The fourth annual Elephant Grape Stomp was a fundraiser for the sanctuary, which is home to more than 100 exotic animals, including elephants, tigers, primates and bears, said Tamara Wilder, organizational development director for Performing Animal Welfare Society.
2007-10-21 - Khao Sok National Park, Thailand. Cindy Loose
Its a risky business, choosing a no-brand, family-owned lodging in Thailand a tent lodging, no less based solely on pictures on the Internet. I decide to take a chance, though, because it seems a potential solution to my trip-planning dilemma: I want the sandy white beaches of southern Thailand but also yearn to see the jungle-like rain forest and elephants for which northern Thailand is famous. And I don't want to be rushing and spending limited time flying between the two.
2007-10-21 - Thiruvananthapuram, India. Akhel Mathew
Elephants in Kerala are set to enjoy a brighter future thanks to a new set of Forest Department rules aimed at ensuring their general welfare. Elephants are often forced to participate in religious festivals in a bid to add colour to the proceedings. The Sivagiri Mutt and the St. George Malankara Orthodox Christian Church in Thrissur have already vowed not to parade elephants during temple and church festivals.
2007-10-21 - Chiang Mai, Thailand. Ronna Sweeney, KUAM News
The national symbol of Thailand is proudly the elephant. In fact, a strong bond exists between the Thai people and the gentle creatures. And this special union was evident as we had the chance to visit the Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai. Having been open for nearly 30 years, the camp is home to one of the largest herds in the Northern Thailand. The organization's philosophy is to create a natural and healthy environment for the elephants, while working to conserve and breed them due to the dw...
2007-10-21 - Srikakulam, India.
Rogue elephants continue to wreak havoc in north coastal Andhra Pradesh bordering Orissa, killing one more person on Sunday, taking the toll to eight since last week. The tuskers, which entered from neighbouring Orissa, trampled one tribal to death in Srikakulam district, about 600 kms from Hyderabad. Forest officials said the tusker menace has so far claimed 17 lives since Aug 13, when the first attack was reported in the district.
2007-10-21 - Paola Cavalieri, South Africa.
One of the consequences of the culling of elephants in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s was the breakdown of elephant societies. After the destruction of their patterns of attachment and of their stored knowledge, elephants started to display symptoms associated with the human post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) observed in Kosovo and Rwanda - a disorder including abnormal-startle response, loss of emotions, depression and hyper-aggression.
2007-10-21 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Isuri Kaviratne
The Cabinet has approved the gifting of an elephant to Armenia while Wild Life officials were still studying the suitability of the weather and other conditions for the animal. The move has drawn angry responses from various groups closely following the issue of gifting the elephant Asokamala. Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka told The Sunday Times that the Ministry is still considering the suitability of the weather and the condition of the zoo before issuing the permission to send the nin...
2007-10-19 - Bangkok, Thailand. PLOENPOTE ATTHAKOR
The Siam flag, featuring an image of a white elephant on red-coloured cloth, will fly at the top of the Siam Flag Museum from Tuesday. Decades after it was decommissioned and disappeared from public sight, the flag of Siam or thong chang _ a red flag with the image of a white elephant at the centre _ will be flown permanently at a private museum in Lat Phrao district from Tuesday onwards.
2007-10-19 - Lusaka, Zambia.
The Zambia Wildlife in Livingstone has detained a CR Carrier Bus and Six Staff together with a Passenger for being in possession of some Ivory Tusks. The tusks are worth more than K120 million. Those arrested include two drivers, two loaders, a conductor and a Bus Washer. The Bus, coming from Sesheke enroute to Lusaka was intercepted by ZAWA Officers at one of its checkpoints in Livingstone. Area Warder, Stephen Malungo said the suspects were arrested, Thursday.
2007-10-19 - Guwahati, India.
About 100 wild elephants converged on a river island in northeast India and were demolishing homes, feasting on sugar cane and panicking residents, officials said Saturday. Thousands of villagers were using firecrackers and bonfires in an attempt to scare away the rampaging animals, the officials added. Dozens of houses have been destroyed in the past three days by adult elephants entering human settlements to look for their wandering calves, said the local magistrate, L. S. Changsan.
2007-10-19 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan animal rights activists have made a strong plea to the government to follow India and stop the practice of gifting animals to foreign countries as this is not only cruel, but depletes Sri Lankas fauna. It is time we took India as an example and stopped the practice of gifting animals to foreign countries as a diplomatic gesture, said Sagarica Rajakarunanaike, President of Sathva Mithra, about the Sri Lankan cabinets decision to gift an elephant to an ill-equipped zoo in cold and inhos...
2007-10-19 - Fairhope, United States.
Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium officials broke ground on Friday on construction of a new 10,000 square-foot building at the International Conservation Center in Somerset County. The building is the first of several that will be the cornerstone of elephant breeding and other conservation management programs. The first building will provide housing for at least four elephants and will be ready in time for the arrival of the Philadelphia Zoo's three elephants: Petal, 51; Kallie, 24; and Bette, 24,...
2007-10-18 - Gagani Weerakoon, Sri Lanka.
Despite strong protests by various animal rights activists against the sending of the nine-year-old cow-elephant ‘Asokamala’ to a zoo in Armenia, the government is to proceed with its ‘donation’ to the Armenian government. Asokamala is from the Pinnawala elephant orphanage and has been transferred to the Dehiwala zoo prior to being sent to Armenia, sources said.
2007-10-18 - Anchorage, United States. Steve Mac Donald
The Alaska Zoo took delivery this morning of a specially-made shipping crate that will house Maggie, Alaskas lone African elephant, during her trip to California. Maggie is being relocated to an elephant sanctuary there after twice being unable to stand up on her own earlier this year. The 10,000-pound steel crate is designed specifically for shipping elephants and contains restraining bars and heaters. The crate is currently attached to Maggie's outdoor pen. Zoo officials hope shell grow accust...
2007-10-18 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
If the Ministry of Environment and Forests has its way, movement of trains along the lines running through wildlife corridors would be stopped during night hours in Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Uttaranchal, till preventive measures are put in place. Reliable sources said the Union Secretary has written to Rail Board on the same line after receiving feedbacks from states like Orissa and West Bengal over inadequate accident prevention measures made available along tracks in the vulnerable zones.
2007-10-18 - London, United Kingdom. Michael Kahn
Elephants can literally smell danger, according to a study on Thursday that shows the animals can sniff out whether humans are friends or foes. The study in Kenya found elephants detected both the scents and colours of garments worn by Masai tribesman who often come into conflict with the animals when herding cattle. When detecting the scent of a Masai, the elephants turned up their trunks to orient themselves to the smell and then stampeded away until they reached cover in the tall grass.
2007-10-18 - Bhubaneswar, India.
Forest officials in Mayurbanj district have seized ivory worth Rs. 150,000 from a smuggler. The tusk weighing 21.9 kg and cut into five pieces, was seized from the accused Wednesday by forest officials at Malapada village in Mayurbanj district, about 350 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. Acting on a tip-off about the smuggling of ivory by a tribal, we laid a trap early Wednesday to catch him red-handed, said Range Officer Jitendra Kumar Mohanty.
2007-10-18 - Anchorage, United States. Jason Moore
The Alaska Zoo is ready to say goodbye to Maggie the elephant and it's asking you to join in the send off. Maggie is preparing for her trip to an elephant park in California and a two-day going away party happens the weekend after next. The zoo says it doesn't know for sure when she will leave but expects the trip south will happen within the next few weeks. The going away part will feature a banner for signing, a Maggie slide show and an original Maggie painting will be raffled off.
2007-10-18 - Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Authorities in Sierra Leone on Thursday expressed concern at the upsurge in elephant poaching after at least 10 jumbos were killed in the past two months in the west African country for meat and illicit ivory trade. Senior wildlife official Kailie Bangura said the animals were killed in two wildlife parks in the remote northern Outaba Kilimi and Loma Mountain parks near the border with Guinea. He suspected the elephants fell prey to foreign hunters.
2007-10-18 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. Perform night feeds as assigned. Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn.
2007-10-17 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka will donate a she elephant to Armenia in response to a request by the Armenian Government to consolidate bilateral friendly relations between the two countries. The Cabinet has approved a memorandum submitted in this connection, the Government Information Department said. Director General National Zoological Gardens H. Dissanayake said accordingly a nine-year-old she elephant named 'Asokamala' from the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage will be sent to Armenia shortly.
2007-10-17 - Purulia, India.
A tusker was killed after being hit by a goods train early this morning in Purulia today. The incident is the first of its kind in the southern districts of the state. There were several incidents of elephants being run over by speeding trains in north Bengal. The incident occurred between Torag and Suisa stations of the Ranchi division of South Eastern railway in Purulia around 1 am when a herd of 14 elephants was crossing the railway line.
2007-10-17 - Anchorage, United States. Rich Jordan
Trainers at the Alaska Zoo have been working daily with Alaskas only african elephant tp prepare her for the trip to her new home in California
2007-10-17 - Bhubaneswar, India.
After its role in managing natural resources, disaster management and more recently of malaria in the State, geo-information system (GIS) applications have come as a great help in another key area of wildlife management, i.e. reducing man-animal conflicts. As per a study by Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary authorities, the movement pattern of specific elephants, its flagship species, can now be known through proper GIS mapping over the years with the help of annual and seasonal data interpretation so ...
2007-10-17 - Guwahati, India.
Launched by the forest department, the 150 specially trained mahouts and a few kunkis (leader elephants) will combat the growing depredation of wild tuskers by driving them away from human habitats without or little collateral damage. Elephant catcher Parbati Baruah has trained these commandos. Divisional forest officer of Kaziranga National Park Bonkim Sharma said, Earlier, domesticated elephants and their mahouts were used to catch wild tuskers. Now we have developed a special training module ...
2007-10-17 - Denver, United States.
Halloween came early today at the Denver Zoo. Elephants Mimi and Dolly got their pumpkins this morning. The pachyderms stomped on the giant gourds one 660 pounds and the other 425 pounds — to get at the flesh inside. The elephants are only two of the 3,500 animals to be showcased at the annual Boo at the Zoo event, held this year on Oct. 27 and Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. The trick-or-treat event is free with regular zoo admission.
2007-10-17 - Coimbatore, India.
Forest officials in Tamil Nadu have initiated a drive to regularize and register captive pachyderms in the State by implanting microchips into their skin. The technique, officials said, will give the elephants a unique identification number that will help prevent manipulation of records, check elephant poaching and further domestication of wild animals. The concept will also help the forest authorities in making periodical assessments of the status of the elephants, as well as formulating polic...
2007-10-17 - Mendon, United States. Ira Kantor
Elephant trainer Phil Schacht says his pachyderm Dondi is more child than wild animal. Among her tricks, Dondi can cluck like a chicken, roar like a lion, and play a harmonica. She also enjoys giving spectators rides and posing for photos at Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, according to her handler. But Schacht, 74, says he's endured repeated threats from animal rights groups that claim his Asian elephant is being mistreated. Now that state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, has re-filed legislation ban...
2007-10-17 - Stockton, United States. C. Johnson
There was an unusual discovery Wednesday morning at a downtown Stockton construction site. Workers came across the bones of a mammoth. The remains - tail and femur bones - were unearthed about 80 feet down at the corner of east Weber Street and north San Joaquin Street. Dr. Gregg Anderson, an assistant professor of biology at UOP, said a large auger was drilling at about 8 a.m. when tailings revealed bones. Workers called the county coroners office whose representative came out and said the big ...
2007-10-16 - BHUBANESWAR, India. Siba Mohanty
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have long been fighting over a host of issues - from sharing river water to ownership of border villages. Now, the two governments have a common ‘elephantine’ problem. This is not over ownership. Rather, it is about a group of elephants AP badly wants to get rid of from its territory, but has been unsuccessful till now. Orissa, too, wants them back but does not know how to.
2007-10-16 - Chitwan, Nepal.
A wild elephant named Ronaldo was found dead at the gate of the Elephant Breeding Farm at Khorsor in the Chitwan National Park (CNP) on Monday, Rajendra Panohar of the farm said, adding that the elephant might have died due to shock from an electric wire. Chief conservation officer at the CNP Megh Bahadur Pandey declined to comment on the matter. Locals said the elephant died due to shock from the high-voltage electric wire. Ronaldo had attacked and killed a four-month-old child of Dil Bahadur T...
2007-10-16 - Pune, India.
EVEN as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) continues its campaign against the entry of elephants in urban areas, the problem continues to be rampant in Pune, with yet another elephant found being used for begging by three men in the Loni Kalbhor area. The three men, clad in sadhu robes, have now been taken into custody and a complaint has been lodged at the Loni Kalbhor Police Station under various sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Bombay Beggary Ac...
2007-10-15 - Lao dong, Vietnam.
The central province of Quang Nam has submitted a project to establish two endangered animal reserves to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for approval, the provincial People’s Committee said last Friday. The elephant reserve, covering an area of 18,765 ha in Que Son District, will be a habitat for elephants, five species of endangered birds, and endangered turtles and gray-shanked doucs.
2007-10-15 - KURUPAM, India.
Tribals caught in the cross-fire between Maoists and police have run into another danger. Along the Andhra-Orissa border, during monsoons, elephants and other animals move downstream. Besides, increased mining in the neighbouring Orissa is forcing the animals to move south to safety. Their arrival is giving sleepless nights to the tribals. In the past four months, 11, including five in the Andhra Pradesh side of the border, have been crushed to death in stampede caused by the rampaging animals.
2007-10-15 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Nimal Wijesinghe
About 160 elephants and 50 persons die from the elephant-human conflict, Environment Minister Patali Champaka Ranawaka said. With the Environmental Development Ministry embarking on a full-scale environmental development plan islandwide, the Minister has declared a “Green month” from today.
2007-10-15 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The People’s Committee of Central Highlands Dak Lak province has decided to spend more than VND 8.5 billion (531,250 USD) from now until 2010 on preserving and developing its tame elephant population. Under the project, an elephant keepers’ club and a tame elephant herd preservation and development centre will be set up in the province. Measures to use elephants for tourism purposes, ensure a sustainable environment and prevent diseases for elephants as well as to reproduce elephants will al...
2007-10-14 - Rangoon, Myanmar. MICHAEL CASEY
Truckloads of illegal timber cross the Myanmar border to sawmills in China, while markets along the Thai border openly sell bear paws, tiger skins and elephant tusks. Further inland, the repressive military regime plans to dam one of Asia's purest rivers, and allows gold and gem mines to tear up hillsides and pollute groundwater for quick cash. Myanmar has become notorious in the region for ignoring international and its own environmental laws in a single-minded effort to make the money that env...
2007-10-13 - Cincinnati, United States. Val Nastold
The conference will be at Drawbridge Inn Oct 13th-16th, with a pre-trip to the Indianapolis Zoo on Oct 13th and a post-trip to the Louisville Zoo on the 17th. There will be more information about the conference coming soon.
2007-10-13 - Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
A herd of Sumatran elephants (Elephas Maximus Sumatranus) recently again encroached on a residential area and attacked plantations at Patek, Sampoiniet, Aceh Jaya District, Aceh Province. Rahmatullah, a settler in the Patek transmigration area, said here on Tuesday the elephants` attack happened around a week before the Idul Fitri Islamic festivity. A herd of around eight elephants almost every evening approached the resettlement area, he said.
2007-10-13 - Golaghat, India.
Its tail had been cut and was hanging loosely from its outer skin. There were spears stuck on its head, back and leg. And its body bore deep cuts. Those who saw the elephant before it died could have sworn that it was begging for mercy. How the 13th elephant to be killed in Assam in northeast India this year - either by humans or in accidents - met its death is a story that animal lovers would hate to hear.
2007-10-12 - Richmond, Canada.
British Columbia received a $9,000.00 fine yesterday after pleading guilty in Richmond Provincial Court to illegally importing over 30,000 pieces of African elephant ivory. Mr. Ho was also ordered to pay a further $9,000.00 to TRAFFIC, (a division of the World Wildlife Fund,) to support programs for the conservation of the African elephant, and to forfeit all of the ivory seized during the investigation which wildlife officers have estimated to be worth ...
2007-10-11 - San Antonio, United States.
The San Antonio Zoo currently has a need for a Zoo Keeper in our Elephant Department. Duties include daily cleaning, feeding, and maintenance of animal exhibits. Zoo Keepers observe, evaluate, and report animal behavior and condition to their supervisor on a daily basis. They assist in treating Zoo animals in accordance with instructions from their supervisor or veterinarian. Minimum qualifications include ability to work weekends, holidays, and occasional after-hours assignments
The Oakland Zoo manages a herd of 1.3 African Elephants in a progressive protected contact program. This is an opportunity for a highly motivated, hardworking individual to learn about captive elephant management. Apprentices will learn about elephant behavior, research, reproduction, training, husbandry and enrichment. He/she will participate in daily cleaning, food preparation and delivery.
2007-10-10 - BERHAMPUR, Zimbabwe.
The elephantine row between Andhra Pradesh and Orissa is close to a solution but authorities hope that a herd of pachyderms which strayed would return to their natural habitat on their own without having to use any force. An action plan to trans-locate the herd finalised by a high-level central expert committee suggested that Andhra Pradesh wait for at least a fortnight before taking any steps to drive away the six wild elephants back to their natural habitat at Lakhary Valley Elephant Reserve i...
2007-10-10 - Moscow, Russian Federation.
A nervous female elephant at Moscow zoo killed its handler on Wednesday with a hit of its leg while being moved onto a truck. Elephant handlers at Moscow city zoo had been trying to load three African elephants onto a specially designed truck to transfer them to a zoo in Spain when the elephant killed the 40-year-old woman. It was a most unfortunate death of a dedicated zoo keeper who had worked with these animals for many years, a spokeswoman for the zoo said.
2007-10-10 - New Delhi, India.
Seven captive elephants in the Delhi have been micro-chipped by an NGO as part of efforts to regulate the trafficking and exploitation of the animals. By micro-chipping the elephants, we can monitor and control the illegal trade and trafficking of captive elephants. Elephant traders and owners resort to capturing elephant calves from the wild and separate them from their herds. said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the NGO Wildlife SOS.
2007-10-10 - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Two elephants at Chiang Mai's Night Safari died last month, while three others have fallen ill due to bad digestion resulting from eating the wrong kind of grass, resident veterinarians said Tuesday. Suphoj Maythaphirat, a senior official, said Night Safari animal keepers were partly at fault for not screening the feed bought from villagers, adding that elephants should not eat too much old grass in a single sitting. Phang Joi and Phang Grandma died late last month after succumbing to extremely ...
2007-10-10 - Sydney, Australia. Jeremy Drake
Polo is the preferred sport of princes and the Packers, but when you replace the horses with elephants it becomes a whole new ball game. The 26th annual World Elephant Polo Championships will begin in Nepal on November 18. Among the 12 teams will be the first fully Australian contingent. A group of 10 average blokes braving the backs of unusually large mammals in the name of international sport.
2007-10-09 - Portland, United States. RICHARD L. HILL
Change is uncaged at the Oregon Zoo. Lions will be heard roaring again at the Washington Park facility, joined by speedy cheetahs and African wild dogs. The zoo has broken ground on a 50,000-square-foot "Predators of the Serengeti" exhibit, which will open in 2009. The zoo also has unveiled a strategic master plan that proposes expanding the elephant area, building a three-story parking deck to deal with its chronic parking shortage and increasing summer admission prices.
2007-10-08 - Bangkok, Thailand.
The symposium on the managing of health and reproduction of elephant populations in Asia will be held at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand from 8th to 10th October 2007. The members of the local organizing committee are pleased to welcome everyone interested in the scientific programs organized for the participants. The purpose of this international congress is to develop and up to date the understanding of health care and reproductive system management of A...
2007-10-08 - Ayutthaya, Thailand.
The restoration of Ayutthaya's ancient kraal, the elephant-trapping pen, began yesterday. All 980 ageing logs in the fence surrounding the enclosure are due for replacement. The sao talung are the major component of the pen, or paniad klong chang, which wild elephants were driven into for elephant-trapping ceremonies in the Ayutthaya period. All the old timber is to be replaced under the 16-million-baht restoration project, which was launched to mark His Majesty the King's 80th birthday in Decem...
2007-10-08 - Munich, Germany.
The elephant cow Penang in Munich Zoo (born 1989 in Zuerich) gave birth yesterday to a stillborn bull elephant calf, several months before expected birth. Munich Zoo (Hellabrunn Tierpark) will probably provide more information on their website tomorrow.
2007-10-08 - London, United Kingdom. Charles Clover
Elephants flee the sound of angry bees, with the vast majority turning to run within seconds of hearing the sound of buzzing, scientists said. The findings are surprising because elephant skin was thought to be so thick that bee stings do not make any impression. The sound of angry bees caused elephants to move away within about 10 seconds. However, bees are known to be attracted to the water around elephants' eyes and when they get up their trunks, elephants can go berserk, say researchers from...
2007-10-08 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Hoang Thien Nga
The People’s Committee of Dak Lak Province in the central highlands has approved a VND8.5 billion (US$528,500) project to preserve domesticated elephants in the region. Under the project, the province will establish reserve areas and found an association for elephant tamers and breeders, along with other agencies concerned with preserving the animal.
2007-10-07 - Buffalo, United States.
Lots of money and family fun filled the afternoon Saturday at the Buffalo Zoo, where HSBC Bank held its annual Halloween gathering for bank employees and presented the zoo a $90,000 check that helped it get accredited. Last month, a year after the Buffalo Zoo's five-year accreditation was delayed, the zoo launched a campaign to collect more than $2 million and win its reaccreditation.
2007-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand.
Sometimes I am a sucker for animal tricks and here is a perfect example. At night in Bangkok, there are baby to large-size elephants that roam the streets with a handler. There are never large groups of elephants on the streets, but rather one elephant here, another there. For a dollar, you can feed the elephant baby cucumbers, baby bananas or sugarcane and it is fantastic. The elephants trunk comes right up to you and grabs the food. They have a very strong trunk, it is truly impressive. When y...
2007-10-06 - El Paso, United States.
Pack your Trunks for a positively pachydermic experience! Come visit the El Paso Zoo to support conservation of the world’s largest land mammal. You’ll touch neat bio-facts from elephants or buy your ticket for the opportunity to actually walk into the elephant exhibit area and hide produce to feed our own Conservation Ambassadors – Savannah and Juno the El Paso Zoo’s Asian elephants. RSVP quickly to reserve your space at the special “Breakfast with the Elephants.” Did you know eleph...
2007-10-06 - Melbourne, United States.
LOADS of face paint will be slapped on today as the Melbourne Zoo celebrates its 145th birthday. Elephants Numoi, 6, and Kulab, 8, got right into the spirit of the bash with the anniversary numerals painted on their foreheads. They and another elephant, Dokkoon, are among the zoo's newest residents and are enjoying the extensive Trail of the Elephants area in its Malaysian-themed setting.
2007-10-06 - Bokakhat, India.
Chilli-bombs and firecrackers, these are the simple but effective weapons that wildlife activists are encouraging people to use to chase away marauding elephants in villages near here. The aim is to ward off man-animal conflict situations as far as possible. Bokakhat town in Golaghat district is about 10 km from the famous Kaziranga national park in northeast India. Villages that fall on the Rajabari-Lokhowjan-Borsapori region near here have been witnessing elephant raids for the past several mo...
2007-10-06 - Portland, United States.
The Metro Council at the Oregon Zoo heard testimony to expand the elephant exhibit. Bottom line, most of the people with the organization In Defense of Animals simply want the exhibit moved out of the Zoo to give the animals more living space. These elephants, because they're the largest land animal, need more space and adding a couple of acres to their already small space is not enough. Deputy Zoo Director Mike Keele disagrees. The sadness is that these armchair extremists don't realize that wh...
2007-10-06 - Bangalore, India.
It will be all about elephants on the third day of the wildlife week celebrations at the Bannerghatta Biological Park on Saturday. Children can debate, meet wildlife experts and also interact with villagers who encounter these animals often. As part the elephant day, the Forest Department is organising programmes to generate awareness about the animal. Programmes include pick-and-speak competition, quiz contest and question-and-answer session. The Forest Department has made arrangements at Arany...
2007-10-06 - Kusheswor Mandal, Nepal.
Two wild elephants sneaking from Koshi Tappu Wild Santuary have caused huge damage to paddy crops in Prakashpur, Madhuban, Western Kusaha and Shreepur VDC area. According to the victimized farmer, elephants have damaged paddy crops cultivated in each 4 to 7 katthas of land belonging to Kusheswor Mandal, Kapleswor Mandal, Rajender Majhi, Shiv Raj Rawat, Baijanath Mandal, Umesh Mandal, Baldev Mandal, Parsuram Mandal, Sukan Ram, Ajhyya Sardar.
2007-10-06 - Juba, Sudan.
South Sudan will invite bidders to run its first game park hotel set in the elephant-rich area of Nimule on the border with Uganda, the Wildlife Ministry's director-general for tourism said. Joseph Oroto said they had almost completed the renovation of a 42-bed lodge set on a hill with views over the White Nile's sweeping entrance from Uganda to Sudan where some 50 herds of elephants drink.
2007-10-06 - T’PURAM, India.
Captive elephants can be traded only with prior permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden and based on conditions that he sets, the Forest Department said here on Friday. The department came out with a clarification on the point following statements in the media by the Kerala Elephant Owners’ Association that no legal hurdles existed in the sale of elephants.
2007-10-05 - Leggett, United States. http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou071004_ac_elephants.13a4a2d89.html
Some things, you expect to see in Texas. But in the town of Leggett, about 80 miles north of Houston, there are two things you dont. Tina and Jewel are rare Asian elephants. With fewer than 50,000 and remaining in the wild, they are an endangered species and share the Leggett property with a third elephant named Boo when shes not on the road with handler, Will Davenport.
2007-10-05 - Bhubaneswar, India.
BHUBANESWAR, Oct. 5: The Nandankanan Zoological Park in collaboration with the Chandaka Wildlife Division, Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society, Orissa, WWF Orissa and CEE, eastern regional cell, will observe elephant day on 7 October and a Wildlife Week too. To mark the day, the zoo authorities have decided to organise the naming ceremony of the recently- rescued elephant calf, besides adorning the elephants and fixing a huge hoarding.
2007-10-05 - Budapest, Hungary.
A German pharmaceuticals company from Hamburg has saved a baby elephant born in the zoo of Nyiregyhaza, N Hungary, last month by supplying a special milk replacement feed after the mother was unable to feed the calf, a spokesperson said on Friday. The baby was the first African elephant born in Hungary, on September 4. The mothers milking glands got inflamed after giving birth and so the baby elephant had to be hand-fed at hourly intervals with the special milk supplied from the German company f...
2007-10-04 - Fairhope, United States.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will announce its plans for an elephant conservation center in Somerset County later this month. Details of the $1.5 million International Conservation Center will be announced at the Oct. 19 groundbreaking. The 724-acre Glen Savage Ranch was once a private hunting preserve. The zoo bought it and is turning it into the first breeding ground for endangered African elephants in North America.
2007-10-03 - Chhatarpur, India.
The Panna tiger reserve here is making all out efforts to get the name of Vatsala, the oldest living elephant on the planet, included in the Guinness book of world records. Brought from Neelambur forest division in Kerala in 1993, the 92-year-old Tusker, steals the show at the reserve forest, attracting tourists inquisitive to know more about her. The Guinness book of world records mentions an 86-year-old elephant of Thailand as the oldest tusker on earth. But Vatsala has crossed the age under a...
2007-10-03 - Jaipur, India.
Along with Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jaipur's elephants are all set to show their acting skills in Ashutosh Gowarikars historical epic Jodha Akbar. More than 10 elephants from Jaipur would soon be transported to Maharashtra for taking part in the film's shooting. These elephants would be used by Gowarikar for filming the final shots of his historical movie Jodha Akhbar, Shyam Gupta, president of the Jaipur elephant owners association told IANS here Wednesday.
2007-10-03 - , United Kingdom.
A WALK on the beach with his dog Daisy lead pensioner Dennis Smith to make a fascinating discovery among the flotsam and jetsam - the leg bone of a giant mammoth. Nature lover Mr Smith, from Witham, has been visiting Dunwichs Cliff House Holiday Park with his wife Barbara for more than 20 years, and often takes part in the annual BeachWatch clean up, but this is the first time the 69-year-old has come across such an exciting find on the seashore.
2007-10-02 - Dehradun, India.
Arundhati, an ageing elephant suffering for long due to a fractured leg, died Tuesday night even as forest officials were planning to put the pachyderm to sleep despite initial protests from wildlife lovers. Veterinarians attending the animal were set to administer a lethal dose of anaesthesia ahead of the mercy killing when the 70-year-old breathed her last. Arundhati broke her front left leg about three weeks ago while she was being taken for a walk by her keeper in the Chilla forest range, ab...
2007-10-01 - Portland, United States.
The Oregon Zoo announced today that its 13-year-old Asian elephant, Rose-Tu, is pregnant and should deliver a calf between Sept. 4 and 24, 2008. Zookeepers figure she conceived between Dec. 4 and 6, 2006, when she was allowed to roam the elephant yard with Tusko, a 36-year-old bull the zoo acquired on a breeding loan in 2005. A baby, said Mike Keele, signifies a major impact on the life of the herd. Its incredibly enriching.
2007-10-01 - Dehradun, India. Swati Thiyagarajan
The debate has ended and sadly so. Everybody agrees now that Arundhati, the ailing 72-year-old elephant, has to be put to sleep. Even the NGO and locals who had protested earlier seem to have reconciled with the situation. But the hitch is, forest department officials are still waiting for the drug required for the lethal injection. Sodium Pentathol, commonly used to put dogs to sleep is required in a large quantity by the officials, which is not available at the moment.
2007-10-01 - London, United Kingdom.
DNA Solutions based in London, UK, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to work together with Fauna & Flora International, the worlds oldest conservation organisation, in using DNA fingerprinting to monitor elephant populations in Cambodias Cardamom Mountains with the help of our scientists. Elephant dung is being collected by field biologists and trackers, and transported to DNA Solutions, an accreditated DNA testing laboratory, where the DNA will be extracted and analysed.
2007-10-01 - Kasese, Uganda.
Elephants and monkeys from the Queen Elizabeth and Kibaale National parks have destroyed crops in the district. The crops include cassava, maize, pineapples and paw paws. The affected areas are Nyakiyumbu, Kisinga, Lake Katwe, Kichwamba and Muhokya villages. “The Elephants have also left many cotton fields destroyed. The cases were reported but the Government has not yet helped the people whose gardens were destroyed,” said Xavier Muhindo, the district production coordinator. He was addressi...
2007-10-01 - Western Plains Zoo, Australia. Portas TJ, Bryant BR, Göritz F, Hermes R, Keeley T, Evans G, Maxwell WM, Hildebrandt TB.
2007-09-30 - Dominguez Hills, United States. Shelly Leachman
It was an odd experiment, to be sure: An enormous Asian elephant 5 tons large buried on a southeast section of a college campus, while yards away, near a baseball diamond, a rare black rhinoceros got similar treatment. But it happened right here in the South Bay, at Carson-based California State University, Dominguez Hills, back in 1979. The brainstorm of elephant-obsessed, then-psychology professor Jack Adams, the experiment's goal was retrieval of the beasts' bones for a comparison study aimed...
2007-09-30 - London, United Kingdom.
THE photographic archive of London Zoo, one of the world’s most important such collections, is to be published for the first time, with the pictures offered for sale to fund conservation, writes Holly Watt. From tomorrow, the Zoological Society of London will place photographs on its website. These will include elephants walking through docks in Camden, north London, and a tiger cub pictured in 1914 with a disgruntled-looking peccary, a pig-like animal from South America. In another photograph...
2007-09-30 - Mysore, India.
The elephants which take part in the Jumboo Savari every year are no different from your kids at home for the mahouts and kavadis and for their family members. Cajoling these 'special kids' is no different from cajoling your own kids at home, after you punish them, whenever they go out of way. If you give sweets and chocolates to cajole your children, the jumbos are given jaggery and sugarcane.
2007-09-30 - Asheboro, United States.
In June, the N.C. Zoo, in Asheboro, struck a deal with the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Alberta, to send Samatha south on a breeding loan. She arrived at the N.C. Zoo shortly after sunrise Sunday after a four-day truck ride. One of her Edmonton zoo keepers, Jackie Buck, accompanied her and will stay for five days to help Samantha acclimate.
2007-09-29 - New Orleans, United States.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates wild populations which are scattered throughout India, Nepal, Indonesia, China and a few other countries is between 25,600 to 32,750 individuals. That represents a stark decline over the last few decades and the results of habitat loss due to increased agriculture and related shootings as well as some ivory poaching. Perhaps the single great obstacle facing Asiatic elephant recovery however is a lack of publicity. African elephants are the darlings of the ...
2007-09-29 - Palakkad, India.
A 12-year old elephant was killed when it was hit by a running train near the Walayar forests between Chullimada and Kanjikode on Friday. The elephant, which descended from the forests, was hit by the Kochi-Tiruchirapalli Tea Garden Express at around 2.30 am in the wee hours of Friday. The elephant, after being hit, was dragged over a distance of half km. Only the skin, trunks and the legs were recovered while all the internal organs laid scattered over a distance. A post-mortem was conducted on...
2007-09-29 - Hattiesburg, United States. REUBEN MEES
John Kamper was not a resident of Hattiesburg, but theres still plenty of evidence of the Meridian businessmans influence on the Hub City. In 1902, what is now called the Hattiesburg Zoo at Kamper Park opened with an elephant called Mrs. Hattie, according to a poetic history of the zoo written by Angela Hayes and recorded in the "History of Forrest County, Mississippi."
2007-09-29 - Mysore, India.
In the midst of hectic election process, the second batch of Dasara elephants arrived silently at Doddakere Maidan here on Friday. Elephant Harsha and Vikrama from Dubare, Sri Rama, Abhimanyu, Sarala and Kanti from Sunkadakatte, K. Gudi and Thithimathi forests arrived at Doddakere Maidan. Deputy Conservator of Forest and veterinary doctors welcomed the elephants which were later taken to the camp at Palace Complex. The first batch of the elephants were welcomed on a grand scale and were taken in...
2007-09-29 - San Diego, United States. Jeanette Steele
The San Diego Zoo has started demolishing 7 acres of old exhibits there to make way for Elephant Odyssey, the blockbuster $44 million project that will house elephants, lions and jaguars. In total, 10 percent of the zoo's display area is off limits while bulldozers take out 50-year-old exhibits that once held giraffes, zebras and antelope. Construction will start early next year and last 18 months.
2007-09-29 - Dehradun, India. S M A Kazmi
By now, arundhati should have been dead. Killed by the needle that would have ended the agony of a multiple fracture on her massive, right foot. But Arundhati, 80, is alive. Arundhati, the elephant. Her life, scheduled to end today, has been kept on hold by the tears of an entire city, her mahout, the man who runs the park in which she lives, and the man who signed the death order. This leafy city has never come across anything like this before — the first mercy killing case of a domesticated ...
2007-09-29 - Muskogee, United States. Elizabeth Ridenour
When Hi-Bi the clown waved at Grace Hiseley with both hands, his pants fell down, bringing squeals from Grace and dozens of others Saturday in the Muskogee Civic Center. The three-ring Bedouin Shrine circus, along with cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn and balloons, filled the civic center Saturday afternoon. Spectators clapped in time with a drumming elephant to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Two more shows will be held today.
2007-09-28 - Los Angeles, United States. Karen Kaplan
Scientists seeking to decode ancient DNA from woolly mammoths and other Ice Age beasts have found an abundant new source of unsullied genetic material: ordinary hair. Using samples of fur from mammoths that roamed Siberia 17,000 to 50,000 years ago, the researchers were able, they say, to reconstruct the complete mitochondrial genomes of 10 animals, even though some of the hair had been stored at room temperature for 200 years.
2007-09-28 - Orlando, United States. Henry Pierson Curtis
Orlando is safe from rampaging pachyderms now that the Orange County Sheriffs Office has bought 14 elephant guns. The newest weapon in Sheriff Kevin Bearys armory fires a half-inch-diameter bullet with sharpshooter accuracy. The sole purpose for this weapon is large or exotic animals, sheriffs spokesman Jim Solomons said Thursday.
2007-09-28 - Knysna, South Africa.
The Knysna elephants, made famous through the books written by Dalene Matthee, were thought to be on the verge of disappearing from the forests around the Southern Cape Town. But recent research indicates that a small elephant population still occupies the area and their numbers are increasing. DNA that was extracted from the dung left behind in the forests has been tested and five females have been identified. The research project is conducted by Gareth Patterson and conservation geneticist, Lo...
2007-09-28 - Augusta, United States. Emily Sapienza
The tusk of a prehistoric mastodon that a Cushing family donated to the Maine State Museum in August has been officially accepted to the museum's collection. Museum registrar and zoology curator Dr. Paula T. Work sent documents to the Winchenbach family on Sept. 14 that confirm the transfer of legal title for the prehistoric tusk from the family to the museum. Work also included a letter to Michelle and Timothy Winchenbach thanking them for their generous donation.
2007-09-27 - Knoxville, United States. Sam Watson
More shovel-tusked elephant remains have surfaced at the Gray Fossil Site seven years after scientists first identified portions of the fossilized behemoth in the early days of the sites discovery. Having searched in vain in previous digs, East Tennessee State University researchers struck gold this week after getting a better idea of where an elephant pelvis and other fragments were found from some of the original investigators.
2007-09-27 - Los Angeles, United States. Randolph E. Schmid
Attacking several tons of woolly mammoth with stone-tipped spears must have taken extraordinary courage — and ancient people left paintings to prove they did it. Now, scientists are approaching mammoths in a different way, extracting DNA from their dense coats in an effort to learn more about them. Mammoths are extinct, of course. No one knows if the cause was climate change, hungry Neanderthals or something else — but they left behind remains, often frozen in the tundra.
2007-09-27 - Keonjhar, United States.
The recent death of two elephants in the rail accident and another one due to electrocution in Keonjhar district has brought to forefront the threat faced by the pachyderms of this area. Sources said that there were 112 elephants in Keonjhar in 2002. In 2005 the number came down to 69. In 2007 the number of elephants in this district is only 51. While there are eight males, 14 females,and six calves in the Keonjhar forest division, in the Anandapur wild division there are 18 elephants, including...
2007-09-27 - Miami, United States. RACHEL MONAHAN
Shes not the flying elephant with whom the DUMBO neighborhood shares a name. But she is a painting pachyderm. Dondi, 33, will exhibit her artwork at a neighborhood festival tomorrow and Sunday. Its a natural movement of the trunk, explained Zannah Mass, cultural affairs director for developer Two Trees. The real estate company is expected to bring the 8,000-pound artist, originally from Thailand, for an appearance at the 11th annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival this weekend.
2007-09-27 - New York, United States.
The artwork above, you're not going to believe this, was painted by elephants. Thats right: The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project, a nonprofit organization, gives elephants paintbrushes, paper, paint, and an easel, and let's them do their thing. Most of the artwork is abstract, but some of the paintings are unbelievable! The AECP is based out of New York City, and its purpose is to raise money and awareness about the plight of the elephants of Southeast Asia.
2007-09-26 - Colchester, United Kingdom.
Zoo keepers at Colchester Zoo have become extremely concerned about the health of one of its elephants. Keepers at the zoo are worried about the progress of Rosa the elephant, who has been under a pioneering drug treatment for several months now with no improvement. In May Rosa was examined under anaesthetic to assess her condition which was causing her obvious discomfort and compromising her welfare. The procedure confirmed scarring to her vagina which was affecting the nerves in the pelvic are...
2007-09-26 - Edmonton, Canada.
The Valley Zoo said goodbye to Samantha the elephant as she left to be a mom in her new home in North Carolina. The 19-year-old elephant will be part of the breeding program at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, which recently expanded its elephant enclosure to include seven acres in a naturalized habitat. The Valley Zoo has been Samantha's home since 1988. Staff stroked and petted Samantha before she boarded the moving truck Tuesday night. Zoo operations manager Dean Treichel said they're sad ...
2007-09-25 - Nairobi, Kenya. Karen Allen
British soldiers training in Kenya, accused of frightening wildlife, say they did not overfly the game reserves. The soldiers, it was claimed, had been flying helicopters so low that they were scaring off the wild animals. Game wardens in the Samburu district complained that the British forces were hampering Kenya's conservation efforts. The allegations sparked an urgent investigation and the British High Commission now says none of the alleged incidents took place.
2007-09-25 - Vallejo, United States.
Responsible for the feeding, cleaning and maintenance of Elephant Encounter area and for entry level training of elephants and behaviors. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Feed, brush and bathe animals as directed by Supervisor or Asst. Supervisor. Give commands to ask elephant to lay down, move. If needed, brush elephant from atop their back and head. Perform night feeds as assigned. Clean animal enclosure areas including log show, elephant theatre, rides, yard, pool and barn. Hose down and sque...
2007-09-24 - Gulu, Uganda. David Kilama
Several elephants have invaded IDP camps in Amuru District destroying crops threatening peoples lives and forcing many to flee to safety. The elephants, which came from Murchison Falls National Park, are said to be searching for food. The most affected areas are Koch Goma Sub-county, Amar and Alero parishes and Ongako Camp.
2007-09-24 - Boston, United States. Andy Nelson
A friend of mine in Oregon, Michael Wilhelm, is a nature photographer, and he once told me, I don't want to just take pictures of animals, I want to capture their behavior. His words rang in my head when I was recently in South Africa and encountered a young elephant and his family. I think elephants are amazing and shot plenty of pretty pictures of this animal and of the herd as they were walking.
2007-09-24 - Miami, United States. MONICA HATCHER
You think you've got to deal with a lot of crap at work? You aint got nothin on Tarah Bedrossian. As Miami Metro Zoos elephant manager and enrichment coordinator, Bedrossian and her team of four are responsible for removing hundreds of pounds of elephant dung each day. Its just one of the many daily chores of elephant husbandry. We use rakes, shovels, pitch forks and wheelbarrows. We wheelbarrow it out twice a day, Bedrossian, 31, said. The staff, in fact, once weighed a single elephant's output...
2007-09-24 - Stavropolsky, Russian Federation.
Skeleton of a southern elephant, who lived millions of years ago, was discovered in Stavropolsky region by workers in an open pit. To date scientists know only four such skeletons. One of said skeletons was discovered in the same region in 1960 and is now exhibited in regional museum, Three more elephants found home in Paris, Saint Peterburg and Tbilisi.
2007-09-23 - Sammanturai, Sri Lanka. Wasantha Chandrapala
The menacing wild elephant is today the oft talked about subject in almost every village which is close to forest areas. Hardly a day passes sans some incident involving this animal. It appears that the attempts made by the Wild Life authorities are hardly able to control this hazardous situation. Ampara district figures more prominently in such episodes where confrontation between man and beast is most common. The most recent incident happened last Tuesday when a two year-old girl became a vict...
2007-09-23 - Chennai, India.
Giving details of the world famous Thrissur Pooram, organised for the first time in the city, at a press conference here, Association President M Nanda Govind said the city police had firmly denied permission to bring elephants from Kerala. Some of them would be mechanised elephants, operated remotely. They will raise their trunks and even bless the visitors, he said, addding the caparisoned life-like elephants would be displayed with full decorations, including silk umbrellas, peacock fans and ...
2007-09-23 - Jackson, United States. Tracie Simer
A fossil skeleton stands at 19 feet, the tusks are 8 feet long and its more than 12,000 years old. Its the only display of its kind in West Tennessee. A woolly mammoth skeleton is on exhibit at the Obion County museum through June. The county has it on loan from Russia.
2007-09-22 - Sacramento, United States. Dixie Reid
The 51-year-old Baby appears to be dozing off while six members of the circus crew shampoo and scrub her with wire brushes. The elephants are bathed daily with a vegetable-based shampoo to keep their hides clean and exfoliated, says Carrie Coleman, a veterinary technician with a degree from Purdue University who travels with the show. While the others wait for Baby to be done with her shower, 46-year-old Siam, who is a little impatient, uses her trunk to snort up soap suds making their way to th...
2007-09-22 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Wildlife Department sources say that 117 wild elephants died so far this year. The majority of the elephant deaths were reported from the Northwestern Wildlife Zone which inhabits the most number of elephants. Fifty four elephants were killed there. In the Mahaweli zones 37 elephants were killed. Twenty were killed in South and two killings each were reported from Central, Yala, Bundala and East Wildlife zones.
2007-09-21 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
Veterinarians at a zoo in eastern India struggled Friday to save an orphaned baby elephant who was injured when a train killed its mother, officials said. The 4-month-old elephant was brought to the Nandankanan Zoo in the city of Bhubaneswar with slight injuries, but its chances of surviving without its mother were estimated at 50 percent, said zoo director Ajit Patnaik. The Nandankanan zoo earlier had the opportunity to take care of more than 20 orphaned wild baby elephants and nearly 50...
2007-09-21 - Birmingham, United States. Walter Bryant
The Birmingham Zoo unveiled plans for a major new exhibit Thursday night, a $15 million, 14-acre showcase for African beasts and birds that officials hope will transform the 52-year-old zoo as a tourist destination. The Trails of Africa exhibit will also mark the return of elephants to Birmingham, something that has been missing since the zoos beloved Mona died in June. The new exhibit, which will push the zoo into a portion of the wooded property surrounding the current zoo proper, will include...
2007-09-21 - Minneapolis, United States. DAVID HANNERS
With a council chamber packed by zealots, schoolchildren, executives in fezzes and a guy with a sign saying the president should be impeached, the Minneapolis City Council on Friday declined to ban circuses from the city. The council spent two hours debating the proposed ordinance, then decided to send alternative legislation, which would regulate, not ban, circus animals, back to a committee for more tweaking. As debate and time dragged on, discussing motions, amendments, alternative motions, e...
2007-09-20 - Waco, United States. R.A. DYER
Not far from modest suburban homes in the middle of some thick Texas woods lies a secret boneyard. Surrounded by a tall chain-link fence and covered by what looks like a red-and-white circus tent, the site contains the remains of towering monsters. Remains of at least 25 mammoths, signs of a big saber-toothed cat and a long extinct camel have been found at the site. This is the Waco Mammoth Site, a collection of prehistoric fossils embedded in the dirt not far from the Bosque River. The site cou...
2007-09-20 - New Bedford, United States. Pamela Marean
Find out what its like to have a curious elephant reach out to touch you with its powerful trunk. Get up close and personal with New Bedfords resident pachyderms, Emily and Ruth, and help the giant and gentle creatures of their kind around the globe at the same time. Elephant appreciation and fundraising is the focus behind a whole host of exciting activities at Buttonwood Park Zoo on Sunday. Those who come will enjoy behind-the-scenes experiences with these unique endangered animals that are us...
2007-09-20 - Gumare, Botswana.
A 75-year-old woman of Beetsha has been killed by elephants. Gumare-based Senior Game Warden, Mr Phepa Babopi, said the woman was killed last week while cutting trees in her field to prepare for the ploughing season. He said the woman was accompanied by her daughter who ran away. Mr Babopi said the elephants were incensed by dogs that barked at them earlier during the day. The woman was buried over the weekend in Beetsha.
2007-09-20 - Kochi, India.
Film personalities, including Dilip Kumar and John Abraham, have taken up the cause of elephants by urging all states to ban the entry of the animals into urban areas. Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu, Abraham, Raveena Tandon, Yana Gupta, Rahul Khanna and Celina Jaitley are among those who have signed a petition of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals that asks all chief ministers not to allow elephants to enter urban areas.
2007-09-20 - Agoura, United States. Ian Manning
In June, 1969, I came back to the Luangwa to hunt for Luangwa safaris, first flying up to Fort Jameson where Norman Carr, one of the partners, ran the business. The field operations were run by his partner, Peter Hankin, from a bush headquarters at Chanjusi in the Luangwa. I arrived at Chanjusi, feeling a little like the once successful actor attempting a comeback after a period of absence, for I had left for Canada fully two dry seasons ago. To return again and see the vistas of Cathedral mopan...
2007-09-20 - Keonjhar, India. Swati Thiyagarajan
Two female elephants were killed when a goods train rammed into them in Orissas Keonjhar district. Two other elephants of the herd trying to cross a railway track have been injured. The track falls on the usual migratory route of the herds. A big male bull with injuries is still at large while two female elephants were killed outright. A baby elephant injured and shocked after the accident has now been removed to the Nandakanan zoo for care.
2007-09-20 - Dehradun, India.
An adult elephant was found dead in Barkot forest range of Doiwala area in the state, the official sources today said. The pachyderms death came to light last evening when villagers informed the forest guards patrolling the area about the animals body lying there. The sources, however, have ruled out any foul play behind the mammals death as his tusks and other vital organs were found to be intact. A postmortem is being conducted to ascertain the cause of the elephant's death.
Not far from modest suburban homes in the middle of some thick Texas woods lies a secret boneyard. Surrounded by a tall chain-link fence and covered by what looks like a red-and-white circus tent, the site contains the remains of towering monsters. Remains of at least 25 mammoths, signs of a big saber-toothed cat and a long extinct camel have been found at the site.
2007-09-19 - Louisville, United States. Sheldon S. Shafer
Scotty, the Louisville Zoo's pride and joy, can raise each of his legs on command and, at least sometimes, can hold on to the tail of his mother, Mikki, with his still-developing trunk. In addition to learning a trick or two, the baby African elephant is learning to be calm around people and to show some patience, said Dave Campbell, the zoo's elephant-area supervisor.
2007-09-19 - Keonjhar, India.
Two female elephants were killed on the spot and two others sustained injuries when a goods train ran over a herd in this mineral-rich district early on Wednesday. The train accident leading to death of two elephants was said to be the first major accident in the state. The accident took place about 10 km away from Joda town. Forest department personnel rescued one of the two injured elephants from the spot after the locals informed them about the mishap. The injured baby elephant, which lost it...
2007-09-19 - Dublin, Ireland. Robert Cox
If you're thinking of getting a closer look at Dublin Zoo's latest addition, - the baby Indian elephant recently christened Asha, be sure to admire the gates of the elephant enclosure when you're there. And when you come back you can congratulate local company, Globe Metalworks, based in Rooskey, who designed and installed the 12 gates between the enclosure and the elephant house.
2007-09-19 - San Diego, United States.
While the San Diego Zoo still celebrates the recent birth of a baby girl panda, the Wild Animal Park has something to celebrate too. The 17-year-old African elephant, Umoya (oo-MOY-ah), gave birth Wednesday to a healthy bouncing baby girl. The female calf was born at 12:23 a.m. She is the third elephant born at the park in the past 12 months. Umoya, which meansspirit in the SiSwati language, and her calf will be slowly introduced to the rest of the herd. Keepers and researchers are monitoring th...
2007-09-19 - Lira, Uganda. Julius Ocen
Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army has reacted with fury to plans for a joint Ugandan-Congolese military attack on its main base in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels have based themselves in the DRC's Garamba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inhabited by the world's last few northern white rhinos, the only known population of Congo giraffe and elephants, buffalos, and hippopotamus.
2007-09-19 - Philadelphia, United States.
The Philadelphia Zoo said Wednesday it now plans to say goodbye to its three remaining elephants by early next year. The move had been planned for the fall. The African elephants will be moved to the Pittsburgh Zoos International Conservation Center, which is in Fairhope, Somerset County, Pa. At the earliest, the elephants would be moved late this year. A fourth elephant was moved earlier this year to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn.
2007-09-19 - Santa Barbara, United States.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is seeking a keeper for our elephant team. This position will carry out all basic aspects of the daily care of the animals, including, but not limited to: training, enrichment, maintenance of exhibits, and enhancing the guest experience. This position is part of a dynamic and progressive Animal Care team. The position may be filled at the apprentice keeper, keeper, or senior keeper level depending on experience, with wages ranging from $11 to $15/hr.
2007-09-18 - Maputu, Mozambique.
The Mozambican government on Monday authorised soldiers to gun down wild animals who are seen as a threat to human beings after a new report highlighted an increase in the number of deadly attacks. The number of people killed by wild animals keeps increasing, said the government-sponsored report which found that around 300 people had been killed in the last decade. Elephants and crocodiles were responsible for most of these deaths, said government spokesman Luis Covane. The government has theref...
2007-09-18 - St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Irina Titova
At least five elephants, a herd of zebras and thousands more animals from St. Petersburg’s zoo will find a new spacious home near the Yuntolovsky reserve by 2011. A decision on the construction of the new zoo in the Primorsky district was announced by Governor Valentina Matviyenko last week at a meeting of City Hall. It should be done in such a way that the animals will be living not in ‘communal apartments’ [cramped multi-family residences common in downtown St. Petersburg] but in luxurio...
2007-09-18 - Virginia, United States. LIA RUSSELL
Cita, a 38-year-old African elephant, displayed her creative talents while Kristen held a board with a painting canvas. "Cita, paint!" was the command. Holding a brush with her trunk, the talented pachyderm alternately swooshed ribbons of pink, green and blue paint (colors specially selected by Kristen) on the canvas. Her reward? Bananas and corn, offered between brush strokes. Note: she also eats the skins and the cobs. And painting isn't Cita's only artistic accomplishment. Before coming to Vi...
2007-09-18 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoo has received a nearly $1 million state grant to help build a new elephant exhibit. The zoo is weeks away from breaking ground on the $45 million project. AdvertisementThe funds come from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Board, which distributes money from a state infrastructure bond that voters approved in 2002. The exhibit, to be called Elephant Odyssey, qualified for the public money because it will show how modern-day animals, such as elephants and jaguars, a...
2007-09-18 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Colombo University Senior Professor on Ecology Sarath Kotagama says that through the estimates in the past 100 years and the records on man – elephant conflicts, he can prove that the countrys elephant population grew despite the popular belief of decline. He points out that the elephant population was less than 1,000 according to 1953 estimations. The 1973 estimates accounted the elephant population between 1600 – 2200. According to an estimate conducted by Dr. Nandana Athapattu and Man...
2007-09-18 - Bardiya, Nepal.
The wild elephants have demolished 26 houses of freed Kamaiyas in Neulapur VDC-4, Khimarhawaphant, last night. The wild elephants from Bardiya National Park ate the food grains and damaged all the clothes and utensils in the house. The administration of national park has not shown any interest towards preventing the elephant rampage in Neulapur, Nagnaha, Gaula, Thakurdara and Shivapur VDCs of the district. Necessary human resource has been sent to various areas of the district as to prevent the ...
2007-09-17 - Sydney, Australia. Andrew Dunkley
Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon is asking that the six Thai elephants at Taronga be relocated to Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo as soon as possible. She sites a situation in Alaska where an elephant is due to be moved from a small environment to an open range zoo and believes the same should apply here. M/S Rhiannon went on to say that evidence gathered by a former Melbourne Zoo employee shows that the Sydney based elephants have only one fifth of a hectare to live in which is hardly adequate.
2007-09-17 - Mysore, India.
Mahouts looking after the Dasara elephants are literally on the streets as the make-shift tents erected for their temporary stay have been damaged due to the incessant downpour of the last three days. More than 50 members of the mahout families, including children are taking shelter in the Mysore Palace grounds as it is impossible to live in the temporary tents in the prevailing rainy conditions. Adding to their woes, the food materials they had kept in the tents have also been ruined.
2007-09-17 - Bangkok, Thailand.
Animal Planets Kingdom of the Elephants is a 60-minute documentary special filmed entirely on location in Southeast Asia that explores the complex bond between elephants and the people of Thailand. Catch the trumpeting on 9th September at 8pm, on ASTRO Channel 51.
2007-09-17 - Bangalore, India.
The book, Elephant Kingdom (published Aug 2007, Mapin) was launched last week in Bangalore. Elephant Kingdom traces the myriad stories and symbolisms behind India's much-loved animal throug its depictions in architectural sculpture. At the heart of the study is a collection of over sixty color photographs from a diversity of antique sett ings, many of them in remote parts of the sub continent.
2007-09-16 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
C-Pack members were discussing Big-Houses proposal to gift an elephant to Romania. But Mano said they could gift more elephants after November once the remaining Em Pees quit Green leader after their move to topple G-ment fails with the budget vote.
2007-09-16 - Nhon Hoa, Vietnam. Tien Phong
When I was young, Nhon Hoa had hundreds of elephants. Every village had elephants, from several to dozens of elephants. In 1993, Nhon Hoa had 16 elephants but now the number is zero, said Mr. Nay Tor, a village patriarch in Nhon Hoa. Nguyen Tan Thanh, Director of the Gia Lai Tourism Service Company, is one of the builders of the famous brand “Nhon Hoa elephant village”, which is widely known by local and international visitors who come to the Central Highlands.
2007-09-16 - Thiruvananthapuram, India.
Ganesh Chathurthi meant holiday for the seven elephants of the Jumbo Circus. Special poojas were conducted for the pachyderms and they were treated to specially-prepared food. Circus artistes wearing traditional Kerala sarees applied tilak on the foreheads of the kneeling elephants as other artistes looked on. Elephants are among the few animals which are currently allowed in circuses after the Central Government banned wild animals like tiger and lion.
2007-09-16 - Sydney, Australia. Greg Hassall
How do you masturbate an elephant? Very carefully, you might think. Actually, no - it turns out the kinky devils are best stimulated by repeatedly thrusting an arm up their backside. Best left to the experts, methinks.This BBC documentary follows the efforts of scientists to save animals such as elephants, rhinos and cheetahs from extinction by means of artificial insemination, IVF and even cloning.
2007-09-15 - Thiruvananthapuram, India. Nandagopal Nair
A Vinayaka Chaturthi with a difference was celebrated in Kerala where the Gods came alive at a circus in Thiruvananthapuram. NDTV has an exclusive report. The Gaja Puja on Ganesh Chaturthi is an annual event and is a thanks giving to the animals that draw in the crowds all year round. Usually on Ganesh Chaturthi we do this puja. We worship our elephants, said Ajay Shankar, partner, Jumbo Circus. A 57-year-old Zulban Ali has been taking care of the elephants at the circus for thirty years. A fift...
2007-09-15 - Seattle, United States. Mailand C, Wasser SK. University of Washington
This protocol describes a method for the extraction of DNA from elephant ivory. These techniques are being used to assign geographic origin to poached ivory by comparing the ivory genotype to a geographic-based gene frequency map, developed separately. The method has three components: ivory pulverization, decalcification and DNA extraction. Pulverization occurs in a freezer mill while the sample is deep frozen in liquid nitrogen, preventing degradation of DNA during the process. Decalcification ...
2007-09-15 - Mysore, India.
The VIPs, from the ministers to the commissioner of police, Mysore, were all there. So were the hosts of priests and senior officials, to greet them with the traditional nadaswaram, to offer special prayers and to invoke divine blessings for their welfare. For Balarama, Bharata, Varalakshmi, Gajendra, Arjuna and Revathi, this pampering, however, is not new. They go through this ritual, enjoying every minute of it, once a year. Balarama and his five friends comprise a batch of 12 elephants that w...
2007-09-14 - Fairhope, United States. TIFFANY WRIGHT
Residents who will soon be neighbors to African elephants attended an informal gathering to discuss the effect the animals may have on the community. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium officials addressed residents' questions and concerns at Glen Savage Ranch Thursday night regarding the development of the International Conservation Center. The center is located on the 724-acre property and will focus on African elephant breeding. There are also plans to construct shelters, stalls and an indoor arena...
2007-09-14 - Guanzhou, China.
China has wrapped up an historic five-day exchange with law enforcement officers from five ASEAN countries to address one of the region’s major crime issues jointly. The China-ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Co-operation exchange in Guangzhou and Shenzhen aimed to strengthen regional co-operation in the fight against wildlife crime. Eight officials representing police, Customs and environmental agencies from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines joined Chinese counterpart...
2007-09-14 - Chester, United Kingdom.
A vacancy has arisen to join the Elephant Team in developing our Elephant care programme and manage our growing herd. Candidates should have proven experience of working with a mixed herd in both free and protected contact. This is not a post for a trainee. This vacancy may be filled at either keeper or senior keeper level dependent upon the previous experience and qualifications of candidates. Ideally candidates will have a higher education qualificatio...
2007-09-13 - Cleveland, United States. Charles Cassady
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest, celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2007 with “Zoobilee,” a day-long celebration with music and fun on Saturday, with extended Zoo hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We’ve never had a Zoobilee before,” said Tom O’Konowitz of the Zoo’s marketing department. “Because of our 125th anniversary we wanted to have a special party like none we’ve ever had before.”
2007-09-13 - Pittsburgh, United States. Kellie B. Gormly
Macys Elephant Day activities at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will make a party of ginormous proportions for elephants Victoria and Callee, who were born on Sept. 12 and 19, respectively. The elephants are a year apart in age: Victoria will be 8, and Callee will be 7.
2007-09-13 - Anchorage, United States. Steve Mac Donald
Maggie the elephant will soon be a California girl. The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors chose to send its beloved elephant to a sanctuary run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society, also known as PAWS. The board made the decision during a closed-door meeting last night, but the board didn't make that choice public until this afternoon. For nearly all of her 25 years, Maggie has called a pen at the Alaska Zoo home, but not much longer. After months of research, debate and pressure, the Zoo's boar...
2007-09-13 - Livingstone, Zambia.
A Lone Elephant has destroyed property worth over $30,000 on an Island on the Zambezi River in the tourist capital Livingstone. The property belongs to Tongabezi Safaris. This is the third time this week that property has been destroyed by the same elephant. The beast is alleged to have strayed from neighbouring Zimbabwe. A check by ZNBC news found the island’s makeshift tents, fridge and stove destroyed. Some Zambia Wildlife Authority game rangers were also on the island to access the damage ...
2007-09-12 - Bangalore, India. Raghava M.
Flouting well laid-out guidelines enunciated by the Supreme Court, forest officials at the Bandipur National Park have left the carcasses of wild elephants as food for other animals, an official inquiry has revealed. Eight elephants were found dead at the park between June 2006 and June 2007. The State Police (Forest Cell), which is inquiring into the elephants deaths, found that the carcasses were left in the forest without either being buried or cremated.
2007-09-12 - Minneapolis, United States. Brandt Williams
The Minneapolis City Council takes up an issue not usually on its agenda: the safety of circus animals. A proposal before the council would ban wild animal circuses in the city. While some say its the way to prevent animal cruelty, other council members say the move is misguided. The proposed circus animal ban will face opposition on the council. Councilmembers Paul Ostrow and Betsy Hodges are pushing a substitute ordinance that forgoes an all-out ban in favor of tighter restrictions for circus ...
2007-09-12 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Wildlife Department office of the Trincomalee district of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka announced that 40 wild elephants were killed so far in this year in Trincomalee district alone. Meanwhile, in the adjacent Sigiriya area Wildlife officers and villagers were working round the clock to rescue two wild elephants that had fallen into a cultivation well near Indugaswewa on Monday night.
2007-09-12 - Bangalore, India.
Ivory worth lakhs of rupees was recently recovered from an antique dealer in Bangalore. CNN-IBN Special Investigation team along with the Karnataka Police unearthed one link in the illegal trade in ivory. On Monday morning, the teams managed to get a confessional statement out of one of the accused Murthy. “I was selling the ivory on someone else's behalf,” he said. Murthy was arrested by the Karnataka Police's Wildlife cell on Wednesday morning. Just a day before, he was accosted by CNN-IBN...
2007-09-11 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The zoo accommodates a number of primates, some in larger areas than the big cats. But the most distressing sight is that of the elephants, five of them, all chained to the ground. Thankfully, Alipore zoo now has them in open spaces surrounded by moats, although it still cannot stop visitors from feeding them all kinds of rubbish. Yet the elephants are the USP of the Colombo zoo which, together with the famous elephant orphanage in Pinnawala and the farm at Gonapola, form the National Zoological...
2007-09-11 - Calgary, Canada.
The Calgary Zoos newest all-star attraction made her public debut Monday in front of several hundred adoring fans. Just one month old and wearing a down coat to keep away the autumn morning chills, baby Asian elephant Malti sauntered up and down the paddock with zookeepers on either side like a movie star with her security guards. Head elephant keeper Bob Kam says while Malti is starting to gain more than a kilogram daily, the zoo is still concerned about her bonding with mom, Maharani.
2007-09-11 - Nagaland, India. S.Nsemo Tungu
A herd of wild elephants continues to create havoc in Yanmhon Old village area for the past several years.Several appeals have been made to higher agencies for attention even in the past. Above all, for the last few days they have been aggressively disturbing the villagers, destroying paddy fields around the village and even destroyed few houses and a granary on the foot hills of the village, endangering human life causing untold fear psychosis to the villagers.
Elephant-keeper David Percival walks one-month-old Malti to meet the public for the first time yesterday at the Calgary Zoo.
2007-09-11 - Daklak, Vietnam. Tuoi Tre, Tuong Nhi
A herd of over 20 elephants has been destroying large tracts of paddy and corn fields in Daklak province in Vietnam’s central highlands with authorities unable to find a way to chase the animals away. Since last week more than 20 hectares belonging to some 25 families had been destroyed, officials in La Lop commune said. Several structures put up as guardhouses too have been destroyed. Vi Van Binh, one of the officials, said the herd was different from the ones that had wreaked havoc in previo...
2007-09-11 - Tzaneen, South Africa. Fiona Macleod
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk is having a rough ride after he spent time at a Limpopo outfit that captured young elephants from the wild for elephant-back safaris. Wildlife groups are furious after Van Schalkwyk visited Elephants for Africa Forever (Efaf), an elephant training outfit that caused an outcry in April last year when it "kidnapped" six elephants aged between six and 12 in the Selati private game reserve.
2007-09-11 - Windhoek, Namibia. Petronella Sibeene
A protracted wrangle between humans and elephants in the Caprivi, Kavango, Kunene and the Erongo regions will only come to an end once the Human Management Policy is approved by Cabinet and put into effect, says the Minister of Environment and Tourism Willem Konjore. The policy will consist of mechanisms that should reduce the level of human-wildlife conflict, ensure that the benefits of conservation management outweigh the costs and build on the significance of successes already achieved. The p...
2007-09-11 - Windhoek, Namibia.
Namibia's environment and tourism minister Willem Konjore called Tuesday on Namibians to exercise greater care in regions where elephants abound following the death of four people in the past six weeks in run-ins with the giant animals. People in the Caprivi and Kavango regions in the north-east Erongo and Kunene in the west and north-west should to more careful in the wild and avoid walking around at night, Konjore in a press release sent to international media Tuesday. Both locals and tourists...
2007-09-11 - Sydney, Australia.
THEY were the DNA tests that had onlookers wondering if there had been some monkey business in the elephant enclosure. But, as Taronga Zoo keepers were quick to point out yesterday, there was an innocent explanation for the decision to take cheek swabs from the massive animals. The results will be subjected to DNA analysis and then studied by researchers hoping to establish a genetic map of wild elephant populations in their native Cambodia.
2007-09-11 - SELEBI-PHIKWE, Botswana. ONALENNA MODIKWA
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor for Motlhabaneng ward in Bobirwa constituency escaped with minor injuries after hitting an elephant last Saturday evening. Councillor Joseph Madome was travelling from Lentswe le Moriti to Motlhabaneng village when the accident happened, damaging his vehicle beyond repair. Madome said he was travelling along the gravel road when suddenly the elephant run in front of his car, giving him no time to stop.
2007-09-11 - Johannesburg, South Africa.
Culling elephants could cost South Africa's fast-growing tourism industry dearly, MPs heard on Tuesday. A substantial number of tourists would not come to the country if culling was reintroduced, Animal Rights Africa trustee Steve Smit told members of Parliament's environmental affairs and tourism portfolio committee. This assessment was based on discussions held with local tourism operators and tourism marketing agencies, as well as international animal rights organisations, he said.
2007-09-11 - San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoos Wild Animal Park hosted a special birthday celebration for an elephant that turned 1-year-old Tuesday. Khosi was treated with a cake, which she celebrated with family and friends. Most of the time, her mother Umngani was by her side. Khosis mother was one of seven elephants rescued from Swaziland and brought to the park. Zoo officials said Khosi weighs in at almost 850 pounds. When she was a newborn, she tipped the scales at 209 pounds.
2007-09-11 - Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. Elise Tempelhoff, Beeld
An elephant cow in the Pilanesberg nature reserve first chased a game warden for 100 metres, then tore his pants open with her tusk. Later she played a bit of soccer with him. When he landed on his back next to her she stared into his eyes for a few seconds, then shook her head and ambled off back to the matriarch, young cows and calves. Eugene le Roux, 29, chief game warden at Bakubung Bush Lodge said while he was lying staring into the elephants eyes, he hoped his death would be quick.
2007-09-10 - Fairbanks, United States. ROBINSON DUFFY
Ten-year-old J.P. Post was walking home from Woodriver Elementary School last week when he came face to face, or rather face to tooth, with a giant woolly mammoth that roamed his neighborhood more than 10,000 years ago. The boy was traveling home on Aug. 22 along a well-worn path through a wooded area off Amherst Drive directly north of the school when he saw what looked like a jagged rock sticking out of the ground.
2007-09-10 - La Grange, United States. Joe Sinopoli
Hundreds of excited students, teachers, children and parents came to St. Cletus School Wednesday to watch Viola do her stuff. The 35-year-old female Asian elephant was brought out to help raise the Big Top at St. Cletus School for the sold-out Kelly Miller Circus show Wednesday. As a special treat, students at the school were allowed to take time out of class to come and watch as the tent was raised. The tent, made in Italy from a fire-proof material, measures 160-feet by 160-feet and can accomm...
2007-09-09 - Mankarai, India. Jehovah. G
An ailing elephant, known for its notoriety for long in the villages on the outskirts of Coimbatore, has been saved from living with excruciating pain, courtesy forest rangers and wildlife officials' timely help. The jumbo, believed to be around 13 years of age, is said to often enter the villages and habitats in Mankari in search of food for the past couple of years. Often it devoured and damaged the crops. A few days ago, the villagers noticed the elephant ailing in the fringed reserve forest ...
2007-09-08 - Sabah, Malaysia.
Scientists from Cardiff University are planning to set up a field centre in Borneo to research and conserve the smallest and rarest elephants in the world. The Bornean Elephant is the focus of a three year study by a group from the School of Biosciences, led by Professor Michael Bruford. From a base in the Malaysian state of Sabah the team are exploring conservation and management strategies for the species. Now the group is in discussions with the Sabah Wildlife Department about the possibiliti...
2007-09-08 - Buttala, Sri Lanka.
A Sri Lankan eco-lodge built in the shape of an elephant has been nominated for a top slot at the World Travel Awards, its operators said. KumbukRiver, in Okkampitiya in the Buttala is about 250 kilometres away from the capital Colombo and are among the eight lodges nominated for Leading Eco-Lodge in the World at the World Travel Awards to be held later this year. The first time Sri Lanka figures among the world’s leading classifications at the showpiece annual event which also includes awards...
2007-09-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. Brandon Griggs
In Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, two resourceful keepers of the citys bombed-out zoo rescued Jews by smuggling them into empty animal enclosures. The Zookeepers Wife details how Jan Zabinski helped the Polish resistance by storing explosives in the elephant enclosure, a fact he even kept secret from his wife, and sneaking Jews from the Warsaw ghetto into the zoo, where he gave them animal code names and hid them successfully for years. His wife, Antonina, meanwhile, used her rare cha...
2007-09-08 - Bangkok, Thailand. ZACK YUSOF
There’s a well-known saying among film directors that one should never work with children or animals, let alone on the same project. But that’s exactly what director, producer and cinematographer Joseph Pontecorvo has had to do on his documentary, Kingdom of the Elephants, which premières tomorrow on Animal Planet at 8pm. Kingdom of the Elephants is an hour-long documentary filmed entirely on location in South-East Asia. It explores the complex bond between the elephants and the people of T...
2007-09-07 - Nghe An, Vietnam.
The central province of Nghe An has taken measures to protect wild elephants and ensure safety for local people and their properties that are threatened by the big animals. According to local rangers, two herds of wild elephants with around nine heads in the province in recent years have attacked residential areas and destroyed crops in Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Que Phong districts.
2007-09-07 - Bridgeport, United States. Jack Kelly
In the lobby of the museum theres a stuffed baby elephant named Baby Bridgeport, which was the second elephant ever born in captivity. Its emblematic of another of Barnums passions. Among the many elephants he owned was the six-and-a-half-ton Jumbo, which he imported in 1882 to display in his circus. He generated a Jumbo-mania so widespread that the animals name entered the language.
2007-09-07 - Xuancheng, China. He Shan
Sealed away from the outside world for millions of years, a mountain cave located in Xintian Town, Xuancheng City, southern Anhui Province has recently been excavated and classified by archeologists as a prehistoric cave. It harbors a trove of animal fossil bones and vessels. A huge crescent fossil bone weighing two kilograms was unearthed during the discovery. Experts have verified it as an Asian elephant tooth, the first one of its kind to be excavated from southern Anhui Province.
2007-09-06 - Everett, United States. David Chircop
Last month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied an attempt by Ringling Bros. to throw out a lawsuit accusing trainers of abusing elephants with sharpened bull hooks, inhumanly chaining the animals and separating babies from their mothers in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit was filed in 2000 by the Alexandria, Va., Animal Welfare Institute. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups later joined on. Ringling Bros. says the charges ar...
2007-09-06 - Jaipur, India.
Elephant owners in Rajasthan are miffed over the delay in getting their licenses for elephants renewed as it has led to the jumbos sitting idle and their owners being financially hurt in the busy tourist season. Dozens of elephants are used to ferry tourists to the Amer fort, on the outskirts of Jaipur, and the September month marks the beginning of the tourist season here.
2007-09-05 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Tamed elephants are a dwindling breed in Sri Lanka that has posed a problem for the conduct of the numerous Peraheras, Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said. According to the Minister, there are only 137 tamed elephants in the country and it has posed a major obstacle in conducting of nearly 72 annual peraheras throughout the country. Ranawaka said tuskers too are a rapidly dwindling species with only 17 of the breed found in Sri Lanka. This is a substantial decrease and is bound to...
2007-09-05 - Traverse city, United States.
They arent certain, but underwater archeologists say they may have discovered a boulder with a prehistoric carving in Lake Michigans Grand Traverse Bay. The granite rock has markings that resemble a mastodon, an elephant-like creature that once inhabited parts of North America, with what could be a spear in its side, say divers who have seen it. They came across the boulder at a depth of about 12 metres while searching for shipwrecks in June, said Mark Holley, a scientist with the Grand Traverse...
2007-09-05 - Sostoi ut, Hungary.
An elephant has been born in Hungary for the first time in 50 years at the Nyíregyháza Zoo Tuesday afternoon. Zoo Director László Gajdos said that this is also the first African elephant to be born in the country, as all previous elephant babies were Indian. The mother elephant, Yoki, arrived at the zoo from Israel last year. A few months ago, her pregnancy was revealed in a laboratory in Berlin. Yesterday afternoon, Yoki was walking in her runner when an attendant noticed that her water had...
2007-09-05 - Budapest, Hungary. Pestiside Staff
You may have read over on Caboodle that Hungary's first ever African elephant was born in captivity at Nyíregyháza Zoo yesterday. However, reading about it is nothing compared to seeing the supercute MTI snaps (the one above with a not-so-cute handler) via the supercute Cukiság, Index's blog dedicated to all things that make you want to go Awwww. However, when the baby bull's time comes to pack his trunk, government tightening of the animal labor market may leave him jobless.
2007-09-05 - Crook, United Kingdom.
THE first man ever to film a Malaysian tiger in the wild has been trampled by an elephant in an Asian jungle. Wildlife cameraman Stephen Hogg, from Crook, County Durham, a friend of Sir David Attenborough, who faces tigers, crocodiles, spiders and other dangers on a regular basis was almost killed when he came face to face with the female elephant and her calf. Mr Hogg, 50, who works as a photographic consultant for the Malaysian World Wide Fund for nature, and who worked with Sir David on the T...
2007-09-05 - London, United Kingdom.
Two of 13 new life-size elephants made from willow at London's Hyde Park. The works were made by Suffolk topiary expert Steve Manning and commissioned by the charity organisation Elephant Family to help support elephant habitat projects.
2007-09-05 - Dublin, Ireland.
There were jumbo celebrations in Dublin Zoo today as its first baby elephant was officially named. Asha, meaning hope in Hindi, was chosen for the bouncing baby girl who arrived almost four months ago weighing in at 80kg (176lb). Zookeepers trumpeted Asha’s arrival in the early hours of May 7 when she became the first elephant to be born in Ireland. Infrared cameras capture the natural birth and showed her taking her first steps within eight minutes. Asha can be seen with her mother Bernhardin...
2007-09-05 - Durgapur, India.
Naughty Sabitri has returned home after a whirlwind romance with the tall, dark bloke she bolted with a week ago. The couple were a fair distance from each other this morning, possibly after having made love. A forest team stepped in and created a din, which drove the hunk away. Forest officers said the tusker had got what he wanted. Sabitri, too, had had the moment of her life. She responded to her mahout today after giving him the cold shoulder for days.
2007-09-05 - Hamilton, United States. Natalie Miller
Green Meadows Farm had an unusual visitor this past weekend — a live Asian elephant named Minnie. Minnie was brought to Hamilton from Connecticut to carry the weight of tradition during the wedding ceremony of Cambridge couple Rahul Bhargava and Emily Rosenberg. The couple was married on the grassy spread in the middle of the Hamilton farm on Sunday, Sept. 2 with all the traditional fixings of a dual-cultural couple. Bhargava is of Indian decent and his bride is Jewish American.
2007-09-04 - Bangalore, India.
The Forest cell of Karnataka police has stumbled upon evidence of poachers luring elephants to swallow bombs, concealed in their food. The tectic is aimed at killing them. According to Superintendent of Karnataka police’s Crime Investigation Department (Forest Cell) S.D. Jawaharlal, the post-mortem report of at least two elephants, who were found dead under mysterious circumstances in the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary, had revealed that the jumbos had chewed explosives that had exploded in their...
2007-09-04 - Jakarta, Indonesia.
Efforts to save Sumatran elephants and tigers from extinction gathered steam in Indonesia on Friday, with government officials and experts vowing to find ways to protect the species' dwindling habitat from loggers and farmers. More than 100 people were taking part in the three-day meeting that wraps up Friday. There is a very real danger that Sumatran elephants (and tigers) could become extinct in our lifetime if we don't come to agreement at this workshop, said Christy Williams of the World Wil...
2007-09-04 - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
One of some 30 elephant sculptures embellishing the centre of Rotterdam was badly vandalised late Sunday night. As yet unidentified persons pulled the painted elephant from its pedestal causing the legs to break. Holes were also made in the elephant’s body. “We assume that they have been dancing and jumping on the elephant,” said Mike Spits, the person who took the initiative for the art project on Monday.
2007-09-04 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The 46th elephant cub born in Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka recently was ceremoniously named today as Vidula. The elephant cub received the name after a children’s radio channel initiated by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) recently. The elephant cub got the name Vidula on the request of the pioneer of the radio channel, Sunil Sarath Perera, the Director General of SLBC. Vidula was born to Sapumalee last week. He is the 82nd member of the elephant family in captivity a...
2007-09-04 - London, United Kingdom.
Today, hundreds of Asian elephants are marooned in pockets of habitat, cut off from food and water sources by our busy roads and railways. Here in London, our own (much smaller!) wildlife residents would be stranded in the city if The Royal Parks could not provide safe passage across the urban sprawl. Make your way to Hyde Park from 4th-18th September and celebrate elephant trunks and tree trunks with us.
2007-09-04 - Washington, United States. Archie EA, Hollister-Smith JA, Poole JH, Lee PC, Moss CJ, Maldonado JE, Fleischer RC, Alberts SC. Smithsonian Institution
Here we combine 28 years of behavioural and demographic data on wild elephants with genotypes from 545 adult females, adult males, and calves in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, to test the hypothesis that elephants engage in sexual behaviour and reproduction with relatives less often than expected by chance. We found support for this hypothesis: males engaged in proportionally fewer sexual behaviours and sired proportionally fewer offspring with females that were natal family members or close gen...
2007-09-03 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The Central Highlands village of Buon Don is renowned throughout the country for importing the ancient Lao practice of elephant taming to the area centuries ago. Located nearly 50 km northwest from the city of Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak province and between the two branches of the Serepok River, Buon Don is home to the M’Nong, J’rai, Ede, Lao and Thai ethnic minority groups and for the last two centuries has been the centre of all elephant hunting and taming in Viet Nam.
2007-09-03 - Jalpaiguri, India.
A female elephant died due to illness in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri District. Workers of a tea garden found the elephant lying sick and alerted forest officials, who called in veterinary doctors in an attempt to save the jumbo. Despite the efforts of the veterinary doctors, the female elephant succumbed on Sunday. Animesh Bose, the coordinator of a voluntary organisation, said over 15 elephants has died in north Bengal, this year. According to the 2005 national census, there are between 25,000 to...
2007-09-03 - Harare, Zimbabwe.
THE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is spending about US$25 000 per month on water game supply for elephants alone at the Hwange National Park as the species' population increases, it has been learnt. Hwange National Park, which is the third biggest in Africa, is the only park in the region providing artificial water supplies. According to experts, neighbouring Botswana does not provide water points at all. In an interview on Friday, Parks director general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa confirmed t...
2007-09-02 - Bangalore, India.
It's the season of jumbo love, and the elephants in the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) are celebrating it with a rare candour. If West Bengal's Ranigunj saw elephants eloping, BBP reported two overactive cow elephants missing for three full days - they returned to the park on Saturday morning, only after an extended honeymoon with wild tuskers. Jumbo romance is not uncommon at the park, located 22 km from Bangalore. Six cow elephants have turned the park into a happy hunting ground for wild ...
2007-09-01 - UDAGAMANDALAM, India.
Deaths of a tiger and an elephant on a single day, at Mudumalai wild life sanctuary have shocked the forest officials and the wild life lovers alike. In the first incident, forest officials found the carcass of a tiger near the elephant camp, with its hind leg injured. Adding to the shock, a 15-year-old female elephant was found dead in a case of suspected electrocution. Officials said the pachyderm might have come into contact with charged fences near tourist lodges.
2007-09-01 - Sabah, Malaysia.
Scientists helping protect the smallest and rarest elephants in the world are hoping to set up a fieldwork centre on the island of Borneo. The Bornean elephant is only found in the northern part of the island and was recognised as a new subspecies in 2003. Cardiff University has also studied orang-utans in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, for several years. The rainforest where both species live has been damaged by logging and the growth of oil palm plantations.
2007-09-01 - McMinnville, United States. LAUREN L. DILLARD
A team of archeologists gathered to recover part of a Columbia mammoths upper jawbone from a longtime dig site of his on the South Yamhill River. Ignoring the sound of planes taking off and landing at the adjacent McMinnville Airport, the team carefully uncovered and removed a 34,200-year-old section of maxilla, including one food-grinding molar still in place.
2007-09-01 - Berlin, Germany. Hermes R, Göritz F, Streich W, Hildebrandt T., Leibniz Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research
Over the last few decades, rhinoceroses and elephants became important icons in the saga of wildlife conservation. Recent surveys estimate the wild Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephant populations to be, at most, 50 250 and 637 600 respectively. For the five rhinoceros species, black (Diceros bicornis), white (Ceratotherium simum), Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus Sumatrensis), the population estimates ...
2007-08-31 - Bandarlampung, Indonesia.
The population of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in 2007 is estimated to reach between 2,400 and 2,800 heads, or a decrease by 35 percent from the figure in 1992 when there were 5,000 heads, according to an NGO activist. Some factors which caused the elephant population to drop included deforestation, poaching and human encroachment to the animal`s habitats, Elisabet Purastuti, coordinator of the Elephant Conservation Program of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature)-Indonesia, sa...
2007-08-31 - Windhoek, Namibia. Absalom Shigwedha
The ministry of Environment and Tourism has urged people in the Kavango, Caprivi and Erongo regions to beware of elephants when moving around at night. Colgar Sikopo, the Deputy Director for Parks and Wildlife Management, told The Namibian that drought has forced elephants to be active during the night in search of food. The plea was made after a 47-year-old woman was trampled to death by an elephant at Ngonga village, about 200 km outside Katima Mulilo on August 19.
2007-08-31 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Champika Ranwaka says that the Ministry needs Rs. 10 billion per year for the management of wild elephants in the country. However, the Ministry receives only Rs. 3 billion for all its work, the Minister says. The Minister also pointed out that the shortage of tamed elephants would be a problem in future since there are only 137 tamed elephants while there are 72 famous cultural pageants per year countrywide.
2007-08-31 - Calcutta, India. Ranigunj
Their trunks slung around each other, Sabitri and her mate can savour a few more days of bliss. The forest department has decided to leave the lovers alone through the mating season. This is the time for them to mate and it may take as much as a week or even three days for them to lose interest in each other, said Kumar Vimal, the Durgapur divisional forest officer. A 26-year-old wild tusker from Jharkhand had broken through the fence of a circus in the middle of last night, found his 20-year-ol...
2007-08-31 - Jeli, Malaysia.
They may be wild and feared by local farmers, but in the spirit of Merdeka, the state Wildlife Department has named them Awang Malaysia and Awang Merdeka. They are two male rogue elephants from a herd of three that have been terrorising orchard and farm owners near Jalan Malaysia, Lakota here. They were given the names after an operation by the Kelantan Wildlife and National Park Department rangers yesterday. Awang Malaysia, a 15-year-old, was shot with a tranquilliser dart, but it died after it...
2007-08-31 - San Diego, United States.
A relic of San Diego's prehistoric past was carefully removed from its excavation site Friday. A Columbian Mammoth tusk was found recently during construction at 16th and Market streets, at a depth of 30 feet below sea level. The tusk weighs between 100 and 200 pounds and measures 8 feet long. It was preserved in burlap and plaster prior to Friday's move, and then hoisted by crane and placed in a truck for delivery to the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.
2007-08-31 - Yunnan, China.
The China Daily is reporting that a bull elephant from Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan has recovered from a serious heroin addiction it picked up as a victim of illegal elephant trading. The elephant, nicknamed "Big Brother", was fed heroin-laced bananas in order to make it easier to control him and his herd, which they led westward to Dehong, near China's border with Myanmar.
2007-08-30 - RANIGANJ, India. Debajyoti Chakraborty
A huge tusker, straight out of the jungle, raided a circus in the wee hours of Wednesday, freed a female elephant and eloped with her to make a cosy home by a pond in Raiganj. This tale of untamed love has yet another bizarre twist: a second female elephant, said to be "very attached" to the one that fled the circus, has broken down and is grieving for her "mate".
2007-08-30 - Guwahati, India. Sushanta Talukdar
The Assam Forest Department has clamped a ban on use of private elephants for begging in the State in response to an appeal made by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In his order, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam M.C. Malakar, said private elephants were made to beg on roads by performing tricks and manoeuvres, especially in front of temples. There were instances of the animals going berserk, injuring and killing innocent peop...
2007-08-30 - Mysore, India.
A three-day old female elephant calf rescued from the flood waters in Dhobara forest range in Kodagu district, was handed over to the Mysore zoo on Wednesday. Forest officials said the calf was rescued on Tuesday and brought to the zoo, where it was under veterinary care. Its condition was satisfactory. The new arrival has a 'friend' in the five-day old male elephant calf, which the forest officials had rescued from mandya district and handed over to the zoo anothorities. It was also under treat...
2007-08-30 - Williamsburg, United States.
Prince George Art & Frame will exhibit more than two dozen paintings drawn by Asian elephants through Sept 22. Pachyderm Painters: Paintings by Asian Elephants, features the works of 16 elephants from Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. The show features acrylic works on paper in abstracts and fauna designs. All of the artwork is for sale. Fred Miller, who owns the gallery, said he got interested in the art form when he saw a painting done by an elephant that a client brought in to be framed.
2007-08-30 - San Diego, United States.
Mammoths roaming down Market Street? An ancient fossil unearthed in downtown San Diego has revealed a clue to the city's prehistoric past. A mammoth tusk was found recently during construction at 16th and Market streets. The tusk weighs between 100 and 200 pounds and could be as old as 500,000 years, according to paleontologists. It measures 8 feet long.
2007-08-30 - Beijing, China.
A once drug-addled elephant fed heroin-laced bananas by illegal traders will soon return to the wild after being weaned off his addiction through methadone and round-the-clock care. Big Brother, a bull elephant that once lived peacefully with his herd near the China-Myanmar border in Yunnan province, was caugh by traders in 2005, the China Daily said on Thursday. To control it so that it could lead the herd to where they wanted, the traders kept feeding it bananas laced with drugs, the paper sai...
2007-08-30 - Durban, South Africa.
This years Roscar awards in South Africa for wildlife movies included a memorial award honoring filmmaker Rick Lomba, killed on location by a Bengal tiger. Nicky Lomba, the filmmakers 18-year-old daughter, presented a statue of a hippo Wednesday to Evert van den Bos of Nature Conservation Films, based in Holland and Tanzania, for his movie about a woman who saved the street elephants in Thailand, the Durban Daily News reported Thursday. Van den Bos work also earned a rhino Roscar, the wildlife e...
2007-08-29 - Dodoma, Tanzania. SOSTHENES MWITA
THE five stray elephants, one of which killed a soldier with the Msalato camp of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF), Mr Paschal Chiwaligo, have walked back into Mtungutu Forest without further harm to humans. A spokesperson of the Regional Wildlife Department said a team of armed game wardens followed the tracks of the retreating herd of elephants to Zuzu in Bahi District but failed to continue as they lost the tracks. The spokesperson said, however, that the jumbos are likely to have...
2007-08-29 - Jakarta, Indonesia.
More than 100 experts and officials met in Indonesia on Wednesday to try to draft an action plan to save Sumatran elephants and tigers threatened with extinction. Satellite images show large areas of lowland tropical forests, the primary habitat for elephants and tigers, have been cleared on Sumatra island mainly due to farming and logging, the WWF conservation group said. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 8 million hectares (20 million acres) of lowland forests have been lost to development, th...
2007-08-29 - West Bengal, India.
A man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants while retuning home through a forest in Bankura district of West Bengal, claim villagers. Bantul Lohar, 59, a day labourer, was Monday night crushed by wild elephants at Hurahur forest range near Sonamukhi, about 150 km from here, local media reports said. His body, which literally turned into a lump of flesh, was recovered Tuesday morning.
2007-08-29 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Department and the All Lanka Tamed Elephant Owners' Association are planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the welfare and safety of the tamed elephants. The MOU now being prepared will be signed in September, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources said. The government aims to interact positively with the tamed elephant owners to protect the dwindling elephant population in the country.
2007-08-28 - Hartbeespoort, South Africa. SHARMILA NAIR
IT HAS been almost two decades since the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) banned international shipment of ivory, yet the African elephants have not found themselves off the endangered list. Brought into action in 1989 after more than half of African elephants had been slaughtered for their tusks, Cites is still unable to completely protect the animals from illegal hunting. Almost 23,000 elephants are poached every year to support the ivory trade. This revelation ...
2007-08-28 - Orissa, India. Sampad Mahapatra, Jay Mazoomdaar
Two years ago, the Orissa government was all for elephants. Now, two years after the Centre cleared their proposals for two new elephant reserves, the state government has mysteriously changed its mind. Not surprisingly, the Centre is puzzled. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has written to the state: The sudden decision of the state government to not notify the elephant reserve is puzzling. In case the state governments feels that any further rationalization of boundaries of the pr...
2007-08-26 - Calgary, Canada.
Nearly three years ago, when the Calgary Zoos baby elephant Keemaya was sick and dying, Nora Libin tried to help save the pachyderm's life. The 13-year-old took $5,000 raised at her bat mitzvah, combined that with money from her philanthropic grandfather, Alvin Libin, and presented Calgary Zoo officials with $25,000. But it was too late to save the elephant. A combination of infection and rejection by her mother Mahrani took her life at three weeks old.
2007-08-26 - Pinnawela, Sri Lanka.
Forty sixth elephant cub was born in Sri Lanka’s Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage recently. An elephant named Sapumali gave birth to the new cub. The officials said that the cub is in good health. The orphanage originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found injured in various accidents in the jungle has its own generation born in captivity now. Pinnawala, the largest herd of captive elephants in the world with 81 elephants in total is a major tourist...
2007-08-26 - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A wild elephant rampaged through a village in Bangladesh's Chittagong district, 264 km southeast of capital Dhaka, early Saturday, killing a girl and injuring two others. Locals was quoted by private news agency UNB as saying the elephant came down from a nearby hill and tore through the house of Omar Faruq at Chunati village around 6 a.m. when the victims were asleep.
2007-08-26 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2007-08-25 - Miami, United States.
Florida researchers are studying the remains of an ancient mammoth found on the Seminole Tribes Big Cypress Reservation. The remains were found last month by Willard Steele, the head of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, The Miami Herald said Friday. Workers digging in a canal uncovered the mammoth's teeth. Steele and other archaeologists found nearly 100 more mammoth bones within a few days. Steele estimates the bones are more than 10,000 years old, the newspap...
2007-08-25 - Villisca, United States. Tom McMahon
Curtis Blank vacuums the large, stony structure on his living room coffee table. On first look, the hulking figure is the type of thing any mother would order out of their house pronto. But Blank said, and experts confirm, the coffee table centerpiece is the skull of a mastodon. Its at least 10,000 years old. Blanks brother, Kenny, discovered the head while searching for fossils in the Nodaway River. Blank didnt want to disclose the exact location for fear other diggers would descend on the area...
2007-08-25 - Kantale, Sri Lanka.
Three more wild elephants including two calves were mowed down by the Colombo bound express train at Kitulkotte in Kantale yesterday morning, raising this year’s death toll of wild elephants to 71. Kantale police said a herd of elephants were crossing the railway line when the accident occurred at the 153rd milepost, killing the three elephants aged one, six and 25. Two more elephants were also badly injured and wild life officers who were summoned to the scene treated the injured elephants, a...
2007-08-25 - VIZIANAGARAM, India.
Forest Department officials have reached Puttajammuvalasa village in Gummalakshmipuram mandal, near where a herd of elephants was sighted moving. The trackers, mahouts and trained elephant Jayant from Chittoor district are expected to reach the affected places on Friday night and start drawing up an action plan to curb the menace the wild herd poses to human habitations, District Forest Officer BV Ramanababu told this website’s newspaper. Meanwhile, according to reliable sources, seven persons...