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magazine / dec08
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December 2008 issue |
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FEATURE - WILDLIFE STORIES
Top 10s: Animal stories (Page 2 of 3)
A year in review: Canadian Geographic highlights the most dramatic and strangest wildlife stories of 2008.
By Sheri Gagnon
Strange days
This year brought no shortage of strange stories involving animals. Our final selection offers
examples of odd events happening in nature, as well as the funny things that can happen when
the world of humans and animals intertwine. To filter the top 10 was no easy feat. Our honourable
mentions include the stories of Ram
Singh Munda, who was jailed for having a pet bear in India,
the euthanization of Gemina, the crooked-neck giraffe, and pikes
that are rescued from drying
lakes each year in Solvenia. Here are our top 10 choices for the strangest animal stories of
2008.
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SOUP FOR THE PANDA SOUL
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| Although pandas are vegetarians, they have been known to eat bugs and birds in the wild.
Photo: Fotolia.com/Michael Flippo |
Officials at the Wuhan Zoo in China decided to take the "healthy body, healthy mind" approach
with their pandas. In late September, busy season kicked off at the zoo and thousands of visitors
came to visit the animals. Officials noticed the pandas, Weiwei and Xiwang, became visibly
stressed by the crowds. The bears were sleeping less and restlessly pacing more. Following
Chinese customs for good health, the officials decided to feed the pandas some chicken soup.
A traditional recipe of slow-cooked stock was served up Sept. 28 and appeared to be a great
success. Weiwei and Xiwang each guzzled a kilogram of soup and had no resulting stomach problems.
This additional nutrition complements their usual diet of milk, bamboo and buns and is expected
to give them enough energy to handle the crowds.
For the whole story visit: www.chicagotribune.com
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Herefords are an ancient breed of cattle hailing from Herefordshire, England.
Photo:
istockphoto.com/tracy tucker |
PLACES NOT TO GRAZE IN A LIGHTNING STORM...
Fifty-two cows met their death in October at a ranch in Uruguay when they were all struck by
the same bolt of lightning. When the storm hit Valdez Chico, a village near San José,
the cows sought shelter and huddled together near a wire fence. Veterinarians examined the
bovine bodies and confirmed the current from a lightning strike killed the cows. Lightning
can travel long distances along a conductor and can reach between objects less than four metres
apart.
For more on the cows, visit: www.telegraph.co.uk
FAKE EGGS AND SNAKE SURGERY
Apparently you don’t have to be a chicken psychologist to help your hens feel better
about brooding. Using golf balls in coops encourages disgruntled chickens to lay real eggs.
A couple in Nobby’s Creek, South Wales also discovered that the golf balls punish predators!
In December 2007, they noticed four balls missing from their coop and found a python lying
nearby with four protruding lumps. Wildlife officers brought the 81-centimetre snake to a
wildlife sanctuary, where the golf balls were surgically removed. The balls were lodged in
the intestine. The python was scheduled to be released back in the wild in early January.
For photos, visit: news.bbc.co.uk
ARE YOU MY MOTHER?
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| After
an autopsy, “Colin” was found to be female and is now dubbed “Collette.”
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In August, an abandoned baby humpback whale was found off the Australian coast trying to suckle
a yacht. With no sign of its mother returning, rescuers sailed the yacht into deeper seas
in an effort to lead the baby, nicknamed Colin, toward a migrating pod, but the humpback returned
to the coastline the following day. Rescuers had no way to feed Colin and over the following
days, the whale’s conditioned weakened — to the point where it just floated motionless.
After consultation with wildlife authorities and veterinarians, the decision was made to euthanize
Colin.
To learn more visit : www.news.com
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| (Left to right) Morgan and Aero paint to relieve stress and have fun.
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ANIMAL ART FOR SALE
Six-year-old Morgan and three-year-old Aero have just learned to paint. Their colourful canvas
oil paintings have garnered so much attention that the Ilfracombe’s Landmark Theatre
in North Devon, England, will be exhibiting the artwork in 2009. Morgan and Aero are sea lions.
Located at the Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, they were introduced to the arts by
their trainer Nikki Morrison, who was looking for ways to mentally stimulate them. After being
trained to hold the paintbrush in their mouths, the sea lions were free to slather the non-toxic
paint on the canvas (and sometimes on the floors or the trainers). Morrison says the sea lions
seem to enjoy themselves. Half the profits from sales of the “artwork” at the exhibit
will be donated to the Marine Conservation Society.
For more, visit: www.dailymail.co.uk
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| Using goats to clear the lawn is a eco-friendly form of landscaping.
Photo: istockphoto.com/
Alexander Hafemann
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GREEN YOUR LAWN WITH GOATS
One hundred goats were seen downtown Los Angeles in September, munching the hillside property
owned by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles. Owners of the CRA/LA
hired the bearded workers for two weeks to clear the steepest sections of their 10,522-square-kilometre
property. The goats proved to be a great landscaping solution — they’re cheaper,
they create less CO2 emissions, they efficiently aerate the ground with their hooves, and they
fertilize the soil with their droppings as they graze on grass and weeds. On Sept. 12 when
the job was done, the CRA/LA invited L.A. citizens to stop by and admire the goats’ work.
See the press release here: www.crala.net
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African elephants are the
world's largest terrestrial mammals.
Photo:
istockphoto.com/Achim Prill |
TEXTING HELPS ELEPHANTS AND HUMANS CO-EXIST
Innovators in a Kenyan village have equipped some elephants with a collar that holds
a cell phone SIM card. When the elephants cross a “geofence,” which is set in
place between the community and the neighbouring elephant conservancy, a text message is sent
automatically from the collar. The fence uses a global positioning system to determine if
the animal has crossed the boundary. Rangers receive the text, intercept the elephant and,
using giant floodlights on a truck, scare it back into the conversancy. One elephant, Kimani,
had been raiding the community almost every night. Rangers stopped it over 15 times since
the project started, and it’s been four months since Kimani has attempted to enter the
village.
To learn more, visit: www.livescience.com
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| Blacktip sharks are viviparous: they give birth to live, free-swimming shark pups.
Photo: Matthew D. Potenski, MDP Photography |
NO MALE? NO PROBLEM!
The second known virgin shark birth was confirmed in October at the Norfolk Canyon Aquarium
in Virginia. During an autopsy, scientists discovered a shark pup in the womb of Tidbit, an
Atlantic blacktip shark, which had recently died. It No male blacktips had been present in
the same tank as Tidbit for approximately eight years. The first noted case of parthenogenesis,
a form of reproduction where the female egg develops without being fertilized by sperm, was
seen last year; a female hammerhead shark in captivity gave birth without a male presence for
three years. Some experts are excited at the findings, believing this phenomenon may help declining
shark populations. Other experts don’t share the enthusiasm. In these two cases only
one pup was birthed - sharks usually produce a litter. Furthermore, they would need genetic
variety to ensure their survival.
For more, see: www.virginiaaquarium.com
THEY TRY TO MAKE ELEPHANTS GO TO REHAB …
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| Asian elephants are classified as an endangered species on the 2008 Red List.
Photo: Fotolia.com/
Jose Gil |
Xiguag, an Asian elephant, walked away healthy after a three-year stint in rehab. The four-year-old
had been captured in 2005 by illegal traders and was fed heroine-laced bananas to keep it
under control. When police arrested the traders, they released the elephant back into the
wild. Clearly demonstrating withdrawal symptoms, including drooling and twitching, the animal
was captured by wildlife protection specialists who set up a special detox-program for it.
After three years of gradually reduced methadone treatment, the elephant was pronounced “clean.” In
September 2008, Xiguag was released into Yunnan Wild Animal Park in Kunming, China.
Visit: www.telegraph.co.uk
SAVE THE BEARS….FROM DROWNING!
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| Black bears usually stay in the forest, but they will wander into residential areas if they smell food.
Photo: istockphoto.com/S. Greg Panosian |
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation biologist Adam Warwick can add a new highlight to his
resume — bear lifeguard! The 29-year-old was part of a team responding to a call about
a black bear wandering in a residential beachfront neighbourhood in Alligator Point, Florida.
When the team arrived on the scene and shot the bear with a tranquillizer, the terrified animal
ran into the Gulf of Mexico to escape. Minutes later, the tranquillizer began to take effect
and the 170-kilogram bear appeared to be in danger of drowning. Warwick stripped down and
jumped into the water, swimming toward the bear. He reported that he was trying to prevent
the bear from heading into deeper water. When he got close, Warwick through the bear might
try to climb on top of him to keep from drowning. Instead, it fell backward, giving Warwick
the opportunity to get behind it, and start pulling it to shore. The bear was pulled out of
the water with a backhoe and was later released into Osceola National Forest.
For photos and video, visit: www.treehugger.com
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