Goat Flees Nativity Scene, Still On The Lam
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A goat that apparently didn't want to be part of a Minnesota Nativity scene has headed for greener pastures.
The 3-year-old Angora goat was supposed to have a supporting role at Bethlehem Church in Fergus Falls. Instead it escaped its leash Saturday afternoon, and remained on the lam Monday.
The goat's owner is Jim Aakre of rural Underwood. He says he tried to chase it for about two hours, but the lack of snow made tracking difficult.
The wayward goat has been spotted several times since it escaped, but police haven't been able to collar it.
A Fergus Falls Journal report ( ) says Aakre and his wife also provided a llama and two puppies for the service.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/goat-flees-nativity-scene_n_1171387.html?ref=weird-news
Showing posts with label escaped animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label escaped animals. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wild animals on loose from US park
Dozens of animals have escaped from a US wild animal preserve that houses bears, big cats and other beasts, and the owner later was found dead.
Officers shot several of the animals and urged nearby residents to stay indoors.
Fences had been left unsecured at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, east-central Ohio, and the animals' cages were open, police said.
They would not say what animals escaped but said the preserve had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. They said bears and wolves were among 25 escaped animals that had been shot and killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.
"These are wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Sheriff Matt Lutz warned.
He called the escaped animals "mature, very big, aggressive" but said a caretaker told authorities the preserve's 48 animals had been fed on Monday. He said police were patrolling the 40-acre farm and the surrounding areas in cars, not on foot, and were concerned about big cats and bears hiding in the dark and in trees.
Mr Lutz said four deputies with assault rifles in a pickup truck went to the animal farm, where they found the owner, Terry Thompson, dead and all the animal cage doors open. He wouldn't say how Mr Thompson died but said several aggressive animals were near his body when deputies arrived and had to be shot.
Mr Thompson, who lived on the property, had orangutans and chimps in his home, but those were still in their cages, Mr Lutz said.
The deputies, who saw many other animals standing outside their cages and others that had escaped past the fencing surrounding the property, began shooting them on sight. They said there had been no reports of injuries among the public.
Staff from Columbus Zoo went to the scene, hoping to tranquillise and capture the animals. The sheriff said caretakers might put food in the animals' open cages to try to lure them back.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Danger warning as albino ostrich escapes in Russia
An albino ostrich was on the run in Russia's far east on Monday after escaping from a circus, as residents were warned not to approach the "very aggressive" bird.
An ostrich opens its mouth in an attempt to nip at a camera.
Two ostriches escaped from the Anastasia travelling circus in the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky when a worker left their cage open, but one was recaptured Monday morning.
"We have still not manged to find the second ostrich, a very rare albino," circus manager Vasily Kolos told the Interfax news agency.
The circus contacted local media asking residents to report the whereabouts of the bird, which can run at a speed of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) per hour, Kolos said.
But the circus manager warned residents not to approach the bird to try to catch it. "The ostrich is a very stupid and aggressive bird, it can seriously injure a person."
http://news.yahoo.com/danger-warning-albino-ostrich-escapes-russia-175629605.html
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cow on the lam for 12 weeks becomes tabloid star
Holy cow! It must be a slow news month in Germany if a runaway animal makes the front page of a top selling German newspaper.
Bovine Yvonne has been keeping animal lovers in Bavaria in a tizzy after she broke through an electric fence on May 24 and has been hiding in a nearby forest ever since.
On Saturday, German tabloid BILD splashed the headline "Save Cow Yvonne" on its cover, set up a Facebook page and posted a $14,000 reward for anyone who can help lead to the cow's capture. Let the cow hunt begin!
But it may take more than a social media campaign to capture Yvonne. She supposedly has help: Yvonne has been spotted with a herd of deer in the thick southern German woodlands.
"Day and night, we have up to seven people on the search for the cow," said Michael Aufhauser, the founder of Gut Aiderbichl, an animal sanctuary and rescue facility that has taken the lead in the rescue efforts and will board the cow if it's found. "We are even using an infrared camera, two four-wheel drive Jeeps and a quad bike, but no luck so far."
All hands on deck
After local authorities initially issued a shoot-to-kill order, fearing that Yvonne would be a security risk and endanger drivers on a busy nearby road, Aufhauser and his team decided to buy "the cow in absentia" from the local farmer and deployed search dogs, experienced riders on horses and scores of volunteers for the hunt.
"The last time we spotted Yvonne was a week ago at 1 in the morning, but it was too dark to place a tranquilizer dart," Aufhauser said.
There is even a Swiss "animal communicator" involved, an augur, who says she has been in contact with Yvonne via a subject from her home in Switzerland.
But, for the rescue team, the most promising approach is the hope for an awakening of family instincts.
"At first, we brought in Waltraud, Yvonne's sister, and placed her at the edge of the woods," Aufhauser said. "Then I got lucky and found her own calf, Friesi, on a farm in Austria, a now full-size ox who had been believed to be dead."
And, this week, Yvonne's supporters are hoping to lure the cow from her forest hideout with the sex appeal of a handsome bull called Ernst. "He is the George Clooney among the former breeding bulls," Aufhauser said.
Several times, Yvonne has been spotted peeking through the trees at her family members under the cover of darkness, but she always managed to evade police, hunters and animal welfare activists.
Summer hole
Germany has had its share of crazy animal tales. Germany's so called "summer hole" stories have focused on "Caiman Sammy," a croc who was spotted in a popular quarry pond causing fear among sunbathers, and "Bruno the Bear," who scared hikers, killed sheep and eventually got shot in the summer of 2006.
This rainy German August started with flashy reports about a poisonous spider that supposedly crawled out of a banana box in a supermarket. The grocery store was shut down for weeks and the spider was never found. But the multi-legged arthropod was probably not cute enough to make front-page headlines.
In times of gruesome economic news and reports of violent conflicts in the Middle East, Yvonne's funny escape plot truly has "story of the month" potential.
Sadly, time might be running out for Yvonne. Local authorities have suspended the shoot-to-kill order for only two weeks and banners have been spotted near the woods that read "Kill The Cow."
Fans and supporters across Germany still hope for a happy outcome so that Yvonne can end up at her designated Gut Aiderbichl retirement home instead of reaching the same cruel fate as "Bruno the Bear."
Even so, Bruno became a legend: his body was eventually stuffed and can now be viewed at a Munich museum.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44144391/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/
Bovine Yvonne has been keeping animal lovers in Bavaria in a tizzy after she broke through an electric fence on May 24 and has been hiding in a nearby forest ever since.
On Saturday, German tabloid BILD splashed the headline "Save Cow Yvonne" on its cover, set up a Facebook page and posted a $14,000 reward for anyone who can help lead to the cow's capture. Let the cow hunt begin!
But it may take more than a social media campaign to capture Yvonne. She supposedly has help: Yvonne has been spotted with a herd of deer in the thick southern German woodlands.
"Day and night, we have up to seven people on the search for the cow," said Michael Aufhauser, the founder of Gut Aiderbichl, an animal sanctuary and rescue facility that has taken the lead in the rescue efforts and will board the cow if it's found. "We are even using an infrared camera, two four-wheel drive Jeeps and a quad bike, but no luck so far."
All hands on deck
After local authorities initially issued a shoot-to-kill order, fearing that Yvonne would be a security risk and endanger drivers on a busy nearby road, Aufhauser and his team decided to buy "the cow in absentia" from the local farmer and deployed search dogs, experienced riders on horses and scores of volunteers for the hunt.
"The last time we spotted Yvonne was a week ago at 1 in the morning, but it was too dark to place a tranquilizer dart," Aufhauser said.
There is even a Swiss "animal communicator" involved, an augur, who says she has been in contact with Yvonne via a subject from her home in Switzerland.
But, for the rescue team, the most promising approach is the hope for an awakening of family instincts.
"At first, we brought in Waltraud, Yvonne's sister, and placed her at the edge of the woods," Aufhauser said. "Then I got lucky and found her own calf, Friesi, on a farm in Austria, a now full-size ox who had been believed to be dead."
And, this week, Yvonne's supporters are hoping to lure the cow from her forest hideout with the sex appeal of a handsome bull called Ernst. "He is the George Clooney among the former breeding bulls," Aufhauser said.
Several times, Yvonne has been spotted peeking through the trees at her family members under the cover of darkness, but she always managed to evade police, hunters and animal welfare activists.
Summer hole
Germany has had its share of crazy animal tales. Germany's so called "summer hole" stories have focused on "Caiman Sammy," a croc who was spotted in a popular quarry pond causing fear among sunbathers, and "Bruno the Bear," who scared hikers, killed sheep and eventually got shot in the summer of 2006.
This rainy German August started with flashy reports about a poisonous spider that supposedly crawled out of a banana box in a supermarket. The grocery store was shut down for weeks and the spider was never found. But the multi-legged arthropod was probably not cute enough to make front-page headlines.
In times of gruesome economic news and reports of violent conflicts in the Middle East, Yvonne's funny escape plot truly has "story of the month" potential.
Sadly, time might be running out for Yvonne. Local authorities have suspended the shoot-to-kill order for only two weeks and banners have been spotted near the woods that read "Kill The Cow."
Fans and supporters across Germany still hope for a happy outcome so that Yvonne can end up at her designated Gut Aiderbichl retirement home instead of reaching the same cruel fate as "Bruno the Bear."
Even so, Bruno became a legend: his body was eventually stuffed and can now be viewed at a Munich museum.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44144391/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Are Bayview lab mice on the loose?
Elrino Street man claims research animals are escaping Bayview labs
by Sara Blumberg
Titus Kiruki of Elrino Street says he was in his home when he saw a mouse from the corner of his eye.
After killing the rodent, he noticed something peculiar about the animal’s ear.
“From the markings, I knew it was a lab mouse,” he said.
As a former employee at the animal research labs at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, he’s convinced the mouse escaped from the hospital.
“This poses a serious health risk if they’re escaping,” he said.
When mice are used in research, they are tagged using a series of notches on the ear. In addition, the mouse’s tail is also clipped. The identification system is universal, so that researchers can identify the mouse if it is transported from hospital to hospital.
While dangling the mouse tail-first, Kiruki described the distinct clippings on the animal’s head and tail.
“A normal rodent wouldn’t have these things on it,” he said.
The findings disturbed Kiruki because of the types of tests conducted on the specimens.
Bayview conducts various studies using such animals in the course of researching a wide range of diseases and vaccines, Kiruki said.
If one got out and was infected, it could pose serious health risks to the community, he said.
After finding the mouse, Kiruki got to work calling animal control and Bayview itself.
Bayview claimed that all its lab mice were accounted for, he said.
He has kept the mouse in his freezer as evidence.
Kiruki also contacted Elaine Welkie, president of the Bayview Community Association.
After hearing about the incident, Welkie called Bayview to see what was going on.
“Of course I was concerned about it; I wanted to know what was going on,” she said.
Welkie also said that in 12 years at the association president, she has never encountered a problem like this.
Like all communities, Bayview continues to have a rodent problem.
“Many people think a mouse like this would just be another rodent; it’s hard to tell if it actually came from the hospital if you aren’t looking for the signs,” he said.
Kiruki says that it’s hard to recognize a lab mouse since the markings are small.
After hearing the news, the Bayview medical staff performed their own investigation into the matter.
The hospital concluded that the rodent didn’t come from their research facility.
To be sure of their the findings, the hospital offered to examine the mouse, but was not given permission to do so, according to Bayview spokeswoman Karen Tong.
Kiruki says the hospital offered to pick up the rodent, not to examine it.
“It’s funny; they say it didn’t come from them, but they offered to take it from me,” he said.
Tong stressed that the likelihood of a mouse getting out of the Bayview research facilities is very small.
In addition to daily checks, personnel have installed live traps in the hospital, along with door sweeps to prevent a specimen from crawling out.
Kiruki continues to call around asking for help on his findings.
After calling the Baltimore City Health Department and other city officials, he’s concluded that everyone wants the issue to go away.
“Everyone tells me just to throw the rodent away,” he said.
For two weeks, the mouse has remained in his deep freezer.
Kiruki refuses to throw the mouse away for fear the problem could get worse.
As he takes a small stick, he folds back the mouse’s ear to show the markings.
“Someone could get very sick if the mice are getting out,” he said.
http://dundalkeagle.com/component/content/article/2-slideshow/37619-are-bayv
by Sara Blumberg
Titus Kiruki of Elrino Street says he was in his home when he saw a mouse from the corner of his eye.
After killing the rodent, he noticed something peculiar about the animal’s ear.
“From the markings, I knew it was a lab mouse,” he said.
As a former employee at the animal research labs at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, he’s convinced the mouse escaped from the hospital.
“This poses a serious health risk if they’re escaping,” he said.
When mice are used in research, they are tagged using a series of notches on the ear. In addition, the mouse’s tail is also clipped. The identification system is universal, so that researchers can identify the mouse if it is transported from hospital to hospital.
While dangling the mouse tail-first, Kiruki described the distinct clippings on the animal’s head and tail.
“A normal rodent wouldn’t have these things on it,” he said.
The findings disturbed Kiruki because of the types of tests conducted on the specimens.
Bayview conducts various studies using such animals in the course of researching a wide range of diseases and vaccines, Kiruki said.
If one got out and was infected, it could pose serious health risks to the community, he said.
After finding the mouse, Kiruki got to work calling animal control and Bayview itself.
Bayview claimed that all its lab mice were accounted for, he said.
He has kept the mouse in his freezer as evidence.
Kiruki also contacted Elaine Welkie, president of the Bayview Community Association.
After hearing about the incident, Welkie called Bayview to see what was going on.
“Of course I was concerned about it; I wanted to know what was going on,” she said.
Welkie also said that in 12 years at the association president, she has never encountered a problem like this.
Like all communities, Bayview continues to have a rodent problem.
“Many people think a mouse like this would just be another rodent; it’s hard to tell if it actually came from the hospital if you aren’t looking for the signs,” he said.
Kiruki says that it’s hard to recognize a lab mouse since the markings are small.
After hearing the news, the Bayview medical staff performed their own investigation into the matter.
The hospital concluded that the rodent didn’t come from their research facility.
To be sure of their the findings, the hospital offered to examine the mouse, but was not given permission to do so, according to Bayview spokeswoman Karen Tong.
Kiruki says the hospital offered to pick up the rodent, not to examine it.
“It’s funny; they say it didn’t come from them, but they offered to take it from me,” he said.
Tong stressed that the likelihood of a mouse getting out of the Bayview research facilities is very small.
In addition to daily checks, personnel have installed live traps in the hospital, along with door sweeps to prevent a specimen from crawling out.
Kiruki continues to call around asking for help on his findings.
After calling the Baltimore City Health Department and other city officials, he’s concluded that everyone wants the issue to go away.
“Everyone tells me just to throw the rodent away,” he said.
For two weeks, the mouse has remained in his deep freezer.
Kiruki refuses to throw the mouse away for fear the problem could get worse.
As he takes a small stick, he folds back the mouse’s ear to show the markings.
“Someone could get very sick if the mice are getting out,” he said.
http://dundalkeagle.com/component/content/article/2-slideshow/37619-are-bayv
Friday, August 5, 2011
Peacock returns home to New York's Central Park Zoo
A peacock that escaped from the New York Central Park Zoo has flown home unharmed after a quick stay in one of the city's poshest neighbourhoods.
The male bird escaped on Tuesday and roosted on a window ledge of a building in the Fifth Avenue area overnight.
Zoo staff monitored the colourful bird throughout the evening before it returned home early on Wednesday.
In May a peahen, a peacock's female counterpart, fled the Bronx Zoo. A cobra escaped at the same zoo in March.
Scores of people gathered to watch the peacock on Tuesday perching on the building in Manhattan's Upper East Side, just across the road from the zoo.
"A thorough understanding of the peacock's natural behaviour allowed for the successful planning of its recovery," zoo director Jeff Sailer said in a statement.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14383410
The male bird escaped on Tuesday and roosted on a window ledge of a building in the Fifth Avenue area overnight.
Zoo staff monitored the colourful bird throughout the evening before it returned home early on Wednesday.
In May a peahen, a peacock's female counterpart, fled the Bronx Zoo. A cobra escaped at the same zoo in March.
Scores of people gathered to watch the peacock on Tuesday perching on the building in Manhattan's Upper East Side, just across the road from the zoo.
"A thorough understanding of the peacock's natural behaviour allowed for the successful planning of its recovery," zoo director Jeff Sailer said in a statement.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14383410
Friday, July 29, 2011
Are they out there? Kent's big cat sightings revealed
by James Scott
More than 50 reports of escaped big cats and exotic animal sightings have been made to Kent Police in the past three years.
A Freedom of Information Act request by the Kentish Express reveals police have received 52 calls about dangerous wild animal sightings since January 2008.
These included wild boar on the loose near Ashford, an emu seen near Paddock Wood and a wolf sighting in Sturry near Canterbury.
Most reports were of large black cats, making up 15 of the sightings, followed by big cats with 10 sightings.
Other reports included four wild cats, three boars, two wolves, two lynx, two leopards, one cheetah, and an emu.
Police also recorded five hoax calls and two in which the animal was unknown. Someone reported a large orange cat on a roof in Maidstone town centre last July, but it turned out to be a fox.
There were also four reports of wild dogs, or dholes, in the days after a pack escaped from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury in February 2009.
Officers helped to find an escaped emu in the Brenchley and Horsmonden ward of Tunbridge Wells in June 2009, and guided two wild boar into a field in the Downs West ward of Ashford last August.
In the majority of cases, the police reported the sightings to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and local zoos but took no further action.
Police Freedom of Information administrator Laura Brenchley said officers only went to the scene if the animal posed a risk to members of the public.
“The police would attend an incident if a member of the public was injured or if the animal was a danger to members of the public,” she said.
“However, the majority of the calls were reports made some time after the sighting and therefore police attendance would not have been a practical use of police resources.”
“We work closely with external agencies such as the RSPCA as they are better equipped to deal with animals than the police.”
South Kent police received 12 reports about dangerous wild animals on the loose in the countryside.
These included wild boar and wild dogs on the loose in the Downs West ward of Ashford, and large black cats in Lydd and Weald Central, Ashford.
A large grey and white spotty cat was seen in the Lympne area and it was reported that a large black cat had killed five sheep in Sandgate.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011-1/july/23/are_they_out_there.aspx
More than 50 reports of escaped big cats and exotic animal sightings have been made to Kent Police in the past three years.
A Freedom of Information Act request by the Kentish Express reveals police have received 52 calls about dangerous wild animal sightings since January 2008.
These included wild boar on the loose near Ashford, an emu seen near Paddock Wood and a wolf sighting in Sturry near Canterbury.
Most reports were of large black cats, making up 15 of the sightings, followed by big cats with 10 sightings.
Other reports included four wild cats, three boars, two wolves, two lynx, two leopards, one cheetah, and an emu.
Police also recorded five hoax calls and two in which the animal was unknown. Someone reported a large orange cat on a roof in Maidstone town centre last July, but it turned out to be a fox.
There were also four reports of wild dogs, or dholes, in the days after a pack escaped from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury in February 2009.
Officers helped to find an escaped emu in the Brenchley and Horsmonden ward of Tunbridge Wells in June 2009, and guided two wild boar into a field in the Downs West ward of Ashford last August.
In the majority of cases, the police reported the sightings to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and local zoos but took no further action.
Police Freedom of Information administrator Laura Brenchley said officers only went to the scene if the animal posed a risk to members of the public.
“The police would attend an incident if a member of the public was injured or if the animal was a danger to members of the public,” she said.
“However, the majority of the calls were reports made some time after the sighting and therefore police attendance would not have been a practical use of police resources.”
“We work closely with external agencies such as the RSPCA as they are better equipped to deal with animals than the police.”
South Kent police received 12 reports about dangerous wild animals on the loose in the countryside.
These included wild boar and wild dogs on the loose in the Downs West ward of Ashford, and large black cats in Lydd and Weald Central, Ashford.
A large grey and white spotty cat was seen in the Lympne area and it was reported that a large black cat had killed five sheep in Sandgate.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011-1/july/23/are_they_out_there.aspx
'Missing snake' strikes fear into quiet Swiss town
A flyer warning citizens to steer clear of "Jürg", a dangerous mamba gone missing, has thrown a quiet village in northern Switzerland into turmoil.
The flyer describing the sudden disappearance of the green mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world, has prompted hikers to stay off the walking tracks in the Anglikon area in Canton Aargau, said a report on the 20 Minuten newspaper.
“Do not try to catch Jürg; he is extremely poisonous,” read the flyer, followed by a detailed description of the snake’s glossy grass-green colour and other features.
However, this description turned out to have been taken straight from Wikipedia, leading authorities to start doubting the ad’s authenticity.
The internet reference, together with a fake area code in the contact number and the fact that no similar snakes appear in the local exotic animal register are likely signs that the flyer was just a joke, said the newspaper.
The regional police in Wohlen had started investigating the case, but then decided to drop the search for the reptile, it said.
http://www.thelocal.ch/568/20110718/
The flyer describing the sudden disappearance of the green mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world, has prompted hikers to stay off the walking tracks in the Anglikon area in Canton Aargau, said a report on the 20 Minuten newspaper.
“Do not try to catch Jürg; he is extremely poisonous,” read the flyer, followed by a detailed description of the snake’s glossy grass-green colour and other features.
However, this description turned out to have been taken straight from Wikipedia, leading authorities to start doubting the ad’s authenticity.
The internet reference, together with a fake area code in the contact number and the fact that no similar snakes appear in the local exotic animal register are likely signs that the flyer was just a joke, said the newspaper.
The regional police in Wohlen had started investigating the case, but then decided to drop the search for the reptile, it said.
http://www.thelocal.ch/568/20110718/
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Spider shuts down Saarland supermarket
Experts in the western German town of Bexbach are still searching a supermarket for a spider that jumped out of a Colombian fruit crate on Friday. The eight-legged escape artist is thought to be a highly venomous banana spider.
A spokesman for the grocery store told German news agency DAPD that the supermarket remained closed to ensure customer safety.
He said experts were "frantically" working to track down the creature, though there had still been no trace of it.
Staff from the zoo in Neunkirchen are at the scene, and zoo director Norbert Fritsch said the risk is not to be underestimated if the arachnid in question was, indeed, a banana spider.
He said the spider's bites can be life-threatening, even for a healthy adult. Banana spiders can grow to be 13 centimeters in size. The term refers to two genera of spiders, one of which is large but relatively harmless, and another highly venomous species.
The police in Homburg said the spider had been hiding in a case of bananas. It escaped when supermarket employees were unpacking the delivery.
The spider reportedly scurried under a shelf and then disappeared. Pest control specialists were notified, and the store was evacuated.
DAPD/DPA/arp
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110709-36179.html
A spokesman for the grocery store told German news agency DAPD that the supermarket remained closed to ensure customer safety.
He said experts were "frantically" working to track down the creature, though there had still been no trace of it.
Staff from the zoo in Neunkirchen are at the scene, and zoo director Norbert Fritsch said the risk is not to be underestimated if the arachnid in question was, indeed, a banana spider.
He said the spider's bites can be life-threatening, even for a healthy adult. Banana spiders can grow to be 13 centimeters in size. The term refers to two genera of spiders, one of which is large but relatively harmless, and another highly venomous species.
The police in Homburg said the spider had been hiding in a case of bananas. It escaped when supermarket employees were unpacking the delivery.
The spider reportedly scurried under a shelf and then disappeared. Pest control specialists were notified, and the store was evacuated.
DAPD/DPA/arp
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110709-36179.html
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Baboon seen monkeying around NJ highway, house
July 1, 2011 8:18 AM
(AP)
(AP)
JACKSON, N.J. - A baboon is on the loose in New Jersey.
Police say they received two calls Thursday afternoon from people who saw the monkey.
One came from a driver who said the animal was near Interstate 195. The second came from a woman who said a baboon was sitting on her back porch in Jackson.
The baboon may have escaped from the nearby Six Flags Great Adventure's Monkey Jungle. The park has 150 baboons.
Park officials say they are not positive one of theirs is missing because the animals are not counted daily. The Great Adventure baboons are fenced in and implanted with microchips.
Officials say anyone who spots the roaming baboon should call police — and not approach the animal, even though baboons are not typically aggressive.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/01/national/main20076028.shtml
'Hungry' escaped snake found under kitchen sink
A missing boa constrictor that sparked a police hunt has been found – under the kitchen sink at its owner's home.
6:00AM BST 01 Jul 2011
Families were warned to keep their children and pets indoors after the deadly 7.5ft female snake, named Diva, went missing yesterday from its owner's home in Broom Crescent, Ipswich.
The snake was said to be "hungry and unfriendly", having not been fed for three weeks. Owner Abbigayle Harding, 27, said she feared her seven-year-old pet had escaped to find a mate because it was breeding season for boa constrictors.
She said the snake had broken a lock on her tank to get out.
Police said that they could not "rule out a danger to the public'' and that, although Diva was not venomous, she might bite if approached.
The snake normally eats small mammals but residents were warned that, when hungry, she could climb trees and pounce on her prey.
A nearby primary school banned its pupils from playing on its field, which was just 30 yards from the house.
The snake was found this afternoon, safe and well in the kitchen at Ms Harding's house.
Ms Harding told the BBC that she had an "inkling" that the snake could still have been in the house.
She used a dead rat to tempt Diva out from her hiding place under the kitchen sink, and said that she would be fitting two locks on the snake's tank to make sure that she did not escape again.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Runaway cow herd takes over Tredegar street
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-13949070
A quiet street in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, was invaded by a herd of cows which trampled on gardens and peered into windows, say residents. The 20 cattle escaped from their nearby paddock and decided to feast on front lawns and flowers in Peacehaven. Residents are used to straying sheep but say the rogue cattle have become a nuisance.
Read on...
A quiet street in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, was invaded by a herd of cows which trampled on gardens and peered into windows, say residents. The 20 cattle escaped from their nearby paddock and decided to feast on front lawns and flowers in Peacehaven. Residents are used to straying sheep but say the rogue cattle have become a nuisance.
Read on...
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Udder Genius: Daisy The Cow's Great Escape
A farmer whose herd of cattle kept escaping each night had a shock when he installed CCTV - only to discover it was an inside job.
By day, Tom Grant drives a tractor. By night, he solves mysteries - mysteries like cows on the move! He was locking his cattle inside each night but finding them outside each morning.
Tom said: "I was a wee bit suspicious because I thought there was a bit of rustling in the area and that maybe there were boys about during the night trying to steal one of them."
Read on...
By day, Tom Grant drives a tractor. By night, he solves mysteries - mysteries like cows on the move! He was locking his cattle inside each night but finding them outside each morning.
Tom said: "I was a wee bit suspicious because I thought there was a bit of rustling in the area and that maybe there were boys about during the night trying to steal one of them."
Read on...
Friday, June 10, 2011
Escaped wolf shot; security probed
 |
| The escaped wolf trotted past people on a pedestrian bridge after squeezing out of its enclosure. The animal never left zoo grounds. |
Updated: June 10, 2011 - 6:55 AM
Tranquilizers would not have acted soon enough, Minnesota Zoo officials said, forcing them to destroy the 8-year-old male.
A wolf wiggled out of its enclosure and jumped a fence at the Minnesota Zoo on Wednesday morning, and Mary Woestehoff and her 18-month-old daughter got a little closer to a predator than they had planned.
Woestehoff, of Richfield, spotted the escaped wolf, quickly scooped up her daughter and placed an emergency call. Within minutes, a zoo emergency response team had shot the animal dead.
"There's a lot of little kids here, and it could have turned out really badly," said Michelle McGuire, 19, of Apple Valley, who brought her 5-year-old half-sister to the zoo later in the morning.
The wolf never left the zoo's grounds in Apple Valley and no one was harmed, said Tony Fisher, the zoo's animal collections manager.
The endangered Mexican gray wolf squeezed through a gap between two chain-link panels in its off-exhibit enclosure, then made it over an 8-foot fence into the Northern Trail area of the zoo. Experts said it did not appear that the zoo fell short of safety standards, but the zoo will inspect other holding areas to check for potential openings.
The gap in the wolf enclosure may have been caused by snowfall last winter, Fisher said.
"We're going to be checking a lot of our holding areas that are subjected to snowfall, for sure, and make sure we don't have any more loose connections," Fisher said.
Zoo employees check enclosure fences daily, among other safety measures, Fisher said. Some fences have alarms designed to sound if trees fall on them. But nobody noticed a problem with the wolf's enclosure before the escape. The loose chain-link panel might have been difficult to spot until the animal pushed on it, officials said.
It was the first animal classified by the zoo as potentially dangerous to escape in Fisher's 25 years working there, he said.
Visitors in the area of the escape were evacuated and other guests were rushed into nearby buildings while zoo employees found the wolf and shot it.
Zoo officials did not want to give the wolf a chance to flee to major public areas of the zoo or leave the grounds entirely, Fisher said. "The wolf was just trying to get away," Fisher said, "but wolves, if cornered, can be aggressive."
The wolf, an 8-year-old male that was born at the zoo, is one of an endangered subspecies with only a few dozen living in the wild. There were three Mexican gray wolves at the zoo, but this one was not on exhibit because it didn't get along with the other two, Fisher said.
Instead, the wolf had been put in a separate enclosure with a chain-link roof and walls about a week and a half ago.
To shoot or not?
While Fisher was watching the wolves from the exhibit's public viewing area about 10 a.m., he noticed that the sequestered wolf was outside its enclosure, in a brushy area surrounded by a fence. He called other zoo personnel, who initially planned to tranquilize it.
But before they could act, the wolf jumped over the fence and made its way to the Northern Trail, stunning patrons, including Woestehoff.
She said the wolf "looked scared, looked like it didn't know where to go. ... It just wanted to get away from everyone."
The zoo's decision to shoot the wolf drew criticism from some visitors. After assuming responsibility for the care of wild animals, "They should be better prepared for that," said Miadad Rashid of Minneapolis, who visited the zoo with his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter.
Others deferred to the judgment of zoo staff. "They're very qualified and trained to determine whether it needs to be tranquilized or not," said Kim McCray, who drove to the zoo from Wisconsin with her three daughters. "It's sad that a wolf had to be shot, but obviously you can't endanger kids and families."
One problem, Fisher said, is that tranquilizer guns don't have the range of a traditional firearm. Plus, "We didn't have the time for a tranquilizer to take effect," he said, estimating that it would take eight to 10 minutes.
"Nobody wants to kill their animals, but it's our responsibility to keep the public safe and to keep the animals on-site," he said.
The zoo is accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which requires safety procedures, drills and other measures to keep the public safe, said association spokesman Steve Feldman. "As unfortunate as it was that they had to put those into practice, it worked," he said.
Fisher said zoo officials didn't think the wolf could clear the fence.
"We thought we had him secure," he said. "Sometimes animals will surprise you with what they can do."
Lori Schmidt, a curator at the International Wolf Center in Ely, agreed. "Wolves are amazing. If they can find a small opening, they don't need much."
The Ely center has a 10-foot fence with a 45-degree overhang at the top, plus buried ground wire to prevent wolves from digging their way out, she said. A secondary 8-foot-high fence beyond that has barbed wire at the top, primarily to keep humans out.
Given a description of the Minnesota Zoo's enclosure, she said, "It sounds like they're well within the range of what's typical."
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/123464329.html
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Parakeets guilty of intimidating garden birds - study
27 May 2011
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC Nature
An increasingly ubiquitous visitor to English gardens, ring-necked parakeets divide opinion. For some, they are are exotic and colourful visitors. For others, a gaudy, noisy nuisance.
Now researchers say that they intimidate more familiar garden birds.
A team from Imperial College London has evidence that parakeets deter songbirds from using garden feeders.
The team says that reducing or managing the parakeet population "might be beneficial for song birds".
There are now an estimated 31,000 parakeets in the UK - mostly in and around London and south-east England. And the latest "parakeet census" shows that their numbers are increasing at an average of 23% per year.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the UK's only naturalised parrot is becoming an agricultural pest, particularly for fruit-growers in the South East. But this study, led by PhD student Hannah Peck, is the first to apply a scientific method to find out what effect the parakeets have on garden birds.
She and her team looked specifically at feeding behaviour. They set up their experiment in 47 different gardens - putting a caged parakeet on a stand next to a garden feeder and filming the feeder to record what birds came to visit.
The scientists recorded the activity at the feeding station when the caged parakeet was present and when an empty cage was on the stand.
"We typically get blue tits and great tits on the feeders and so far the results have shown that they are more reluctant to feed when a parakeet is present," said Ms Peck.
"This is likely to be true for the other small birds too, such as coal tits, long tailed tits, greenfinches and goldfinches, but as we got such small numbers of these other species it will be difficult to tell from our data."
This is the first evidence for a negative impact of the parakeets' presence on native birds and Ms Peck will be presenting her findings at a British Ecological Society meeting on invasive species in June.
Garden parrot
The birds' native patch is in the Himalayas. But their adaptation to the cold - along with the plethora of lovingly topped-up peanut feeders in suburban gardens - appears to be helping them to thrive in the UK.
Ring-necked parakeets have also been introduced elsewhere in Europe. One recent study by researchers in Belgium investigated whether the parrots, which nest in tree cavities, were driving native nuthatches out of those same sites.
Although they found some competition for the nesting holes, the Belgian researchers concluded that parakeets would have a very limited impact on the country's nuthatch population.
The RSPB points out that there is, as yet, no published evidence to show that UK songbirds are affected by ring-necked parakeets.
Grahame Madge from the RSPB says that house sparrows and starlings are the only songbirds of conservation concern whose ranges overlap with the parakeets. And that they might simply be finding food elsewhere.
"Supplementary feeding for these species may be important," he told BBC Nature. "[But] we believe... insect-rich areas of grass and areas rich in seeds will provide the opportunities they need."
But the fact that they scare garden birds away from feeders is likely to enhance the parakeets' reputation as an invasive menace.
Ms Peck said: "We are not yet in a position to make a fair judgement on how best to manage the parakeet population but we hope that our research over the next couple of years will provide evidence for policy makers to do so."
Ironically, the fact that the population of parakeets is now so high means that it would be very difficult and very expensive to cull them, particularly as they live mainly in urban and suburban areas.
"In the long term, other birds might just get used to the parakeets," said Ms Peck.
Mr Madge concluded: "It is important that the spread of the ring-necked parakeet is monitored, and that studies like this one continue to investigate the potential impacts on our native wildlife."
A full report about the decline in British songbirds will feature on Countryfile on Sunday 29 May, 1900BST, BBC One
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13524396
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC Nature
An increasingly ubiquitous visitor to English gardens, ring-necked parakeets divide opinion. For some, they are are exotic and colourful visitors. For others, a gaudy, noisy nuisance.
Now researchers say that they intimidate more familiar garden birds.
A team from Imperial College London has evidence that parakeets deter songbirds from using garden feeders.
The team says that reducing or managing the parakeet population "might be beneficial for song birds".
There are now an estimated 31,000 parakeets in the UK - mostly in and around London and south-east England. And the latest "parakeet census" shows that their numbers are increasing at an average of 23% per year.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the UK's only naturalised parrot is becoming an agricultural pest, particularly for fruit-growers in the South East. But this study, led by PhD student Hannah Peck, is the first to apply a scientific method to find out what effect the parakeets have on garden birds.
She and her team looked specifically at feeding behaviour. They set up their experiment in 47 different gardens - putting a caged parakeet on a stand next to a garden feeder and filming the feeder to record what birds came to visit.
The scientists recorded the activity at the feeding station when the caged parakeet was present and when an empty cage was on the stand.
"We typically get blue tits and great tits on the feeders and so far the results have shown that they are more reluctant to feed when a parakeet is present," said Ms Peck.
"This is likely to be true for the other small birds too, such as coal tits, long tailed tits, greenfinches and goldfinches, but as we got such small numbers of these other species it will be difficult to tell from our data."
This is the first evidence for a negative impact of the parakeets' presence on native birds and Ms Peck will be presenting her findings at a British Ecological Society meeting on invasive species in June.
Garden parrot
The birds' native patch is in the Himalayas. But their adaptation to the cold - along with the plethora of lovingly topped-up peanut feeders in suburban gardens - appears to be helping them to thrive in the UK.
Ring-necked parakeets have also been introduced elsewhere in Europe. One recent study by researchers in Belgium investigated whether the parrots, which nest in tree cavities, were driving native nuthatches out of those same sites.
Although they found some competition for the nesting holes, the Belgian researchers concluded that parakeets would have a very limited impact on the country's nuthatch population.
The RSPB points out that there is, as yet, no published evidence to show that UK songbirds are affected by ring-necked parakeets.
Grahame Madge from the RSPB says that house sparrows and starlings are the only songbirds of conservation concern whose ranges overlap with the parakeets. And that they might simply be finding food elsewhere.
"Supplementary feeding for these species may be important," he told BBC Nature. "[But] we believe... insect-rich areas of grass and areas rich in seeds will provide the opportunities they need."
But the fact that they scare garden birds away from feeders is likely to enhance the parakeets' reputation as an invasive menace.
Ms Peck said: "We are not yet in a position to make a fair judgement on how best to manage the parakeet population but we hope that our research over the next couple of years will provide evidence for policy makers to do so."
Ironically, the fact that the population of parakeets is now so high means that it would be very difficult and very expensive to cull them, particularly as they live mainly in urban and suburban areas.
"In the long term, other birds might just get used to the parakeets," said Ms Peck.
Mr Madge concluded: "It is important that the spread of the ring-necked parakeet is monitored, and that studies like this one continue to investigate the potential impacts on our native wildlife."
A full report about the decline in British songbirds will feature on Countryfile on Sunday 29 May, 1900BST, BBC One
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13524396
Friday, May 20, 2011
'Garden wallaby' caught in Lyme Regis town centre
 |
| Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner said he grabbed the animal's legs and tail |
A wallaby, thought to be the same animal seen in a woman's Dorset garden earlier in the week, has been caught.
Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner rugby-tackled the marsupial to the ground in Lyme Regis town centre.
Jan Cooper had filmed a wallaby hopping around her garden in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, on Tuesday morning, before it escaped over her fence.
Mr Turner said the wallaby, which has been taken to an animal park in Exminster, Devon, "kicked a bit".
The 45-year-old added: "My friend called me and he's a trickster so I thought it was a wind up. But I could hear he was serious.
'Subdued it'
"When I got there the wallaby was cornered by a couple of council workers and a local woman - but it could have got away still.
"It had already had a couple of near misses with cars and I didn't want a serious car accident on my hands.
"I must admit I was wary because I'd heard they can give quite a kick and can be very strong.
"But I used to play a bit of rugby so I just rugby tackled it - I grabbed its legs and tail and we managed to get a blanket over it which subdued it and then get it into a cage.
"I got a few scrapes and scratches from the concrete but the wallaby was fine - it was very calm really.
"It kicked a bit but totally calmed down when the blanket went on."
Eyewitness John King, who praised Mr Turner, said: "The wallaby had already caused a few problems hopping across roads in the town.
"It was bizarre really - not something you see every day in Lyme Regis."
The RSPCA, which had told the public not to approach the animal, was also called to the scene to help.
Mrs Cooper, who filmed the animal at her home on Tuesday, said: "I am just so happy it has been found safe.
"I've been told it has been taken to a sanctuary where there are another 14 wallabies so it should have a good time."
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK.
A spokeswoman said there had not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-13455634
(Submitted by Liz R)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wallaby filmed in Dorset woman's garden
17 May 2011
A wallaby has been filmed hopping around a garden in Dorset before it escaped over a neighbouring fence.
Jan Cooper said she was having a coffee when she spotted the marsupial at her home in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, just after 0700 BST.
She called the RSPCA but the wallaby fled after about 90 minutes.
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK. The charity told people not to approach the animal.
Mrs Cooper said: "I was having a coffee and first saw a fox and texted my husband, which he wasn't that impressed by, then five minutes later I texted him to say we had a wallaby bounding around.
'Call helpline'
"It was a big shock, I didn't know how close to get to it but it seemed happy enough.
"It looked healthy and cared for. A policeman arrived but the animal jumped over the fence before the RSPCA arrived and we haven't seen it since."
Dorset Police said a search was carried out but nothing was found.
The RSPCA said one of its officers was called to the incident but the animal had fled.
A spokeswoman said there has not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
She added: "We've spoken to an expert and apparently there are a number of wallabies which live wild in the UK.
"If anyone sees it we would urge them to call our helpline on 0300 123 4999.
"We urge people not to approach the animal or touch it, not because it will necessarily become violent, but you may do it more harm than good."
See video at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13433839
(Submitted by Joe DaStudd)
See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13436208
(Submitted by Max Blake)
A wallaby has been filmed hopping around a garden in Dorset before it escaped over a neighbouring fence.
Jan Cooper said she was having a coffee when she spotted the marsupial at her home in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, just after 0700 BST.
She called the RSPCA but the wallaby fled after about 90 minutes.
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK. The charity told people not to approach the animal.
Mrs Cooper said: "I was having a coffee and first saw a fox and texted my husband, which he wasn't that impressed by, then five minutes later I texted him to say we had a wallaby bounding around.
'Call helpline'
"It was a big shock, I didn't know how close to get to it but it seemed happy enough.
"It looked healthy and cared for. A policeman arrived but the animal jumped over the fence before the RSPCA arrived and we haven't seen it since."
Dorset Police said a search was carried out but nothing was found.
The RSPCA said one of its officers was called to the incident but the animal had fled.
A spokeswoman said there has not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
She added: "We've spoken to an expert and apparently there are a number of wallabies which live wild in the UK.
"If anyone sees it we would urge them to call our helpline on 0300 123 4999.
"We urge people not to approach the animal or touch it, not because it will necessarily become violent, but you may do it more harm than good."
See video at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13433839
(Submitted by Joe DaStudd)
See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13436208
(Submitted by Max Blake)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Town hunts for black panther preying on livestock
Joleen Chaney Reporting KFOR
5:47 p.m. CDT, April 26, 2011
POCASSET, Okla. -- Some Oklahomans are on the hunt for what they are calling a black panther or mountain lion that has been spotted near several homes.
The creature has been reportedly seen near Pocasset in rural Grady County.
"It was about half grown, had a tail about 4 feet long and it was solid black," witness Russell Dahl said.
It has become quite the talk of the town after a few recent run-ins with people, including Dahl's neighbor who had an encounter while on an evening jog.
"It liked to scare her to death," he said.
The animal is said to have been roaming the area for decades.
Dahl said he questioned the creature's existence when his son described his sighting, but he quickly became a believer.
"I said, 'You saw a coyote.' Well, the next day I saw it and it wasn't no coyote," he said.
Officials at the Oklahoma State Department of Wildlife say they've had a definite increase in the number of calls they've gotten from people who say they've seen big cats after a mountain lion was captured in Tulsa over the weekend.
"Sometimes I think they might be seeing a bobcat, maybe even coyotes, once in a while dogs," Game Warden Ron Comer said. "You can't always believe what your eyes are telling you."
The latest sightings in this rural little town haven't only given the locals a bit of a scare, but some say the cats have gone after their cattle and pets.
Whatever it is, experts say it could be one of a number of different animals.
"I never try to tell anybody that they didn't see what they thought they saw, but the melanistic gene does not exist in the mountain lion or the pumas or panthers or whatever you want to call the north American big cat," Comer said.
The melanistic gene increases an animals dark pigmentation, turning the animal black.
Within the past few years, new laws have allowed people to kill mountain lions or big cats if they feel threatened.
However, now there is no open season to hunt the animals and it is illegal to do so.
As for the cat caught in Tulsa, wildlife officials believe it was a caged pet that somehow escaped from someone who was not licensed to have it.
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-hunt-for-panther-lion-prey-livestock-story,0,7227827.story
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Cull of trapped Tayside beavers avoided
7 April 2011
An agreement to avoid trapped beavers being killed was struck after experts estimated there were only about 20 animals running loose in Scotland.
Edinburgh Zoo had suggested it may need to humanely destroy beavers captured by Scottish Natural Heritage at a cost of £100 if new homes could not be found.
The details have been revealed in a letter to Scottish Natural Heritage, after a trapping trial in Tayside.
SNH said at first it was thought there were more than 100 beavers in the wild.
In a letter, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs Edinburgh Zoo, said it may have to put down the escaped animals caught on the River Tay.
Zoo officials said in the letter they were prepared to provide temporary accommodation for beavers and would seek new homes for them for three weeks, before culling them if none could be found.
The letter to SNH, dated 25 October 2010, said the zoo would charge "£100 plus VAT for the cost of drugs for the destruction of each animal, and subsequent disposal of the cadaver".
However SNH said it had since told Edinburgh Zoo that it had "hard evidence" there were far fewer beavers in the wild in Scotland than had been speculated and only one had been caught.
An SNH spokesman said: "The suggestion that beavers may have to be put down was made early on, after speculation that there could be more than a 100 beavers to be caught.
"We fully understood and accepted that the zoo had to have a fall-back position if homes could not be found for all the beavers.
"However, the hard evidence of beaver activity suggested there were at most about 20 beavers in the wild, so we were able to agree subsequently that euthanasia would not be necessary. We were confident that new homes could be found."
SNH said that now the trapping trial had ended in Tayside, it was assessing the results to decide what to do in the future.
One captured
A Royal Zoological Society of Scotland spokeswoman said: "At the time of writing the letter there was potentially an unknown number of beavers that the RZSS were going to be asked to hold by Scottish Natural Heritage.
"We were willing to accommodate as many as resources would allow, but we would never have been able to accommodate a large number.
"Both the RZSS and SNH jointly wanted to find another solution, therefore verbally days later all involved decided we could offer a home at Edinburgh Zoo.
"The captured Tayside beaver in question was housed at Edinburgh Zoo from early December and provided with the best husbandry and veterinary care."
It comes after one wild beaver, the only one captured by SNH so far, died at Edinburgh Zoo within months of its arrival.
Edinburgh zoo stressed that the beaver was not destroyed and that a post-mortem examination was under way.
SNH believes up to 20 beavers have escaped private collections in Angus and Perthshire.
The beavers are being recaptured because it is illegal to allow their escape or release into the wild and because their welfare may be at risk, SNH said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-13002471
An agreement to avoid trapped beavers being killed was struck after experts estimated there were only about 20 animals running loose in Scotland.
Edinburgh Zoo had suggested it may need to humanely destroy beavers captured by Scottish Natural Heritage at a cost of £100 if new homes could not be found.
The details have been revealed in a letter to Scottish Natural Heritage, after a trapping trial in Tayside.
SNH said at first it was thought there were more than 100 beavers in the wild.
In a letter, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs Edinburgh Zoo, said it may have to put down the escaped animals caught on the River Tay.
Zoo officials said in the letter they were prepared to provide temporary accommodation for beavers and would seek new homes for them for three weeks, before culling them if none could be found.
The letter to SNH, dated 25 October 2010, said the zoo would charge "£100 plus VAT for the cost of drugs for the destruction of each animal, and subsequent disposal of the cadaver".
However SNH said it had since told Edinburgh Zoo that it had "hard evidence" there were far fewer beavers in the wild in Scotland than had been speculated and only one had been caught.
An SNH spokesman said: "The suggestion that beavers may have to be put down was made early on, after speculation that there could be more than a 100 beavers to be caught.
"We fully understood and accepted that the zoo had to have a fall-back position if homes could not be found for all the beavers.
"However, the hard evidence of beaver activity suggested there were at most about 20 beavers in the wild, so we were able to agree subsequently that euthanasia would not be necessary. We were confident that new homes could be found."
SNH said that now the trapping trial had ended in Tayside, it was assessing the results to decide what to do in the future.
One captured
A Royal Zoological Society of Scotland spokeswoman said: "At the time of writing the letter there was potentially an unknown number of beavers that the RZSS were going to be asked to hold by Scottish Natural Heritage.
"We were willing to accommodate as many as resources would allow, but we would never have been able to accommodate a large number.
"Both the RZSS and SNH jointly wanted to find another solution, therefore verbally days later all involved decided we could offer a home at Edinburgh Zoo.
"The captured Tayside beaver in question was housed at Edinburgh Zoo from early December and provided with the best husbandry and veterinary care."
It comes after one wild beaver, the only one captured by SNH so far, died at Edinburgh Zoo within months of its arrival.
Edinburgh zoo stressed that the beaver was not destroyed and that a post-mortem examination was under way.
SNH believes up to 20 beavers have escaped private collections in Angus and Perthshire.
The beavers are being recaptured because it is illegal to allow their escape or release into the wild and because their welfare may be at risk, SNH said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-13002471
Monday, March 28, 2011
'Runaway' tigress
By: Amit Singh
Date: 2011-03-22
Place: Delhi
The officials at the Capital's National Zoological Park had to face some tense moments on Monday morning after a white tigress escaped from her cage and jumped over a 12ft high fence of her enclosure.
The tigress was later captured and put back into her cage. Interestingly, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh was supposed to visit the zoo for an event related to the World Forestry Day in the evening.
The incident took place at around 9:30am when the caretakers opened the cage of the tigress for its routine exercise. The moment the cage was opened, she came out and jumped over the fence into the adjacent enclosure. The zoo staff then rushed the visitors to safe areas and closed the entry to the park.
"The moment she escaped, a team of 10-15 officials was formed who after two hours managed to render the tigress unconscious using tranquilisers and then put her back into the cage. Luckily neither any animal nor any visitor was hurt," said spokesperson of National Zoological Park, Riaz Khan while speaking to MiD DAY, Talking about the incident, a zoo official said, "The fence of tiger's enclosure is supposed to be 10ft high, but Delhi Zoo has around 12ft high fence. We may now consider making the fence four more feet high to prevent such incidents from happening."
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/mar/220311-news-delhi-National-Zoological-Park-tigress-escaped-jumped-over.htm
Date: 2011-03-22
Place: Delhi
The officials at the Capital's National Zoological Park had to face some tense moments on Monday morning after a white tigress escaped from her cage and jumped over a 12ft high fence of her enclosure.
The tigress was later captured and put back into her cage. Interestingly, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh was supposed to visit the zoo for an event related to the World Forestry Day in the evening.
The incident took place at around 9:30am when the caretakers opened the cage of the tigress for its routine exercise. The moment the cage was opened, she came out and jumped over the fence into the adjacent enclosure. The zoo staff then rushed the visitors to safe areas and closed the entry to the park.
"The moment she escaped, a team of 10-15 officials was formed who after two hours managed to render the tigress unconscious using tranquilisers and then put her back into the cage. Luckily neither any animal nor any visitor was hurt," said spokesperson of National Zoological Park, Riaz Khan while speaking to MiD DAY, Talking about the incident, a zoo official said, "The fence of tiger's enclosure is supposed to be 10ft high, but Delhi Zoo has around 12ft high fence. We may now consider making the fence four more feet high to prevent such incidents from happening."
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/mar/220311-news-delhi-National-Zoological-Park-tigress-escaped-jumped-over.htm
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