Articles: zoos

Imagine, you’re sitting and reading a book on a Sunday afternoon. Instead of hearing a knock on the door – you feel a rumble. And the next thing you know the roof of your home has been collapsed by a herd of elephants. Or your crops have been destroyed by elephants trampled through or snacking…

Pet monkeys are not a good idea. That statement doesn’t appear to be rocket science. Yet, to some, the notion of having a pet monkey is appealing. And, perpetuating that appeal are monkey guest shots on TV sitcoms. I just viewed the most recent episode of Will & Grace, and Megan Mullally’s character, Karen Walker,…

Check out some of the best of my podcasts from Steve Dale’s Other World on WGN Plus, heard 2 – 5 a.m. filling in for Nick Digilio, right HERE. I replayed excerpts of some of my favorite podcasts from 2017, including: * Behind-the-scenes stories from the Lincoln Park Zoo with former Director Dr. Lester Fisher,…

Orangutans are the most endangered and threatened of the great apes. Specifically, according to National Geographic Society, on November 20, 2013, the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme got a call about an injured orangutan found in the mountainous region of Tapanuli. Despite veterinary treatment, the orangutan, named Raya, died eight days later. But Raya lives on as the representative member…

Imagine this on your resume… Reason for being fired: “I fell in love with a giraffe.” Muhammad Ben Shawari, who immigrated with his parents to Denmark when he was 12 years old, says it was “love at first sight” when he saw 2-year-old Otto, a giraffe, for the first time. At least according to printed…

It’s said that there’s a podcast about everything, but this might be the first podcast in the history of podcasts that describes the five remaining rhinoceros species in detail, and is all about what you can do to help the plight of these beleaguered species by Bowling for Rhinos. Listen HERE as I am joined…

Comfort dogs serve humans with anxiety issues, but, apparently they can also serve anxious cheetahs. The San Diego Zoo has been assigning dogs to cheetahs since the 1980’s. Cheetah cubs are paired with canine companions at about three to four months of age. They first meet on opposite sides of a fence with a keeper…

Pallas cats are known to be shy and reclusive. This one however, at an unidentified zoo, realizes, “Whoa! I’m on camera!” Pallas cats are one of the many species of smaller cats found around the world. The Pallas Cat, also known as the manul, is a stocky, solitary animal around the same size as a…

Of all holidays, Earth Day may be the most important. Without the Earth, we kind of have a problem. And the way things are going – we just might have a problem soon enough. I am sure I’ll get many emails that this post is politically charged. I’m unsure why protecting our planet, and the…

Ruperta the elephant is starving. She is the lone elephant at the Caricuao Zoological Society. That, in itself, is sad. Worse, as described in news reports and from my Facebook friend Darvin Melendez, who lives in Venezuela, zoo animals are dying of starvation. According to a story from July 2016 on National Geographic, at least 50…