WHITE RHINOS ARRIVE
AT ANIMALPARK
The white rhinos will be in
a new African paddock
at the park
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/
england/cumbria/3146750.stm
Two endangered female white rhinos have arrived at a Cumbrian wildlife park as part of a unique breeding programme. The arrival of the pair from a reserve in South Africa marks the start of a ground-breaking experiment by the SouthLakesWildAnimalPark in Dalton-in-Furness.
The three-year-old rhinos, which both weigh in at more than one tonne each, have been flown out from a breeding reserve in South Africa. They were chosen by park owner David Gill on a recent trip to Durban. The animals were joining the park's two existing male rhinos Mazungo and Huubke. It is hoped the animals may breed in the near future.
The rhinos will join baboons and giraffes in a new African paddock at the park. Mr Gill said: "We have a nine-strong group of Hamadryads Baboons including the very large male leader, called Yorik and a new baby born 12 September. They are joining our white rhinos and six giraffes in our African paddock. We believe this is the first time this combination has been tried in any zoo.”
HAVE COATIS MADE
HOME IN FURNESS?
THEY’RE a long way from home, but it seems South American coatis are living wild in Furness [northwest England]. A series of sightings culminated in one of the three-foot-long, meat-eating mammals being tranquiliser-darted from a tree in a Lindal garden.
Householder Rob Hewitt, 64, of Low Farm Close, Lindal, said: “I was sitting in a deckchair in my back garden when this face came round the corner of the house and I thought - you don’t have a UK passport! It was as big as a Labrador dog, a big yellow and ginger thing with a bushy tail with rings on it. It turned round the corner and hissed at me. It wasn’t scared or anything. It climbed up on to a wall and it sat there looking at me.”
Rob rang SouthLakesWildAnimalPark. But staff there said they had no missing coatis. Eventually, park owner David Gill had to use a tranquiliser to sedate the animal before he could catch it.
Phil Newton, Director of Barrow Licensing Authority, said: “It is a condition of David Gill’s licence that he keeps his animals in. We have been in consultation with David Gill, and he denies most of the time that the animals are escaping, but we are taking action.”
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “We are concerned if any animal that has been allowed to escape from an enclosure and then darted in order for it to be returned.”
“Facts about Zoos” by the Animal Liberation Front (excerpt)
Zoos, like any other business, are designed to make a profit. With money as their first priority, it is not uncommon for zoos to sacrifice the welfare of individual animals to save financial resources. Animals who ‘misbehave’ at the zoo are often ‘encouraged’ to behave through the use of violence. The life of boredom and purposeless existence which goes along with captivity often causes the animals to engage in abnormal and self-destructive behaviours called ‘zoochosis’. The animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little opportunity for mental or physical exercise. Symptoms of zoochosis include nervous pacing, head rocking, and self-mutilation.
In captivity, it is almost impossible to meet the animals’ natural needs. For example, birds’ wings may be clipped to prevent flying, and animals who would naturally live in large herds or family groups (such as elephants) are kept either in pairs or alone. A problem most zoos encounter is the existence of ‘surplus’ animals. To free up space for ‘cuter’ - and therefore more profitable - animals, many zoos sell surplus animals to dealers who ultimately sell the animals to laboratories for experiments.
While most zoos claim to educate the public about endangered species, the vast majority of animals in zoos are not endangered, nor are they being rehabilitated for release into the wild. If we truly want to help animals in the wild, we must preserve their habitats and combat the reasons humans kill them. Keeping animals behind bars for the sake of our entertainment is not the solution.
Come along to South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Cumbria, where education, conservation and fun go hand-in-hand!
FREE full day of keeper-led conservation and animal feeding talks.
FREE teacher places.
FREE pre-visits for teachers.
FREE return visits.*
FREE back-at-school resources.
FREE coach parking.
FREE park map and helpful guide - to help you plan your day.
FREE web-based material.
FREE outdoor and indoor seating areas for picnics.
ALL INCLUDED IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PRICE OF £4.50 per pupil.
THE diverse interactive educational resource!
The park is a stimulating learning resource for a number of cross-curricular subjects. Outdoor or classroom sessions can be pre-booked at a cost of £1.00 per student, and tailor-made to fit your syllabus. Check out our downloadable worksheets.
Conservation / Numeracy / Literacy / ArtAdaptations / Classification / Habitats / Endangered species
Geography / Marketing / Business Studies / Life processes
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