Zoos
One of the weirdest pieces of television ever screened in Australia showed a Werribee Zoo rhinoceros which, to put it gently, needed a little human handiwork to get it interested in the local female rhino. You can just imagine the zookeeper describing her day at work. “Oh, you know. Fed the zebras, jerked a rhino off. Just the usual.”
But the point of this story is not to mention a great big wank that screened on the ABC. That would hardly be news. It’s to point out that captive breeding programs are a complicated business. Handled professionally, as they are in Werribee, they can be tremendously effective programs. Handled poorly, they can be nothing short of cruel.
Yesterday’s awful amateur video of German polar bear “Knut” dying in captivity has spawned debate on the worthiness of captive breeding programs, and more generally, the role of zoos. (Click on the link only if you have a strong stomach. It’s a lot more graphic than watching a rhinoceros spank the monkey.)
Continue reading "Knut of a day raises questions over zoos" »
The people shuffled in, pair by pair. They clutched hands, and their eyes shimmered with excitement.
As they got within sight of the object of their worship, cameras snapped frantically. One woman, in the middle of a crowd of people on a sunny summer day, started crying. Overwhelmed and transported, she smiled through her tears.
Mary MacKillop’s tomb? Nup, panda enclosure. Adelaide Zoo.
Continue reading "I love pandas but I couldn’t eat a whole one" »
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WC says:
I must say I find it a bit sad that I can’t be moved by fat creatures who are too lazy to even get it on. When did the child in me die? Read more »
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Liz says:
K you can’t change nature,it’s the way of pandas and they won’t change to suit us.How do you know what I do that’s practical? It certainly wouldn’t be going to China and adding to the tourist revenue.“greener than thou” elitism…nicest thing anyone has said all week.Thank you. Read more »
I never thought I would be writing about pandas. But this weekend - following millions of dollars and high-level diplomacy – a Chinese couple from Szechuan Province will settle into their new air-conditioned home in sunny Adelaide.
They are arriving by plane, not by boat. There will be no problems at either customs, or passport control.
After a year where there’s been a few tensions between two old friends, the Adelaide connection will help build a new bridge between China and Australia.
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Angry says:
Ranny you neglected to mention the State Government has gifted the Adelaide Zoo $16m of our money and then we get slugged with increased admission pricess to see them. Read more »
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Jon Bruce says:
Dan, You also appear to have missed the point. (It seems to be an ongoing theme with the Rann supporters). Yes, absolutley, it IS indeed irrevelent as to whether he had sex with this woman… (In fact, if he had admitted it, then we should quite rightly all have moved… Read more »
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