Category Archives: Zoo

Dutch Stork Population Up – Way Up

There are over 500 breeding pairs of storks in the Netherlands today, the same amount as in 1900. The bird has been doing especially well in the Green Heart area between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

Dutch bird protection group Vogelbescherming is extremely happy with the return of the stork to the Netherlands. In 1970, only fourteen birds were recorded in the country, and only one breeding pair. In that year the group took action and volunteers began a protection program to save the bird in the Netherlands.

Twenty-eight pairs of storks from Switzerland were brought to a breeding area set aside for the birds. Breeding here was successful and gradually the population began to spread from the original breeding area. In all twelve areas were set aside for stork breeding and the protected zones were managed by volunteers. Most of these areas were in the Green Heart and the northern province Friesland.

Approximately half of the 500 breeding pairs build their own nests, while the rest use nests still in existence in the protected areas. One such zone, in the town Alphen aan den Rijn, will close down because it is not necessary to offer the birds extra protection there anymore.

Because of a love for animals, some people feed the storks. According to Vogelbescherming this poses a great risk to the birds – if they are provided food on a regular basis they may fail to migrate south in the fall.

Storks are found in watery areas because they find their food, including frogs, there. Most nests are also found close to water, but there are some known exceptions in Dutch cities today. A pair of birds lives in the area of the Amsterdam zoo, Artis, and they obtain their food from the zoo. There is also a pair of birds living in the Kralingse Woods close to Rotterdam, and one pair living close to the center of the Hague.

Source:
Aantal ooievaars terug op oude niveau
Number of storks back up to old level

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Pet Chickens Tossed Into Petting Zoos, Farms

Dutch bird hobbyists, who keep chickens, geese and ducks as pets, are giving their birds to local petting zoos and children’s farms out of fear of bird flu. Many pet owners do not have the resources to shelter their birds indoors, as is required by law in Holland from last Monday.

At farms and petting zoos in cities like the Hague, Apeldoorn and Leideschendam, the pet birds have been tossed into the yard by their owners.

Jan Wolleswinkel, president of the Dutch Organization for Poultry Farmers (NOP), warns that birds which have been vaccinated against the bird flu may still be culled in case the virus breaks out in their neighborhood.

Source: Hobbypluimvee naar kinderboerderij

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Belgian Zoos Vaccinate Birds

The Antwerp Zoo and the Planckendael Zoo in Mechelen, Belgium, plan to vaccinate birds against the bird flu virus. Starting Monday, 20 February, the zoos began to vaccinate the most vulnerable birds, including storks, ostriches and waterfowl. The zoos were authorized to take this action by the government, according to a statement made on Sunday from the Antwerp Zoo.

At Planckendael, zoo officials admitted they were not completely sure if the vaccine will work to protect the birds. Even if it does work, it will only protect them against one type of bird flu.

The Belgian government has ordered all domestic birds which have not been vaccinated to be kept indoors. The Planckendael zoo chose to vaccinate the birds for their own well-being. According to a vet at the zoo, the exotic bird population there has already been indoors as a precaution since October. The emus in particular have had a rough time and have lost their appetite for food. The flamingoes, on the other hand, are normally kept inside during the winter, so the measures pose little threat to their well-being.

The birds at the Planckendael zoo will be vaccinated in two steps. The first shots are given this week; a second round will be given in six weeks. This is to insure that the birds produce enough antibodies to be resistant to the virus. However, it is not known if the vaccine will work with the “exotic” birds. The vaccine was made for poultry birds like chickens and ducks. There is no separate vaccine available for birds such as emus and flamingoes. A zoo official said that the birds would have to be vaccinated again in six months to continue their protection.

The vaccination process is stressful for the birds. Dutch zoos have already vaccinated some of their birds last year, and they noticed that some birds experienced swelling in the area of the shot. Because of the stress involved in giving the shot, the vets will conduct other studies on the birds while they are restrained.

In the Netherlands, the Rotterdam Zoo Blijdorp already vaccinated their bird population on December 13. The zoo in Amersfoort has also given the shots to their birds.

Sources:
Antwerpse Zoo vaccineert vogels
Exotische vogels Planckendael krijgen spuitje tegen vogelgriep

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Bird Ban Bad For Swiss Swan Sex

“Swiss swans have just one more weekend to have a fling before a government ban on keeping birds in the open air comes into effect on Monday. Forcing the birds to stay indoors will disrupt their behavior just as they are getting ready for reproductive action in the mating season which is about to start.” Read the story Bird flu fears will ruin swans’ sex lives, Swiss zoo warns in the Daily Times.

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Penguin Toga’s Parents Hatch A New Egg

The parents of the baby penguin stolen from a British zoo in December hatched a new chick last Tuesday. Kyala and Oscar’s chick has yet to be named and its sex is also still unknown. The Amazon World Zoo on the Isle of Wight installed surveillance cameras in the penguins’ pen for extra security. Read the story Penguins are parents once again at ABC News.

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Rare Kiwi Bird Hatches At U.S. National Zoo

A North Island brown kiwi — an endangered bird — hatched at the zoo on Feb. 13 and was the second kiwi to hatch in the zoo’s 116-year history, zoo officials said. The National Zoo is one of just four zoos in the world to breed the flightless, nocturnal, burrowing birds outside of New Zealand.
read more | digg story

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Baby Penguin Stolen From British Zoo

A baby Jackass penguin was stolen from the Amazon World Zoo on the Isle of Wight on Monday. The three-month-old penguin, named Togo, cannot survive for more than three or four days without his parents, on whom he relies for his special diet. He was known to refuse food from humans. Togo has lived in an enclosure at the zoo with his parents, Kyala and Oscar, and four other penguins, since he was born in September. If he is not returned to the zoo by Thursday, his chances for survival are slim.

Zoo officials speculate that the penguin may have been taken to be used as a Christmas gift for someone, and that the popularity of the French movie March of the Penguins may have sparked this misguided idea.

Sources:
Who’s p-p-picked up our penguin?
STOLEN PENGUIN’S LIFE AT RISK, SAY ZOO
Keepers Fear Penguin Was Snatched as Gift

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