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At first Stewart Loew was excited by the sight: a mountain lion on the family's farm near Amado. In 40 years on the Agua Linda Farm, Loew said this was first large cat he had seen when it appeared in the donkey pen about a month ago. But soon, his animals started to turn up mauled or dead. First there were four sheep. Then, on June 15, an awful sight: 16 pygmy and nubian goats — all the mammals in the farm's petting zoo — were killed. Only the geese were spared. Loew and his wife, Laurel, who run the...

"You see that it's a knife, but you think it's not possible there's a knife inside."

The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan., will no longer be selling blue sno-cones after a dangerous mix-up at the refreshment stand, Fox4KC reported. Four people became sick Thursday when a zoo employee accidentally poured a degreasing agent into the sno-cone machine instead of the flavored syrup.

The San Francisco Zoo agreed Thursday to pay $900,000 to two brothers who survived the fatal attack by an escaped tiger on Christmas Day 2007, sources familiar with the case told The Chronicle. The agreement with Kulbir, 25, and Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal, 20, resolves claims the brothers brought in U.S. District Court against the city, zoo and Sam Singer, a crisis public relations consultant the zoo hired after the attack, one source said. Thursday's settlement comes less than two weeks after attorneys for the brothers filed court documents alleging that police officials had ordered officers to issue arrest warrants for...

WILD-FIRED BY THE ZOO By SALLY GOLDENBERG April 24, 2009 -- Situation wanted: Will work for hay. Layoffs in the city have spread from the piggy traders on Wall Street to the animals at the Bronx Zoo. The institution is closing four exhibits and shipping hundreds of creatures to zoos and aquariums around the country, officials told the City Council Cultural Affairs Committee yesterday.

CUTS WILL OUST HUNDREDS OF BRONX BEASTIES- Situation wanted: Will work for hay. Layoffs in the city have spread from the piggy traders on Wall Street to the animals at the Bronx Zoo. The institution is closing four exhibits and shipping hundreds of creatures to zoos and aquariums around the country, officials told the City Council Cultural Affairs Committee yesterday.

New York, New York (AHN) - Banks, automakers, and insurance companies aren't the only ones suffering from the country's economic woes. Turns out the recession is causing hundreds of animals to be evicted from the Bronx Zoo as well. On Thursday, zoo officials-facing tightened budgets-told a New York City Council committee that they would need to send away deer, bats, foxes, antelopes and other animals to replacement zoos around the country. In light of a $15 million budget shortfall, Bronx zoo officials say they're also closing four exhibits at the 114-year-old Bronx Park zoo. With more than 2 million visitors...

A GERMAN woman mauled by three polar bears after she leapt into the moat surrounding their pen at a Berlin zoo was apparently suicidal after a string of setbacks, a newspaper reports. The daily Bild reported today that Sandy K, 32, who is still in intensive care after the attack, went to the zoo alone on Friday while her eight-year-old daughter spent the Easter holiday weekend with her father, Sandy's estranged partner Lars. Sandy had long had financial problems and in February, the electricity was cut off to her flat, which she had been lighting since then with candles. "She...

This is the terrifying moment a woman was attacked by a polar bear after jumping into its zoo enclosure. The 32-year-old leapt over bars at Berlin Zoo during the bears' feeding time yesterday. Despite six zookeepers' efforts to distract the four predators kept in the enclosure, the woman was bitten several times on her arms and legs. The brave keepers eventually managed to push the bear away and pull the woman to safety. She was bitten by one of the four older polar bears in the enclosure and not by the famous Knut, who took Germany by storm as a...

"Zoo keepers who saved the life of a woman who jumped into a polar bear enclosure at Berlin Zoo revealed on Monday that they were moments away from shooting the animals. Rifles had already been issued to marksmen and Heiner Kloes, a zoo spokesman, said: This woman's behaviour not only put her life in danger but also that of the staff who had to rescue her. However, we do have guns and we would have been prepared to use them without hesitation if it was felt it was the only way to save the woman. The woman known only as...

A controversial zoo in Argentina allows tourists to have extremely close encounters with some of the most dangerous predators in the world. Here at the Lujan Zoo near Buenos Aires visitors can ride lions, cuddle bears, stroke tigers and feed cheetahs. The animals appear to be very sedate and tame and keepers casually supervise the animals that aren't chained when they are out of their cages. Visitors can even pick up the smaller animals and manhandle them at risk to themselves and the creatures.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It's called a white-crested laughing thrush and it's bringing smiles to zookeepers in Syracuse. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo greeted a new bird March 7. The chick is named Zephyr.

President Obama has announced his intention to nominate John Berry to serve as the next director of the Office of Personnel Management. A veteran of the Treasury and Interior departments and current director of the National Zoo, Berry also once served as legislative assistant to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). "From turning around the National Zoo to fostering a more productive work environment at the Department of the Interior, John Berry has a tremendous record of effective management in key public service roles," Obama said in a statement. "I'm confident that he will provide that same leadership at OPM to help...

Weighing in at a modest 83 pounds but topping the charts at about seven feet long, this island girl is probably not one you're likely to see in a bikini anytime soon... especially with her scaly skin, sharp claws, and forked tongue. Hannibal, a female Komodo Dragon, makes her debut at the Palm Beach Zoo on Friday, but before the bright lights and camera bulbs make their way into her new home, she was scoping out the trees, the bushes, and the man-made pond on Thursday morning. Zoo officials are excited to show off the rare Komodo Dragon species, not...

SYDNEY, Australia - A 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo's director said Friday. The 30-minute rampage, caught on the zoo's security camera, happened early Wednesday after the boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australia, said zoo director Rex Neindorf.

A zoo director calls a porcupine into his office to break the news. “There’s no easy way to say this,” the director tells the prickly animal as it squirms on its chair. “Even though you bring record numbers of people to New York and help the economy, we’re going to have to let you go.” The humorous video — made by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which oversees the city’s zoos and the New York Aquarium — has a sobering reality behind it. In New York State’s next fiscal year, which starts in April, state financing for all 76 zoos, botanical...

BALTIMORE - Two jaguars at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo were in quarantine Monday after at least one of them attacked and critically injured an animal care worker.

"HAMAS AND THEIR SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS (NOT TO MENTION BASIC HUMAN DECENCY)" "Video follows"

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco officials have taken a step to try to ensure that the city is reimbursed for $75,000 in medical bills incurred by one of two brothers mauled by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo last Christmas. In a filing this week in federal court, officials said the city wanted to be compensated for the cost of treating Kulbir Dhaliwal, now 24, at the city-run San Francisco General Hospital after the attack. The document, a medical reimbursement lien, was filed Wednesday in connection with proceedings in a federal lawsuit filed against the city and by Dhaliwal...

The Cincinnati Zoo is abuzz about two new friends. Tommy T., the Zoo's star cheetah cub, and Pow Wow, the Anatolian Guard Dog puppy, are like two peas in a pod. Cheetah Days, the adorable new blog has all the pics to prove it.

/begin my translation Kim Jong-il Giving Field Guidance at Pyongyang Zoo [2008-12-02 11:12 ] N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il gave "lengthy" field guidance at Pyongyang's Central Zoo which has completed its renovation, according to KCNA' report on Dec. 2. Its dispatch reported that the event occurred 'recently.' There have been N. Korean reports on Kim Jong-il sending various animals as gifts to the zoo, but this is the first time he gave field guidance there since Yonhap News started recording KCNA reports in 1993. /end my translation

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Puzzled zookeepers in northern Japan have discovered the reason why their attempts to mate two polar bears kept failing: Both are female. The municipal zoo in the city of Kushiro in Hokkaido brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. They named it Tsuyoshi, after the popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and waited until it reached reproductive age. In June, the zoo introduced Tsuyoshi to its resident bear, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi, and waited for sparks to fly. But much to the disappointment of zookeepers, Tsuyoshi never made any amorous advances toward Kurumi. Earlier...

Smithsonian National Zoological Park Washington, D.C. Short documentary featuring Pandas, primates and more. Thanks for watching.

(11-12) 13:42 PST San Francisco - -- Two San Jose brothers who survived a Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo have filed a long-expected lawsuit against the city, zoo and others, claiming slander and civil rights violations in the aftermath of an incident that drew international attention. [snip]

In the latest flap over religion in public places, a Lincoln restaurateur and Christian church have decided to pull their Noah's ark booth out of the Lincoln Children's Zoo's annual "Boo at the Zoo" trick-or-treating event. The reason? A new zoo diversity policy forbade Bible verses on the booth's pizza coupons, and the restaurant owner and church leaders did not want to go along with that ruling. The owner of the daVinci's restaurant chain, Kelly Knudson, said he and First Covenant Evangelical Church leaders decided to pull out despite a 15-year history of participating in the event. For all those...

She looks a little rough, but the Assiniboine Park Zoo's polar bear Debby, famous for being the oldest living polar bear in the world, is dealing better than expected with health issues that threatened her life earlier this year, zoo officials said Thursday. Zookeepers feared the worst for the 41-year-old after a series of strokes over several months started taking its toll earlier this year. Officials informed the public about Debby's ailing health in August so people who enjoy seeing her could return for one more visit. Debby's keeper, Bob Sydor, said Friday that the bear's weight is a continuing...

(WXYZ) In the wake of his resignation, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's name will be taken off the water tower at the Detroit Zoo.

A PYTHON has killed a student zookeper at the weekend and was caught trying to swallow the man's body when horrified coworkers arrived, Venezuela's El Universal newspaper reports. The other employees of the Caracas zoo had to beat the 3m-long Burmese Python to make it release the body of 29-year-old Erick Arrieta, whose head it was swallowing. < > "The young man underestimated the animal's instinct," said the director general of the Parque del Este zoo, Javier Hernandez.

SAN FRANCISCO — One of two brothers who survived a tiger attack at San Francisco Zoo has been sentenced to 16 months in state prison for violating probation in a felony reckless driving case. In December, Paul Dhaliwal was sentenced to 30 days in Santa Clara County jail and three years of probation for leading police on a high-speed chase through San Jose last year. But three days after sentencing he was cited for marijuana possession, and in March he was also arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. Prosecutors say the 20-year-old Dhaliwal received the 16-month-prison sentence last week in Santa...

If you are concerned about the growing intrusiveness of regulators into our private lives, then you may want to read about Robin Countryman-Velk and her Kiddin’ Korral Animal and Activities project in the Napa, California, area. Kiddin’ Korral is part of a 1,400-acre dude ranch that is owned and operated by some 1,400 owners (the acreage is not divided). The owners have an association with a board of directors that oversees the operations. The owners can use the place any time they want—it has 100 cabins, 200 campsites, a couple of large pools and, for the last two years, the...

One of two brothers wounded in a Christmas Day tiger attack in San Francisco has been sentenced to 16 months in state prison, after a judge ruled he violated his probation in connection to an April 2007 incident in San Jose which he fled from police in a high speed chase. Last week, Amritpal "Paul" Dhaliwal was sentenced in Santa Clara County's felony violation court. The prison sentence comes after a series of probation violations. Not only did the underage Dhaliwal admit to having alcohol and marijuana, he was booked on several counts of felony shoplifting in Alameda County, said...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2008 – The Baghdad Zoo officially welcomed two Siberian-Bengal tigers, Riley and Hope, to its animal kingdom Aug. 8. Riley and Hope, male and female respectively, were donated by the Conservators' Center in North Carolina. "This is a very important step to improve relationships [between] the zoo and the people of Iraq, and it is proof that the security situation in Iraq is getting better," said Adel Salman Mousa, the Baghdad Zoo director. "They're a real signature species; people really identify with the beauty of the tigers," said Lt. Col. Robert Sindler, the Multi-National Coalition -...

BAGHDAD , Aug. 11, 2008 – After traveling more than 7,000 miles, two Bengal tiger cubs have finally settled into their new home in Iraq. Amid much fanfare and excitement, Hope and Riley were introduced to the Baghdad Zoo on Aug. 8. Riley and Hope, the pair of tigers sent to the Baghdad Zoo from the Conservators’ Center in North Carolina, relax in their new enclosure in Iraq on Aug. 8, 2008. Riley and Hope will entertain more than 10,000 visitors to the zoo every weekend and 2,000 to 3,000 on weekdays. Attendance is up by more than 300...

Well, I'm off to take my kids to the zoo today!!! I'll have to keep my eye on my kids And I hope they have safe containment for the animals... And I'll have to make sure my kids leave the animals alone

Vandals stoned and beat to death about 50 ducks, including some that were just days old, at the Bever Park Children's Zoo overnight. A zoo employee discovered the dead birds around 7 a.m. this morning. Some were floating in a pond, and others were piled up near a broken rake. Dave Smith, the city parks superintendent, said whoever was responsible broke the lock on the front gate to the pen and broke into two of the three night houses where the birds are kept overnight. They believe at least one person herded the ducks together while someone else did the...

Male Bird At Smithsonian's National Zoo Has Special Reason To Celebrate Father's DayTwo of the four new rhea chicks at the Smithsonian's National Zoo nest in the feathers of their father. The chicks hatched on April 20 and were the first rhea chicks to hatch at the National Zoo in 30 years. Dedicated fathers, it is the male rhea who incubates the eggs and protects the chicks after they hatch. The Zoo is now home to a total of seven rheas: a male, two females, and the four new chicks. (Credit: Copyright Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo) ScienceDaily (Jun. 15, 2008)...

Four Lion Cubs Born In Norway At the Kristiansand Dyrepark (Zoo) the lioness Sera is the proud mother of four cubs born on Saturday morning, the first ever lion birth in Norway. First reports had the number at three, but on Sunday a fourth came into view.

Wind, rain and bitter cold could not keep five determined women from sending their message to Woodland Park Zoo: An elephant never forgets. The women, representing three animal activist organizations, went to the zoo Friday morning to remember Hansa, the zoo's baby elephant, who died one year ago, and to protest the zoo's decision to once again impregnate Hansa's mother, Chai. The activists claim that because Hansa died of herpes, Chai might also carry the disease and could pass it on if she had another child. "If she has another baby and it dies, she won't recover," said Nancy Farnam,...

A chance encounter in Israel between vets and a giraffe has led to a rabbinical ruling that the African animal is kosher. According to a report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, vets were asked to treat an adult, female giraffe at Israel's largest zoo, the Safari Park in Ramat Gan. Giraffe meat and milk has been ruled acceptable for observant Jews The team, led by Professor Zohar Amar, took a routine sample of milk and found that it clotted in the way required by Jewish law for kosher certification. They submitted more milk for verification by the rabbinical authorities and...

KRASNODAR, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - A drunken Russian zookeeper, who was mauled by a lion after climbing into its pen May 1 at a zoo in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, died in hospital Tuesday, investigators said. The man, who had been suspended from work for being drunk, entered the animal's enclosure while the lion slept and was attacked by the big cat as he tried to tap it on the nose. Following the attack the zookeeper was hospitalized in a critical condition undergoing surgery to amputate his hand but died from his injuries. A criminal investigation...

Families stroll the park's sidewalks and picnic in the shade as laughing children clamor to see the main attraction - lions once owned by Saddam Hussein's son, Odai. Damaged after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Baghdad Zoo has made a startling comeback, and thousands of Iraqis are flocking here to escape the city's grungy streets. The zoo, located in the sprawling Zawra Park in the heart of Baghdad just outside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, has been held up as an example of American reconstruction efforts. The military brought in new animals, rebuilt damaged exhibits and worked with international zoos and...

Llewellyn Werner, a California investor, admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with. Such as insurgent attacks and looting. But when the amusement park you’re building lies in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory. Mr Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing The Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is being designed by the same firm that developed Disneyland. “The people...

Knut, the once-cute celebrity polar bear turned vicious killer, is at the center of a controversy over his brutal slaughter of ten carp at the Berlin Zoo. The massive polar bear, who has lived at the zoo since birth, apparently fished the carp out of the moat surrounding him and ripped them to shreds in front of several disgusted zoo patrons. One of Germany's top newspapers, Bild, ran the headline "Knut Embroiled in Carp Scandal," and featured an article which quoted animal rights groups who criticized zoo officials for placing live animals within Knut's reach.

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, March 29, 2008 (03-28) San Leandro - -- The younger of two brothers who survived a Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo was arrested on suspicion of trying to steal two video game controllers from a San Leandro store, police said Friday. Paul Dhaliwal, 19, hid two Nintendo Wii controllers in his pants at the Target store at the Bayfair Center mall about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, San Leandro police Lt. Tom Overton said. Store security officer Michael Marucut, dressed in plain clothes, told authorities that he witnessed the theft and...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man has been cited for misdemeanor animal taunting for allegedly tossing acorns at a rhinoceros at the San Francisco Zoo, police said Friday. Juan Zuluaga, 26, was arrested, cited and released after the incident Thursday, authorities said. The zoo has stepped up its warnings against harassment of animals after the Christmas Day tiger attack that left one young man dead and two others injured. Among other steps, it has posted signs telling patrons not to annoy the animals.Police said they were summoned to the zoo at 3:30 p.m. Thursday after a patron reported to officials that...

A rare female Amur leopard cub, born 18 November 2007, taking her first steps outside her den at Marwell Zoological park in Hampshire, Britain, 28 February 2008. She was bred as part of a European conservation breeding program, to mother leopard 'Ascha'. The cub is yet to be named. EPA/JONATHAN BRADY

HONOLULU (AP) - Honolulu Zoo officials are taking another look at procedures for keeping their 245-pound Sumatra tiger in his cage. The tiger named Berani was discovered wandering around an unsecured area just before the zoo's opening on Thursday. A startled female volunteer reported the escape after the tiger brushed past her. The volunteer quickly retreated and secured a second gate that kept the tiger from going into a public area. It took zoo workers several minutes to coax Berani back into his cage. City services director Sidney A. Quintal says no person or animal was harmed in the incident....

February 14, 2008 Zoo slammed for elephant's 'under-age pregancy' Philippe Naughton Sydney's Taronga Zoo has been reprimanded by animal rights activists for letting an Asian elephant fall pregnant even though she is only nine years old. The zoo, famed for its views over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, proudly announced today that Thong Dee was five months into a 22-month pregnancy and should become the first captive elephant in Australia to give birth. It even released ultrasound images to confirm what it called an "historic event". But Erica Martin, who heads the Asia Pacific office of the International...

S.F. police investigation into tiger attack "suspended" due to lack of evidence of taunting Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, January 29, 2008 (01-29) 16:16 PST San Francisco - -- The San Francisco police investigation into the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo has been "suspended" after a search earlier this month failed to turn up evidence that the victims taunted the animal or committed other crimes, police said Tuesday. The case is being shelved "pending new witnesses being interviewed and/or new evidence being produced," according to a Police Department statement about the Christmas Day mauling that killed...

S.F. Zoo mauling investigation winding down Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, January 19, 2008 The police investigation into the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo will soon be reclassified as "inactive" after a search failed to turn up evidence that the victims taunted the animal or committed other crimes, authorities said Friday. Sources close to the case said the investigation into the Christmas Day attack could be shelved as soon as next week and will not be reopened unless new information comes to light. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to...