Jaunted

Animal Travel

Go Batty In Pemba and Save a Creepy-looking Animal

November 2, 2008 at 3:02 PM | 0 Comments

When you read a story about wildlife these days, the news is usually bad. As the human population swells on this planet, animal species are increasingly pushed to the brink of extinction by poaching, habitat loss, and pollution. That's why it's refreshing to hear some good news on the animal front every once in a while. A nifty item on msnbc.com points out that a huge, scary-looking bat on the Tanzanian island of Pemba has made an amazing recovery in recent years, after being reduced to just a handful of specimens in 1989. Today, thanks to two new forest reserves - and the local population's growing distaste for roasted bat - the Pemba flying fox is back, with conservationists estimating that between 22,000 and 37,000 animals are currently making a home on this picturesque island on the northern end of the Zanzibar archipelago. Island residents hope that the big bats, which can have a wingspan of nearly six feet, will lure eco-tourists from the safari camps on the mainland. We're not sure how anxious travelers will be to get up close and personal with critters like these, but it's nice to see that ugly animals are finally getting some protection. After all, why should cuddly koalas get all the conservation funds? Fortunately, visitors to the island these days will find plenty to do beside bat-watching, from a tour of a clove plantation (this is a Spice Island, after all) to a sail among the barrier islands on a dhow.

[Photo: AP]

Related Stories:
· Giant Bat Returns from Brink of Extinction [msnbc.com]
· Animal Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Animals

Wily Cheetah Protests Extra Bag Fee By Running Amok in Delta Cargo Hold

November 1, 2008 at 3:39 PM | 0 Comments

A cheetah on its way from Portland to Atlanta escaped from its cage in a Delta Airlines cargo hold Friday, giving baggage handlers a Halloween scare they weren't expecting. As the AP points out, two of the big cats were being transported in the belly of a passenger jet when one of them - the smarter one, presumably - somehow escaped its enclosure and began wandering through the hold. Upon its discovery, animal experts from Zoo Atlanta showed up on the scene and tranquilized the free-spirited feline, who now awaits its owner at the zoo. Of course, everybody's wondering how such a thing could happen. Who at Delta is responsible for packing live cheetahs into crates? We'd hope they double checked that the cage doors were securely shut. While we're at it, who the heck is shipping cheetahs cross-country anyway? The airline won't reveal who owns the animals, but if it's not the zoo itself, it's likely some private, animal-obsessed citizen, and that's kind of weird. In any case, I hope the cheetah enjoys its new southern home and doesn't rack up any more frequent-flier miles.

[Image: cinemovida.net]

Related Stories:
· Cheetah Gets Loose in Cargo Hold of Flight [AP via Yahoo! News]
· Animal Coverage [Jaunted]

Safaris

Rhino Travel: Kenya is Back in Black

October 19, 2008 at 12:48 PM | 0 Comments

As big and bad as they seem, Africa's famed black rhinoceroses are in trouble, having been pushed to the brink of extinction by a century of poaching, trophy hunting, and habitat loss. So it's heartening to hear that wildlife organizations in Kenya and the U.K. have begun releasing captive-bred black rhinos into the Kenyan wilds. As BBC News points out in a brief story and nifty video, the groups recently released a group of young rhinos into an area that only 30 years ago supported 20,000 animals, but now has fewer than 500 left. If managed well, a successful rhino recovery could provide a substantial boost to the country's tourism industry, bringing in hordes of camera-wielding visitors desperate for a snap of the most powerful-looking of the big four. And anyway, the black rhino is a pretty cool beast: they hang out alone and wallow until it's time to mate, they're vegetarians, and they only lash out when the feel threatened, unlike their jerky cousins, the hippos.

[Photo: BBC News]

Related Stories:
· Black Rhinos Released Into the Wild [BBC News]
· Safari Coverage [Jaunted]

Animal Travel

Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Come for the Marching, Stay for the Penguin

August 16, 2008 at 2:25 PM | 0 Comments

The 2008 Edinburgh Military Tattoo is in full swing, with more than 200,000 people in town to watch military bands and display teams from the British Isles and around the world perform against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. This year's tattoo held a special honor for one resident of the Edinburgh Zoo, as a three-foot-tall penguin named Nils Olav received a knighthood from the Norwegian King's Guard.

Sir Olav, as he is now known, is actually the third in a distinguished line of penguins who have served as honorary members of the King's Guard. The unit has a long-held tradition of visiting the zoo while in town for the Tattoo, and couldn't help but be charmed by a tuxedoed young waterfowl who considered himself a kindred spirit to the uniformed soldiers. Olav I, who was named after Norway's then-king Olav, was first made an honorary member of the guard in 1972, and he and his replacements have garnered awards and accolades ever since.

As part of his knighthood ceremony, which was held on Friday at the zoo, Sir Olav reviewed the troops and waddled around to the sound of bagpipe music. And while he's a big deal in knightly circles, it doesn't take much to get an audience. Just drop by the Edinburgh Zoo's world-renowned penguin exhibit, which first started breeding these adorable birds in 1914. The Tattoo runs through August 23.

Related Stories:
· King Penguin Receives Norwegian Knighthood [msnbc]
· Edinburgh Zoo [Official Site]
· Edinburgh Military Tattoo [Official Site]
· Animal Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: mirror.co.uk]

Zoos

Jesus Shark Lived Somewhere In Middle America

May 25, 2007 at 11:25 AM | 0 Comments

According to reports, a baby bonnethead shark, born at the Omaha zoo back 2001, was recently found to have been the product of "virgin birth," the first time such a birth has been confirmed in a shark. However, before y'all rush out to the Omaha Zoo to see the jesus shark, you should know the baby was killed soon after birth by a stingray kept in the same tank. Coincidence, zoo conspiracy, or just a case of an evil stingray?

[Photo: silvestrifamily]

Related Stories:
· Shark Virgin [National Geographic]