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02 Nov 18:26
Rescued Polar Bear Cub Makes a Splash at Assiniboine Park Zoo
by Andrew Bleiman
Assiniboine Park Zoo’s newest Polar Bear is comfortably settling into her new home less than 24 hours after arriving on October 28 from Churchill. Officials from the zoo, located in Winnipeg, Canada, travelled to northern Manitoba to rescue the female cub after she was found wandering alone near the airport last week.
Believed to be 11 months-old, the 94-pound (38 kg) cub wouldn’t have otherwise survived on her own, as Polar Bears rely on protection from their mothers for up to two years. Now that she’s at Assiniboine Park Zoo's International Polar Bear Conservation Centre (IPCC), the wild bear seems to feel right at home: she is eating well on her own, playing with enrichment toys, and splashing around in her kiddie pool. For the next 30 days, she will remain in quarantine, as is zoo standard procedure. This will allow close monitoring of her health and ensure that the new bear will not pass on any pathogens when she is eventually introduced to the two other bears at the zoo. Besides a few broken teeth and some bumps, she is generally in good condition, and does not appear to be stressed by her new surroundings.
Photo credits: Assiniboine Park Zoo
See a video of the curious bear as she investigates her new surroundings:
See a news story about the bear:
The yet-unnamed bear is the third resident bear at the zoo and could eventually be placed into a breeding program to help conserve wild Polar Bears. She will be the center's first resident female, and their first orphaned rescue.
"It's one of those feel-good stories that we can save her. It's a shame that you have an animal like this that you have to take from the wild, but with no chance of survival, it's the only thing that makes sense," says Don Peterkin, chief operations officer for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy. "The IPBCC was built for orphaned cubs. We recognized that there would be other needs, but we all have a soft spot for an 11-month-old cub who has lost Mom and has no chance of survival in the wild at all. She's just too young to ever hope to survive on her own."
“Without the Center here, the options are fairly limited. We have tried in the past to adopt out orphan cubs with a mother and one cub, but those attempts have all failed,” says Dr. Jim Duncan of Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship.
The International Polar Bear Conservation Centre opened almost two years ago and is part of the larger Journey to Churchill exhibit that is still under construction, but is expected to open in the summer of 2014. The Centre has outdoor habitats for the polar bears as well. Eventually the three resident bears will move into one of the larger outdoor Polar Bear habitats in Journey to Churchill. The zoo is also looking at a fourth bear from Argentina that may join the others as early as the spring.
Rosalind, Russian Sledges and one other like this
28 Oct 11:45
The Big Book of Online OPPRESSION by Rainbow Brown
The Big Book of Online OPPRESSION by Rainbow Brown
firehose likes this
21 Oct 23:26
nevver: Life
Kara JeanLife is a blimp/I wanna ride it during a televised sporting event
mikeshearules likes this
19 Oct 06:16
UK government sends 40,000 texts to semi-random foreigners (and some Brits): "You are required to leave the UK!"
by Cory Doctorow
Kara JeanWell this is atrocious.
Britain continues its slide into official xenophobia: a government contractor sent nearly 40,000 texts reading "Message from the UK Border Agency. You are required to leave the UK as you no longer have right to remain." At least 400 of these reportedly went to people who had the right to be in the country, including some UK citizens. But the contractor says it's all OK, because people who received messages in error weren't deported -- all they had to do was convince a sloppy, faceless, mercenary corporation that they had the right to be in the country and the threats of deportation, deprivation of access to their homes, employment and families ceased. Theresa May, the government's Foreignerfinder General, says it wasn't her idea to send the texts -- just like all the ministers who disavowed the vans driving around London's browner neighbourhoods with giant billboards reading "In the UK illegally? GO HOME or face arrest!"
But still: No biggie!
A total of 39,100 text messages have been sent by Capita on behalf of the government as part of a contract to track down about 58,800 individuals who may not have the right to live in the UK.
The text reads: "Message from the UK Border Agency. You are required to leave the UK as you no longer have right to remain." Up to 400 complaints have reportedly been filed, including from individuals who have lived in the country for decades, and have the right to stay. The Home Office says the number of complaints is smaller.
The existence of the texting programme was revealed in a Freedom of Information request.
Labour demands answers over 40,000 'go home' texts to immigrants [Patrick Wintour/The Guardian] 
    
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Markku.lempinen and -1 others like this
16 Oct 03:55
New Fukishima Mascot, Fukuppy, Is The ‘New Coke’ Of Japanese Rebranding
by Doktor Zoom
Kara JeanOh Japan. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Japan.
You have to feel a bit sorry for that smiling little egg guy up there. Here it is, ready to welcome visitors to the website for Fukushima Industries and promise them a happy browsing experience as they look over the company’s fine array of industrial cooling equipment, but it’s saddled with an insufficiently researched name, “Fukuppy.” The company says it had intended to combine the first two syllables of its name with “happy,” but it didn’t consult with any native English speakers before sending the mascot out into the world. (There’s no connection between the corporation and the prefecture where the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is located — “Fukushima” just means “lucky island.” Which hasn’t worked out so great either lately.)
Bill Fritz likes this
15 Oct 22:09
Giant, rare "sea serpent" dragged to shore in California
by David Pescovitz
Kara JeanWhat the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Jasmine Santana of the Catalina Island Marine Institute was snorkeling off the coast about 20 miles southwest of L.A. when she spotted an 18-foot-long oarfish. It was dead. From the AP:
"We've never seen a fish this big," said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI's sail training ship. "The last oarfish we saw was three feet long.""18-foot-long sea creature found off Calif. coast"Because oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied, according to CIMI…
The carcass was on display Tuesday for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students studying at CIMI. It will be buried in the sand until it decomposes and then its skeleton will be reconstituted for display, Waddington said.
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Benjaminsavage likes this
14 Oct 13:45
Romping with Cheetah Cubs - a ZooBorns First!
by Andrew Bleiman
Kara JeanSo there's a lot going on here but can we talk about green-shirt-dude's hair?
Last Monday my ZooBorns' co-founder, Chris Eastland, and I (Andrew Bleiman) made a very special trip to Dallas Zoo to meet their twin Cheetah cubs, Kamau and Winspear. We also met their canine companion, a black Lab puppy named, Amani.
It's extraordinarily rare that we get to interact, let alone romp, with real-live zoo-borns. However these special cubs are being raised as education animals so socialization with humans, even goofy ZooBorns guys, is part of their regular day. Their puppy friend, Amani, is a calming influence who will also help with these efforts.
The cubs were born at Smithsonian's Front Royal Conservation Biology Institute on July 8th.
The feline duo put on quite a display. Stalking and pouncing on us / one another / furniture and just about anything else worth clawing at occupied most of the morning. The cubs made a variety of noises, from bird-like chirps, to gutteral growls, to purrs that would remind you of your house cat, just a lot louder.
With wild Cheetah populations hovering somewhere around 10,000, the species is considered vulnerable to extinction. Cheetahs thrive in vast expanses of land. Human encroachment and habitat destruction are central threats to this iconic species.
Institutions like Dallas Zoo serve an invaluable role in building empathy and awareness for wildlife conservation. We here at ZooBorns are proud to help spread the word about these efforts and consider ourselves incredibly priviliged to meet Dallas' newest Cheetah ambassadors.
Special thanks to the Dallas Zoo staff that made our visit possible. Pictured left to right: Chris Eastland (ZooBorns), Candice Davis, Chris Johnson, Robin Ryan, and Andrew Bleiman (ZooBorns). Not pictured: Laurie Holloway
Photo credits: ZooBorns / Juan Pulido
