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November 2008
- Polar Bear Twins Born in Zoo
  
  Der Spiegel | Nov 28, 08 8:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The mother of polar bear rock star Flocke has just given birth to twins at the Nuremberg zoo, reports Der Speigel . Zoo security has been ramped up to prevent over-eager paparazzi from frightening Vera and her tiny cubs, which are the size of guinea pigs. Polar bear moms eat their young if they feel pressured during the first weeks after giving birth. More »
- Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female
  
  CNN | Nov 26, 08 1:36 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she, which explained why Tsuyoshi wasn't making a move on “his” older lady. More »
October 2008
- Zoo Rescues Bear Trapped in Moat
  
  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Oct 30, 08 12:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fed-up zookeepers took drastic action today to rescue Zero the polar bear from the moat he’s been trapped in since Oct. 13, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Milwaukee County Zoo officials used tranquilizer darts to subdue the 1,100-pound beast, then had a crane lift him to safety. “Things were hanging on for a little bit too long,” a spokesman explained. More »
- Zoo Tries to Lure Stranded Polar Bear Out of Moat
  
  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Oct 27, 08 4:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Staff members at the Milwaukee County Zoo are taking new action to rescue a polar bear named Zero who has been stuck in the moat that surrounds his habitat for 2 weeks, the Journal Sentinel reports. Using a crane, handlers lowered a big plastic crate filled with Zero’s favorite treats—apples with peanut butter and herring—to the bottom of the moat. More »
September 2008
- Heart Attack Killed Knut-Keeper
  
  Associated Press | Sep 23, 08 1:34 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Berlin prosecutors said an autopsy today showed that Thomas Doerflein, the zookeeper who gained fame for hand-rearing the polar bear cub Knut, died of a heart attack. The city's mayor paid tribute to him for writing Berlin history. "Other causes of death, in particular involvement by another party, are ruled out from a medical point of view," Berlin prosecutors said. More »
- Knut's Surrogate Dad Dead at 44
  
  Der Spiegel | Sep 22, 08 3:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Thomas Dörflein, the Berlin zookeeper who raised polar bear Knut after his mother rejected him, was found dead in his apartment today, Der Spiegel reports. He was 44. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play; Dörflein had been very sick. The keeper’s contact with Knut was cut off almost a year ago when the cub became too big to safely play with. More »
- Missing: 5-Year-Old; 20 Inches Long, Big Nose
  
  Asahi Shimbun (Japan) | Sep 22, 08 2:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Tae the anteater is on the run—again. Dozens of humans are searching for the 5-year-old, a resident of Tokyo's Sunshine International Aquarium who engineered a jailbreak Saturday by opening a sliding door, the Asahi Shimbun reports. Tae previously enjoyed a taste of freedom in 2005, when she skipped out of the aquarium for a day. More »
- Zoo's Polar Bears Go Green
  
  Associated Press | Sep 8, 08 6:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Polar bears at a Japanese zoo are turning green, AP reports. Visitors to Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya are stunned by big green patches on the bears' fur, caused by algae. The algae was picked up by swimming in the bear pond and is now growing deep within the animals' fur. More »
August 2008
- Atlanta Panda Now a 2-Time Mama
  
  WEBTV | Aug 31, 08 3:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A giant panda in Zoo Atlanta became a mommy for the second time last night, and a twin might even be on the way, WSB Atlanta reports. Lun Lun gave birth at 10:10pm, the first panda in the US to do so this year. She previously gave birth in 2006. “We are delighted, proud and elated,” the zoo’s president says. More »
- Two-Wheeled Turtle Finds Love
  
  Associated Press | Aug 19, 08 9:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A turtle that lost the use of her hind legs has come out of her shell since being fitted with a set of rear wheels, reports AP. The 55-pound turtle, Arava, has even begun mating with an amorous male. The 10-year-old spurred tortoise was fitted with a customized skateboard by officials at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. It's not clear what caused her paralysis. More »
- DC Zoo Evicting Hippo
  
  Washington Post | Aug 3, 08 2:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The National Zoo is adding a new elephant sanctuary, reports the Washington Post, and the move is putting its sole Nile hippopotamus, Happy, out on the street in a year or so. The zoo will hold onto its pygmy hippos, but is more committed to Asian elephant programs. "You only have so much space available. We don't have a strong hippopotamus program right now," said a zoo spokesman. More »
July 2008
- Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs
  
  Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 12:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A golden retriever has adopted three white tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at a southeast Kansas zoo, the AP reports. The Safari Zoological Park's owner says the dog, who recently weaned her own puppies, licks, cleans, and feeds the days-old cubs as if they were her own. More »
- Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions
  
  Der Spiegel | Jul 16, 08 6:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The world's population of just 200 white lions leaped by seven in a single day when twin lionesses gave birth in June, Der Spiegel reports, and the German safari park where they were born has now unveiled the extremely rare cubs. But while one new mom took to motherhood with zeal, the other showed little interest, forcing zookeepers to hand-raise her four cubs. White lions are a mutation of a sub-species extinct in the wild. More »
- Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub
  
  BBC | Jul 10, 08 9:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A newborn red panda rejected by its mother has been adopted by a zookeeper's cat, the BBC reports. The panda and its sibling were first put on an incubator at the Dutch zoo but the tabby cat, who had recently given birth, proved willing to take the kitten-sized panda cubs under her paw. The weaker panda cub died but the other, still nameless, is suckling with the kittens. More »
- Camels Walk a Mile for Escape-Artist Giraffe
  
  Associated Press | Jul 1, 08 3:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fifteen camels, two zebras, lamas and potbellied swine went on the lam from a Dutch circus—with a giraffe masterminding their flight to freedom. The gang wandered around an Amsterdam neighborhood when the escape artist kicked a hole in the animals' cage, reports AP. They were all rounded up after several hours. More »
June 2008
- National Zoo's Panda Preggers?
  
  Associated Press | Jun 20, 08 11:56 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either give birth or come to the end of a false pregnancy in late July. More »
- Siegfried, Roy Adopt Tiger Cubs
  
  Associated Press | Jun 13, 08 12:30 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Siegfried and Roy welcomed five new tiger cubs to their exotic habitat on the Las Vegas Strip yesterday. Siegfried Fischbacher said the new arrivals would be therapeutic for Roy Horn, who was partially paralyzed when a 380-pound white Bengal tiger sank his teeth into Horn's neck five years ago and crushed his windpipe. The two illusionists plan a one-night-only comeback in February. More »
- Zoo Rarity: Male Sea Dragon Pregnant
  
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Jun 13, 08 5:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A weedy sea dragon at a Georgia aquarium is giving its handlers a rare Father's Day surprise, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The small critter—one of only a handful of species in which the male carries the eggs—is pregnant. It's just the third time a weedy sea dragon, whose native habitat in Australia is shrinking, has gotten pregnant at a US aquarium. The new arrivals are due in July. More »
April 2008
- Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies
  
  Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ling Ling, the undisputed star of the Tokyo Zoo and a symbol of friendship between Japan and China, died today of heart failure, the AP reports. At 22—the equivalent of 70 human years—the giant panda was Japan’s oldest, and the fifth-oldest in the world. Ling Ling had been eating poorly since August, suffering from kidney and heart problems. He'd been withdrawn from public view just one day when he was found dead. More »
- Penguin Takes the Plunge in a Wetsuit
  
  Associated Press | Apr 25, 08 7:10 AM CDT

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Stories

Polar Bear Twins Born in Zoo

Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female

Zoo Rescues Bear Trapped in Moat

Zoo Tries to Lure Stranded Polar Bear Out of Moat

Heart Attack Killed Knut-Keeper

Knut's Surrogate Dad Dead at 44

Missing: 5-Year-Old; 20 Inches Long, Big Nose

Zoo's Polar Bears Go Green

Atlanta Panda Now a 2-Time Mama

Two-Wheeled Turtle Finds Love

DC Zoo Evicting Hippo

Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs

Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions

Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub

Camels Walk a Mile for Escape-Artist Giraffe

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?

Siegfried, Roy Adopt Tiger Cubs

Zoo Rarity: Male Sea Dragon Pregnant

Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies

Penguin Takes the Plunge in a Wetsuit