THE family at the Darling Downs Zoo has grown a little bigger, and cuter, with the addition of four tawny lioness cubs. The four girls, born in October, were the offspring of two separate mothers and are the third generation of cubs bred by Mr Robinson and his wife Stephanie.

Mr Robinson said they were keeping tight-lipped throughout the pregnancy just in case things didn't work out. "All of the cubs are doing well except one which wasn't able to be fed by its mother as she is a little bit mature," he said.

"But we are feeding her up and she should be fine. "We use a specially designed formula which we mix with eggs and other ingredients to make sure they get all of the important things they need to grow."All but one of the cubs, Sassy, will be sent to zoos in southern states for breeding programs.

As for Sassy who was named by the Robinson's daughter Madeline, she will become a permanent fixture at the Darling Downs Zoo. "Sassy will stay here at the zoo and become part of our future breeding program," Mr Robinson said.

"There are only about 25,000 lions left in the wild, but as long as we maintain solid breeding programs they will always exist in zoos at least." The cubs are the first born at the zoo in eight years and are sure to attract many visitors to the zoo which is now the home to 11 lions. "We will have at least one of the cubs on display in the main entrance of the zoo each day from this Saturday (November 5)," Mr Robinson said.

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Auckland Zoo's orangutan's may soon get the jump on other animals at the zoo and bring new meaning to the term monkeying around. The zoo's primate keepers are always looking for new and interesting ways to enrich the lives of their orangutans, and their ltest idea is bound to be a winner.

The zoo is seeking donations of a kid-sized trampoline. "Well actually orangutans are curious, destructive and really strong, so they'll probably want to see what's inside the mats," says Amy Robbins, team leader of primates at Auckland Zoo.

Robbins says the orangutans did have a trampoline in their enclosure some time ago but the tramp was too big for staff to move in and out of the area. "This time we're looking for a toddler-sized one, so they don't destroy it in seconds."The ability of the staff to remove the trampoline from time to time will mean it doesn't become "part of the furniture". "We're hoping it will encourage them off the ground and will be more of a resting platform for the orangutans."

These very intelligent and physical creatures are often given challenges by zoo staff, like hanging and hiding food, and because orangutans are very closely related to humans they believe what gives us a thrill should also do it for them.

From next Saturday, November 12, the zoo is celebrating Orangutan Caring Week. The zoo's brand new viewing platforms means animal lovers will be able to get closer than ever. There will also be displays be trapeze artists and face painting for kids. ll activities are a gold coin donation and free for Friends of the Zoo.

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The master layout plan for the National Zoological Park, Delhi, has finally been unveiled. The Rs176-crore makeover, hope the zoo authorities, will bring the city zoo up to international standards.

The front of the zoo will have a swanky visitors' centre. "There is four-five acres of space in the front which we are planning to develop," said zoo director Amitabh Agnihotri. The centre will have, apart from parking, ticket booths and the souvenir shop, food courts (air-conditioned and non-AC), an ATM and the cloak room. Making it more user friendly, the movement of visitor and service vehicles will be in one direction. This will also help visitors find their way.

"The roads, buildings, moats - all need a thorough refurbishment," said Agnihotri. The officials present at the function - it was also the zoo's 53rd foundation day - referred to the 40 animals that died in 2010 (a batch of 19 blackbuck died during the rains), saying the new-and-improved zoo will also be safer for the animals.

The new set-up should be able to accommodate more than 200 species and over 2000 inmates; 39 of the existing enclosures will be upgraded; 30 new ones will be built. Some of the animals will also be moved from their current locations to new ones. The lions will occupy the enclosure for the royal Bengal tiger; the blue bulls will be where the old African rhinoceroses stay now.

The displays will be arranged following different themes "imparting a national character to the park". Enclosures and animals will be placed according to their original habitats into areas designated as central Indian highlands, peninsular India, Himalayan foothills, and Africana.

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When Michael Vick was facing animal cruelty charges four years ago, the star quarterback called on local defense lawyer Billy Martin for help. When a National Zoo employee was charged with trying to poison stray cats around her Northwest Washington apartment complex this year, she, too, turned to the powerhouse lawyer. Neither case ended with the defendant’s acquittal.

Vick famously pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2007. And on Monday, after two days of testimony from dozens of witnesses last week, a D.C Superior Court judge found Nico Dauphine guilty of attempted cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. She faces a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 21.

Martin had argued that although security cameras captured Dauphine, 38, hovering over a bowl of cat food sitting outside the Park Square apartments March 2, she was simply removing the food to keep strays from congregating.

But prosecutors said the 40-second video showed Dauphine removing a plastic bag from her purse, reaching into the bag and dumping poison onto the food. A neighbor reported the incident, and no cats ate poisoned food.

The poison, Martin insisted, was not left by his client. “Someone else could have leaned in, outside of the camera, and put the poison in it,” Martin argued.

Martin called Dauphine to the stand. Dauphine said she received a doctorate from the University of Georgia and was currently working at the National Zoo, where she is studying how domestic cats affect wildlife. The National Zoo’s Web site lists her as a postdoctoral fellow with the Migratory Bird Center.

“I’ve always loved animals, ever since childhood,” Dauphine said. “We always had pets when I was growing up.”Dauphine repeatedly denied throwing rat poison on the food. “I would never do anything like that,” she said. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Chambers said Dauphine — who, he said, had complained to building managers about neighbors feeding the cats — tried to kill the felines because she thought they were harming the environment, specifically birds.

During his cross-examination of Dauphine, Chambers introduced several of her published writings in which she allegedly wrote about the “outrage” of the “slaughter” of wildlife caused by cats. Chambers also introduced a letter she wrote, published in the New York Times in 2007, in which she wrote about the “war between cats and birds” and that the “slaughter” was “one-sided.”

Dauphine refuted the examples, saying her writings were misconstrued by the editors.When he announced his verdict Monday, Senior Judge Truman A. Morrison III said it was the video, along with Dauphine’s testimony, that led him to believe she had “motive and opportunity.”

He specifically pointed to her repeated denials of her writings.  “Her inability and unwillingness to own up to her own professional writings as her own undermined her credibility,” Morrison said.

Morrison said he reviewed the tape and Dauphine’s testimony to see whether her case could stand on its own two legs. “Or, in this case, four legs,” he said. Martin declined to comment after the trial.

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With night hikes through the eerily decorated grounds, spooky fireside stories and opportunities to see the zoo’s animals in a new light, Mercy Children’s Hospital Boo at the Zoo offers fun for everyone 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Saint Louis Zoo.

"It’s a great way to experience the zoo at nighttime and walk around," said Ginnie Westmoreland, the zoo’s director of marketing. Kids in costume are welcome, and will get a discount off the regular event admission of $4 for members and $5 for non-members.

"Most of the activities are aimed at kids between three and eight, but older kids can have a good time too," Westmoreland said. "It’s always fun to go to the zoo at nighttime—the zoo is transformed with pumpkins and Halloween decorations. Boo at the Zoo is a non-scary family experience."

A skeleton crew will be hanging around, and the pumpkins outside the Penguin and Puffin Coast exhibit sing and talk. "It’s similar to the technology used at the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World. .. A lot of the kids just stand there and watch that slack-jawed, because it looks so magical. The actual statues are talking," she said.

The zoo’s Haunted House, near the Lakeside Café and the cobweb-draped "Scare-ousel," is another crowd favorite. "The Haunted House is absolutely mesmerizing—I enjoyed it," Westmoreland said. The house is a look-but-don’t-touch experience.

"It’s a visual extravaganza set to music," she said. "So little ghosts pop out of the windows, that sort of thing. But it’s lit in a real fun way." At the Children’s Zoo, visitors can participate in "Halloween Hank’s Pirate Adventure," where they will be treated to the tricks of an opossum, a large boa constrictor, a blue-and-gold macaw and an armadillo.

"The staff is on stage, and they bring out handleable animals and have them do different tricks," Westmoreland said. "It’s a different type of experience than you normally get at the zoo."Out and about, visitors will meet Terry Rantula, who tells spooky but interesting stories about bats, snakes and spiders found in Missouri. There will also be a fairy strolling the grounds telling tales and posing for photos.

"Any princess between the ages of 3 and 8 is just delighted to meet this fairy," she said. "She’s beautiful. She has gossamer wings that are lit up."The storytellers are "folks who work with kids all the time and really know how to capture their attention and be very dramatic and tell great stories," Westmoreland said.

On the zoo’s night hike, brave souls can help solve the mystery of the "Phantom of Historic Hill," trekking to Big Cat Country, the Herpetarium and the Bird Garden in search of the elusive phantom. Hikes are available every half hour from 6-8 p.m. and are $5 per hiker, ages 3 and up, with children younger than 3 free.

Those on the hike will be given clues to determine the phantom’s identity, and at the end of the hike, they will meet the phantom. To add to the excitement, the leaders will be the only ones with flashlights.

"The night hike sounds so cool," Westmoreland said. "If I had a 7-year-old little boy, and he had a chance to go to the Herpetarium at night, I would so take him."Other activities include making "creepy crafts" at Kid’s Craft Corner. Proceeds benefit the zoo’s effort to protect endangered species. Westmoreland said the evening should be savored, not rushed. "It’s a good two to three hour experience if you enjoy everything," she said.

Mummies and daddies are invited to bring their little ghouls and goblins to the Saint Louis Zoo for safe and free trick-or-treating, Halloween costume parade, live entertainment, crafts, games, and more at Mercy Children’s Hospital Boo at the Zoo Spooky Saturday on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Children are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes for trick-or-treating along the Pumpkin Trail from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Throughout the afternoon, kids can make crafts and play games, and join in a costume parade at 3 p.m. Parking is free in the zoo’s south lot on Wells Drive near Highway 40.

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The Ohio Department of Agriculture said it issued a quarantine order for the three leopards, two monkeys and one grizzly bear currently held at the Columbus Zoo, citing concerns "the animals could be infected with disease as a result of the conditions in which they were reportedly held."

Earlier on Thursday, the zoo said it had been notified by attorneys representing Marian Thompson that she planned to collect the six animals and return them to the couple's farm in Zanesville, Ohio.

Thompson arrived at the zoo on Thursday afternoon but left empty-handed. A spokesman for Ohio Governor John Kasich said: "The governor's biggest concern is not only the threat to the public health of the people of Zanesville but to the animals themselves."

"And we will use whatever tools are at our disposal to protect both the health of the people and the animals."Last week, Thompson's husband Terry Thompson set his collection of 56 exotic animals free and then committed suicide.

No note was found with Thompson's body. He had been released late last month from a year-long prison sentence for violating federal gun laws. The release of the lions, tigers, bears and other animals created havoc around Zanesville and forced authorities to shoot dozens of the animals, including 18 Bengal tigers, which are endangered, as well as numerous adult lions.

Of the 56 animals released, 49 were killed and buried on the farm. The six animals will continue to live at the Columbus Zoo while the Department of Agriculture decides what to do with them.

Dale Schmidt, president and CEO of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, said he was "pleased" with the department's decision. He said zoo officials were concerned about the welfare of the animals.

"They will continue to get the best of care while they are in our custody," Schmidt said. Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States, welcomed Thursday's action by Ohio.

"The sheriff's report shows the animals living in squalid conditions," Pacelle said. "Mr. Thompson had a history of cruelty. There were endless complaints. It would be reckless to allow her to reclaim the animals."

The quarantine will remain in effect indefinitely, officials said. But Thompson can request a legal hearing on the matter within 30 days. Ohio is one of seven states that does not restrict ownership of such exotic animals. The others are North and South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Nevada and Wisconsin. Kasich has issued an executive order, asking state agencies to use all available powers to regulate the animals until the legislature passes a law.

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The Toronto Zoo’s elephant keepers are up in arms over a late-night city council vote to send the animals to a sanctuary rather than an accredited facility.

“No offence to any city (councillors) that made the decision, but they’re quite honestly not qualified to make a decision on what’s best for these elephants,’’ an angry Vernon Presley, one of seven elephant keepers at the zoo, told the Star last night.

Council voted 31-4 late Tuesday to send the zoo’s three remaining elephants — Toka, Thika and Iringa — to the sprawling Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., rather than a zoo accredited with the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

The zoo’s board of management voted in the spring to close the elephant exhibit for cost reasons, and the board’s first choice was an AZA facility. In the meantime, animal rights advocates, led by former Price is Right host Bob Barker, launched an aggressive campaign to have the trio packed off to PAWS. Barker has offered to put up some of his own money toward the $100,000 to $300,000 cost to move them south.

Behind the scenes, zoo officials, staff and animal rights interests have been debating the merits of the sanctuary. Proponents say PAWS and others like it provide warmer climates and huge swaths for elephants to roam. But critics say sanctuaries have lower standards of care and don’t operate transparently.

Last week, a zoo official said talks were going well with an AZA facility in the U.S., a destination favoured by the elephant keepers. That’s now been scuttled by council’s decision.

Presley, who hasn’t been to the PAWS sanctuary, said AZA standards require regular routines with elephants, including drawing blood, trunk inspections and daily exercise such as strength and flexibility training, elephant “yoga’’ and cardio work.

PAWS co-founder and co-director Pat Derby said Wednesday she’s “surprised and excited’’ Toronto’s elephants are coming to her facility, which offers 30 hectares for African elephants, 20 hectares for Asian elephants and a barn with heated floors. They also have a Jacuzzi pool for arthritic elephants.

The sanctuary currently has nine elephants. “We have the space and one of the best elephant facilities in this country, probably the world,’’ Derby said.

The zoo will now focus on ensuring its three elderly elephants survive their journey to the California sanctuary, said board chair Joe Torzsok. “The elephants are the property of the city. As a subsidiary corporation, we have our direction,” he said.

“From what I’ve seen with the (PAWS) sanctuary, I think they offer great care to the animals. I think the biggest challenge of all of this becomes how do we move them safely.”City councillor and zoo board member Raymond Cho, who has long pushed for the animals to be sent to a sanctuary, plans to visit PAWS in a week or so.

“I’m really excited they’re going there,’’ he said. Council voted 31-4 to relocate the elephants after Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, who isn’t a zoo board member, made a passionate plea for the move to a sanctuary.

But Peter Evans, a former zoo board member for 12 years, called council’s decision a “slap in the face’’ to the current board and zoo staff. “The arrogance and lack of respect shown and the disregard for the process, is appalling,’’ Evans said.

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The Toronto Zoo’s three aging elephants should be moved to a California sanctuary, city council decided late Tuesday. The elephants would be able to live out their days there, said Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, whose motion to move the elephants was approved in a 31-4 vote. Berardinetti said councillors could be assured the elephants would not be moved again but would stay in the spacious facility, which includes an elephant sized whirlpool to treat arthritis.

“The sanctuary has 80 acres for these elephants to finally roam free,” Berardinetti said. Berardinetti (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest) said the matter was urgent because the Toronto Zoo is negotiating to send the aging pachyderms to a U.S. zoo similarly accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The zoo’s council-appointed board, six councillors and eight citizen appointees, voted earlier this year to close the popular elephant exhibit and seek a suitable AZA-accredited facility for Toka, Thika and Iringa. Failing that, the zoo would look at non-accredited sanctuaries.

Berardinetti said there was a risk the beasts would be sent to a zoo with a cold climate similar to Toronto’s. Also, while the zoo board voted to disqualify facilities that uses bull hooks, Berardinetti said there’s nothing to stop the facility that gets the trio from later transferring them to a facility that does use the steel or brass prods on elephants.

“We need them to send them to the PAWS sanctuary, that’s what we need to do, at this time, on this council, today,” Berardinetti said, referring to the facility in Galt, Calif. PAWS isn’t an AZA member because it isn’t run like a zoo, but rather as a massive retirement home for old and ailing beasts. Also, it has no breeding program, as AZA facilities are required to have.

Councillor Paul Ainslie, vice-chair of the zoo board, opposed Berardinetti’s motion and branded the attempt to hijack control of the elephants as “inappropriate” and “fear-mongering.”Accredited zoos need to meet high standards, are inspected and provide the best care possible for aging elephants, he said.

Ainslie said older elephants are prone to falling down and the weight of their bodies can cause a fatal heart attack. They could topple on a sprawling sanctuary and not get righted immediately, as would happen at a zoo, he said.

“If you send them to a zoo or somewhere with accreditation, I know they’re going to be properly cared for and looked after and not left to die in the middle of nowhere,” said Ainslie (Ward 43 Scarborough East).

Berardinetti said she has information the zoo brass are afraid sending the elephants to a non-AZA accredited facility will place its own accreditation at risk. Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the AZA, said the association believes animals should be in accredited facilities “but in general one decision usually does not impact accreditation.”

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Three Sumatran tiger cubs born at Sydney's Taronga Zoo have made their first public appearance. The cubs — two male and one female — were born on August 20 to first-time mother Jumilah and father Satu. The zoo's chief director Cameron Kerr hailed the cubs as important additions to an endangered population. "When you think that these cubs represent nearly one percent of the wild Sumatran Tiger population, you realise just how precarious the future is for these iconic creatures," he said.

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Bears roar. Owls say “hoot.” Ghosts say “boo!” at the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park. This past weekend marked the third year the zoo has collaborated with the North Country Children’s Clinic to create a “merry, not scary” event for children 12 and younger, according to zoo Executive Director John T. Wright. Mr. Wright dressed festively, wearing a surgeon’s scrubs and a witch hat, as he explained the different aspects of this year’s event. “The director’s house is a little haunted,” he said.

The yard was lined with skulls and a freshly dug “grave.” He is hoping to make the inside of the house part of the trick-or-treat trail in the next few years. The trails had a multitude of candy and photography stations that mommy’s little monsters, princesses and superheroes could stop by on the way to see animals native to New York.

The zoo was full of kids and parents. Last year, 2,500 people attended the two-day event. On Saturday alone, 1,100 people showed up. “It’s always weather-dependent, of course,” Mr. Wright said Sunday. “I can already tell that there are more people than there were yesterday.”

Many of the attendees were new guests to Boo at the Zoo. Lindsey R. Branche grew up in Clayton and has been to the zoo many times before. However, this was the first time she brought her little cupcake, Braelyn K. Branche, 2, to the event.

“She loves the animals,” said Ms. Branche. “That’s why we came – to dress up and see the animals.”The Rogers family also came to see the animals. Many of the beasts, such as the wolves, wolverines and bears, were out and active — a real treat for the children.

“We knew they’d be out with the cooler weather,” said Meggen P. Rogers. at trail was getting candy. “It gives them practice for Halloween, I guess,” said Mrs. Rogers. The proceeds from the event will be divided in half between the Children’s Clinic and the zoo. “It’s a coordinated effort,” said Mr. Wright. “It shows our efforts to work with nonprofits for the betterment of the community.”

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