Archive for the 'Zoo' Category

OREGON ZOO’S PRIDE LOST A LION FRIDAY

Neka the lion explores her new exhibit at the Oregon Zoo, which Teri Dresler will temporarily run after the departures of the zoo's director and a veterinarian this week. Dresler has been leading Metro's efforts to build a 600-room Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center. Metro says its support for the so-called HQ hotel project is unchanged.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Neka, the oldest member of the
Oregon Zoo’s African lion pride, had a seizure and 
died Friday night at age 16.

Zoo officials stated that wild female lions rarely live
past 16  years old.

African lion Neka with one of her six-week-old cubs in Predators of the Serengeti. Oregon Zoo / photo by Michael Durham.
Neka with one of her cubs.

posted by Bob Karm in Animal,CURRENT EVENTS,DEATH,HISTORY,Zoo and have No Comments

OLDEST GORILLA IN U.S. IS DEAD AT AGE 64

See the source image

(Fox News) – The Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky,
announced it made the tough decision to euthanize Helen
on Friday, Oct. 14,  because her
quality of life declined for
several months due to natural aging.

The zoo said Helen had been in "remarkably good health
for most of her life" despite being diagnosed with "expected
age-related arthritis and some periodontal disease.”

According to the media release, In recent months, Helen
developed instability and tremors that put her at fall risk
and impacted her day-to-day life.
 

Female zoo gorillas typically have a median life expectancy
of about 39 years.


Helen’s estimated birth year is 1958, and she was born in the
wilderness of
Western Africa, which is now modern-day
Cameroon.


See the source image


posted by Bob Karm in Animals,CURRENT EVENTS,DEATH,Gorilla,HISTORY,Zoo and have No Comments

OREGON ZOO RESIDENT LEAH DIES AT 47

See the source image
Leah the chimpanzee (May 15, 1974 – April 4, 2022) 


Zoo officials said, in an announcement made Monday, the
chimpanzee died in her sleep Sunday night. 

She is survived by her big sister Delilah, who turns 49 next
month, 50-year-old male Jackson and 53-year-old troop leader
Chloe.

 See the source image     
        
See the source image       
         
   

.

posted by Bob Karm in Animals,CURRENT EVENTS,DEATH,HISTORY,PORTLAND'S PAST,Zoo and have No Comments

FIRST GORILLA BORN IN CAPTIVITY ~ 1956

Image result for first gorilla born in captivity

Colo
Colo died January 2017 at age 60 in the zoo where she was so
famously born. (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium)

On December 22, 1956, a baby gorilla named Colo entered the world at the
Columbus Zoo in
Ohio, becoming the first-ever gorilla born in captivity. She
Weighed in at approximately 4 pounds, Colo, a western lowland gorilla
whose name was a combination of Columbus and Ohio, was the daughter
of Millie and Mac, two gorillas captured in French Cameroon, Africa, who
were brought to the Columbus Zoo in 1951. Before Colo’s birth, gorillas
found at zoos were caught in the wild, often by brutal means. In order to
capture a gorilla when it was young and therefore still small enough to
handle, hunters frequently had to kill the gorilla’s parents and other family members.

Colo, who generated enormous public interest, went on to become a mother, grandmother, and in 1996, a great-grandmother to Timu, the first surviving
infant gorilla conceived by artificial insemination. Timu gave birth to her first
baby in 2003
.

Image result for gorillas in captivity

posted by Bob Karm in Animal,ANNIVERSARY,BIRTHDAY,Captivity,HISTORY,Zoo and have No Comments

OREGON ZOO ELEPHANT EUTHANIZED

 Image result for packy

Image result for packy the elephant oregon zoo
Packy (April 14, 1962 – February 9, 2017)

Packy was an Asian elephant at the 64-acre Oregon Zoo located in Portland,
Oregon. He was famous for having been the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest male Asian
elephant in North America. In July 2013, Packy was diagnosed with tuberculosis
and was euthanized today following the veterinarians’ decision that his TB was
was drug resistant.

Image result for packy

Image result for oregon zoo

posted by Bob Karm in Animals,CURRENT EVENTS,DEATH,Elephant,Euthanized,HISTORY,Zoo and have No Comments