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PAWS' Featured
On Exploratorium Museum's Explo.TV
Explo.TV, an educational program of San Francisco's Exploratorium Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, produces 75 educational shows from the museum, as well as locations around the world, each year. One of these shows, "Driven: True Stories of Inspiration", features a series of audio slide shows that present the human stories behind creative accomplishments. The latest installment entitled "Big Love", features Pat Derby, Ed Stewart and the elephants of ARK 2000. It is now available for viewing at the museum, or online.
The Exploratorium is located at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Founded in 1969 by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer, the museum offers visitors a variety of ways-including exhibits, webcasts, websites and events-to explore and understand the world around them. In 2011, the Exploratorium received the National Science Board 2011 Public Service Science Award for its contributions to public understanding of science and engineering. More than 600,000 people visit each year.
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Summit for the
Elephants, 2012:
Registration Deadline Approaching!
PAWS' Summit for the Elephants, 2012, is just weeks away. Scheduled for March 28-30 at the Oakland Zoo, this will be the most informative and energizing Summit we have ever conducted, with major changes moving forward this year. As an added bonus, attendees will receive a tour of Oakland Zoo, one of the most compassionate and ethical zoo facilities in the country, and an inside peek at their four African elephants and their very progressive and innovative captive elephant program.
Our speaker's list includes world renowned scientists, government officials, zoo directors and personnel, dedicated activists, as well as representatives from around the world who are establishing sanctuaries and enacting laws to protect elephants globally.
Wednesday's "Community Action Day" features workshops on activism and enacting social change, with panels representing some of the most progressive organizations in the world.
Thursday we focus on "Care & Management of Captive Elephants" and includes some of the best elephant caregivers from zoos and sanctuaries worldwide.
Friday we shift our focus to "Captive & Wild Elephants In Range Countries", with reports from Joyce Poole, Petter Granli, Winnie Kiiru, Keith Lindsay, Caitlyn O'Connell and other famous scientists who study wild elephants.
A tour of ARK 2000 will officially close this important gathering. DON'T MISS IT!
Click here to register.
Click here to view a daily schedule of events.
Click here to book your hotel.
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Reid Park Zoo Elephants Leave Tucson For San Diego
Tucson zoo elephants, Connie and Shaba, began their move to the San Diego Zoo on the morning of February 29. Their trip was anticipated to take about 10 hours.
After a highly-public dispute over the Reid Park Zoo's earlier plans to separate the elephants by sending Connie, the Asian elephant, to San Diego, and keeping the African elephant Shaba at Reid Park, Tucson's Mayor negotiated a deal last month with San Diego to take both elephants.
PAWS director, Pat Derby, has written a letter to Tucson's Mayor urging him to ask Reid Park Zoo to exercise "due diligence" with San Diego Zoo and require a written agreement that will protect the bond between the two elephants by agreeing to revert ownership of the elephants back to the donor (Tucson) if they are unable to provide proper care for them, something that has always been asked of PAWS each time we have accepted an elephant from a zoo.
PAWS' asks everyone to send an email, or write their own letter to Tucson Mayor, Jonathan Rothschild, asking him to require written protection for Connie and Shaba.
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
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Drury University Offers
"Animal Studies" Minor
In February of 2008, former "Price Is Right" host, and Drury University alumnus, Bob Barker, presented Drury University with $1 million to establish the Bob Barker Endowment Fund for the Study of Animal Rights. Several law schools, including Harvard and Stanford, also received gifts from Mr. Barker to help fund the study of animal rights, but this was the first time he had funded an undergraduate program in animal rights.
The initial course at Drury titled "Animal Ethics" was designed to educate students about issues that directly affect the lives of animals. As a multidisciplinary class, the course was team-taught by professors with expertise from the fields of biology, law, sustainability, psychology, criminology, philosophy, religion and anthropology, and was offered for the first time in 2009.
Drury University has announced that it will begin offering an "Animal Studies" minor. Designed for those who are interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of the diverse ways in which the lives of animals and humans intersect, the interdisciplinary nature of the minor, which consists of six classes (18 hrs.), allows students to consider historical and contemporary interactions between humans and animals from a range of perspectives. Classes will be available in the 2012-2013 catalog.
For class and faculty information, click here. If you are interested in learning more about Drury's innovative new minor in Animal Studies, contact Dr. Patricia McEachern at 417-873-7875, or by email at pmceache@drury.edu. |
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Iringa's Custom-Made Transport Crate Is Now In Toronto
Tuesday afternoon, February 21, 2012, the first transport crate for moving the Toronto Zoo's three elephants, Iringa, Toka and Thika, to the PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas, CA, was loaded onto a truck for its journey to Toronto, Canada, a journey that would begin the following morning.
The crate was custom made to accommodate Iringa, with additional height to allow her to comfortably stand inside. The crate will be utilized by the zoo to begin the process of training the elephants for their journey, by truck, to ARK 2000. All training by the zoo is done with food rewards and zoo staff has already begun preliminary training.
As we often say once the process begins, "We're on elephant time now." The target date for the trip is the end of April, but the elephants will ultimately determine when they are ready to move. When we moved Maggie from Alaska, we were amazed at her quick response to treats and training.
Asian elephants Wanda and Winky were moved by truck, from Detroit Zoo, almost seven years ago. Detroit keepers and veterinarians joined our staff in the move which was quite successful despite some medical issues for Wanda. Maggie's and Wanda's keepers, docents, zoo administrators and a myriad of fans continue to visit their elephants each year.
We look forward to welcoming the Toronto Zoo elephants, as well as their friends and fans, to ARK 2000.
View Pat Derby's video tour of the elephant transport crate, below.
 | | African Elephants: Iringa's Custom-Made Transport Crate |
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Quiggle Receives Advanced Cancer Treatment At UC Davis
Late last year PAWS veterinarian, Dr. Jackie Gai, anesthetized Quiggle, one of the Colton tigers living at ARK 2000, in order to closely examine a large swelling that had developed on his front leg. X-rays, ultrasound, and a biopsy determined that the swelling was a cancerous tumor.
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Quiggle in surgery at U.C. Davis
(photos by Tami Chleborad, RVT) |
Arrangements were made to take Quiggle to the veterinary medical teaching hospital at University of California, Davis (UCD), for surgery. A few weeks later, an incredible team performed surgery to carefully remove the tumor while preserving normal function and sensation in his leg. Quiggle's incision healed well, and two weeks later he underwent radiation therapy at UCD.
 | | Quiggle receives radiation treatment. |
Quiggle has recovered from his procedures and is so far doing well. The other tigers in his group, Ginger, Patty, Mookie and Alka, are happy to have him back.
Finding out that one of our animals has cancer is always devastating news, and our guiding principle is always to keep our animals comfortable and to treat their diseases whenever possible. We are grateful to the doctors and staff at U.C. Davis for their willingness to assist us when advanced surgeries and other procedures are needed. PAWS relies on your donations to fund veterinary care, and we thank you for helping to make treatment like Quiggle's possible. To donate, click here. |
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Rodney: In Memoriam
 On February 16, Rodney, one of the oldest Colton tigers, passed away peacefully while lying under a tree in his grassy habitat.
He and his constant companion, Rex, spent the day sleeping in the sun. After Rex returned to the den area late in the afternoon, keepers realized that Rodney was not rising.
Dr. Gai, Pat Derby, Ed Stewart and ARK 2000 sanctuary manager, Brian Busta, were summoned immediately. When they arrived, they found Rodney lying peacefully in the grass. He had passed quietly as he slept.
Dr. Gai conjectures that Rodney was approximately 18 years old, although no records exist for any of the Colton tigers.
Although tigers are usually solitary, many of the Colton tigers are housed in compatible groups. Rodney lived with Rex, another Colton tiger, and the two males were quite a bonded pair. Rex was calling and vocalizing as keepers removed Rodney from the habitat, watching his best friend with mournful eyes, obviously distressed and sad.
Our love and sympathy go out to Rodney's devoted keepers who spend their days caring for this deserving group of tigers. Sadly, many are older now, but we are happy to have provided Rodney and the others with a peaceful time at ARK 2000.
Rest in peace, dear Rodney.
Click here to meet all of the PAWS tigers. Please consider becoming an adoptive parent to a PAWS tiger, or giving an adoption as a gift to an animal lover in your life! Adopting a PAWS animal helps us provide nutritious food, veterinarian care and an enriching habitat for your animal - and you'll have the satisfaction that comes from knowing you're making a difference in the life of a PAWS animal. |
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 | | Daniel Richards, president of the California Fish and Game Commission, with his latest kill. |
Action needed:
Write,call, email today!
The head of the California Fish and Game Commission has come under attack recently for killing a mountain lion during a hunt in Idaho. California's lieutenant governor has joined with conservationists, animal rights groups and some 40 Sacramento lawmakers in calling for his resignation.
Daniel W. Richards, president of the California Fish and Game Commission, went to Idaho and shot a mountain lion, gleefully holding up its dead carcass for a photo shoot.
Hunting mountain lions is legal in Idaho, but outlawed in California where they are a protected species and have been off-limits to hunters for the last 20 years by virtue of a successful ballot measure.
Richards has proven himself to be an extremely bad steward of wildlife, and an obstructionist rather than a conservationist. That judgment is based not only on his recent hunting expedition, but also on his record. He has voted consistently against regional plans to implement the Marine Life Protection Act (which the commission approved anyway) and passionately opposed the commission's moves to broaden the ban on the use of nontoxic ammunition. That ban is designed to protect the endangered California condor, which, scientists say, can be lethally poisoned from eating the remains of animals shot with lead bullets. He voted against listing, or even considering, several species of animals for protection, although the majority of the commission deemed them worthy.
After this recent mountain lion incident, Assemblyman Ben Hueso (D-Logan Heights) wrote, in a letter signed by 40 Assembly members, "Your actions have raised serious questions about whether you respect the laws of the people of California and whether you are fit to adequately enforce those laws."
In a scathing response on February 21, (click here to read letter) Richards told Hueso he had no plans to resign and defended his tenure on the commission. Richards was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and will serve on the commission until his term expires in January 2013 unless the Legislature takes action to remove him.
The commission sets policies and regulations, implemented by the state's Department of Fish and Game, to manage resources in a way that protects wildlife while also providing recreational hunting opportunities. Those policies are expected to reflect not just the ebb and flow of animal populations but the wishes of the state's residents, less than 1% of whom hunt.
The Richards uproar comes as California is working to revamp the commission, and the department, to improve their effectiveness in "fulfilling their public trust responsibilities for protecting and managing the state's fish and wildlife."
Governor Jerry Brown currently has opportunities to appoint (or reappoint) two commissioners. Whomever he chooses, hunters or not, they should be fervently committed to the conservation of California's wildlife.
Please make your voice heard!
PAWS urges everyone across the country to write letters to Governor Jerry Brown. California residents should also write to their legislative representatives. Ask for the removal of Daniel Richards. This can be accomplished with a simple majority vote.
Californians, click here to find your state representative.
Email, call or write to Governor Jerry Brown. Click here for contact information.
Sample letter to Governor Jerry Brown.
For additional media coverage, click here. |
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