Two captive gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for Covid-19 after falling ill, and a third gorilla appears also to be symptomatic, California's governor said on Monday.
The cases are believed to be the first known cases among such primates in the world.
The park's executive director, Lisa Peterson, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas that live together at the park are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing.
Galapagos giant tortoise has so much sex he retires after saving his species originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A Galapagos giant tortoise estimated to be about 130 years old is returning home after having so much sex that he saved his species. Diego, part of the Chelonoidis hoodensis species that lives on the Galapagos island of Espanola, was one of the tortoises brought to the U.S. between 1928 and 1933 and was later placed into the Charles Darwin Research Station for protection after the species was declared critically endangered in the 1960s, according to the San Diego Zoo. To read more on this story, click here:Galapagos Giant Tortoise Has So Much Sex He Retires After Saving His Species
Big Sur, California - In a remote, rugged valley overlooking the Pacific Ocean, researchers closely monitor an endangered icon: the California condor. The giant vultures flap their wings and circle the sky before perching on branches and observing their observers. Wildlife biologist Amy List uses a handheld antenna to track the birds, which wear radio transmitters and numbered tags. "If we don't know what they're doing, we don't know what's going wrong," said List, who works for the Ventana Wildlife Society, which manages the condor sanctuary in Big Sur. Three decades after being pushed to the brink of extinction, the California condor is making a comeback in the wild, but constant vigilance is needed to ensure the endangered bird doesn't reverse course. One of the world's largest birds with a wingspan up to 10 feet, the condor once patrolled the sky from Mexico to British Columbia. But its population plummeted in the 20th century due to lead poisoning, hunting and habitat destruction. In 1987, wildlife officials captured the last remaining 22 condors and took them to the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos to be protected and bred in captivity. Those efforts have led to a slow but steady recovery for a species that reproduces slowly compared with other birds. There are now roughly 450 condors, including about 270 in the wild in California, Arizona, Utah and northeastern Mexico. Plans also are underway to release some captive-bred condors in Redwood National Park in 2019 to establish a population near the California-Oregon border. Federal officials said in August that for the first time in nearly 40 years, condors were roosting in the Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, expanding to their historical range in the southern Sierra Nevada. Another milestone was reached this summer: the first "third generation" condor was born in the wild in California since the 1980s. "We're seeing very encouraging results that the condors can become self-sustaining again," said Kelly Sorenson, who heads the conservation group. While condors still face threats from exposure to mercury and the pesticide DDT, biologists say the biggest danger is lead ammunition, which can poison the scavengers when they eat dead animals shot with lead bullets. California banned the use of lead ammunition near condor feeding grounds in 2008 and will be the first state to ban lead bullets in all hunting in 2019. "We're already starting to see fewer lead deaths. The condors are surviving longer. Their blood-lead levels are coming down," Sorenson said. Some gun owners complain that copper bullets are more expensive and less effective than lead and point to other possible sources of lead, such as paint and metal garbage. "Condors are getting lead poisoning. The question is, are they getting it from lead ammunition?" said Chuck Michel, president of the California Pistol and Rifle Association. Meanwhile, the San Diego Zoo celebrated the birth of its 200th condor this year. "While we were caring for the birds, trying to protect them and provide sanctuary, we were literally writing the book how you propagate a species, how you genetically manage it and prepare it for release back in the wild," Michael Mace, the zoo's birds curator. After up to a year at the zoo, chicks are taken to a release site such as the Big Sur sanctuary, where a flock has grown to about 90 condors that travel between Big Sur and Pinnacles National Park. They scavenge, breed and raise chicks on their own, under the close watch of List, the wildlife biologist, and her colleagues. "I hope that I'm out of a job soon because condors don't need to be managed in the future," she said. "I hope that they're self-sustaining and wild and free, and nobody needs to trap or tag or monitor them at all."
Get ready for more cheetah cubs than usual as San Diego Zoo
Global releases new video of the largest cheetah litter delivered at the San
Diego Zoo Safari Park’s off-exhibit breeding center.
Addison, an 8-year-old cheetah, gave birth to the six cubs
in November. The litter is above average for cheetahs, according to zoo
officials, and it was a surprise for Addison’s keepers.
Officials say they spotted three or maybe four cubs in the
mother’s womb so after the cubs arrived, they were surprised to count six cubs
in the birthing center.
Addison has had successful litters before. Her most recent
one was four cubs.
These cubs will stay with her for a year. After that, zoo
officials said they may go to other sites to help bolster the population of
cheetahs.
Currently, it’s estimated that there are 10,000 cheetahs in
the world today. That’s down from 100,000 in 1900, according to San Diego Zoo
Global.
A rare pygmy hippo calf was born at the San Diego Zoo on
Wednesday—the first surviving hippo birth at the zoo in over a decade.
The little hippo weighs about 12 pounds and was born to its
mother, Francesca.
The significant birth adds to the world's smallest species
of hippo which is currently on the endangered species list. There are
approximately 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the world, according to the San Diego
Zoo.
"Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is
the mission of San Diego Zoo Global," the zoo said in a press release.
As of now the sex and name of the calf is unknown.
Francesca and her baby will be alone in a private barn until the calf is ready
to swim in the larger pool on exhibit, the zoo said.
