Wuhan...Hitze ohne Ende und eine Kontroverse - Meet WeiWei, LeLe & JingJing

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Ooops! Das ist WeiWei aus Wuhan. Und er scheint wirklich ausgesprochen traurig darüber zu sein, nicht in der Sammlung der Hitze-Fotos vertreten zu sein. Und das, obwohl er doch seit mindestens einem Monat ganz genau weiß, wie man sich abkühlt, sind es doch in Wuhan gerade immer um die 40°C...-

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Ooops! That is WeiWei from Wuhan in China. And he seems to be sad about not having been selected for the collection of pics about heat and how to cool down. And that despite the ongoing heat of about 40°C during daytime and WeiWei being an expert on cooling down matters for already quite some weeks...

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Recht hast du, WeiWei. Wie konnte ich bloß...? -

Right you are, WeiWei. Shame on me. How could I leave out this beautiful bear enjoying his ice block so much...?

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Und das ist wohl das Foto, das LeenaP von dir gesehen und in einem Kommentar erwähnt hat. Und nun das Beste, ich hätte dich auf jeden Fall gezeigt, denn dich und die zwei Eisbären aus der Ocean World in Wuhan wollte ich extra zeigen, eben weil es in der letzten Zeit mal mehr Bilder von euch gab.-

And this must be the pic which LeenaP has mentioned in a comment. But now the best, as you see I did not forget you, you were supposed to appear in the K-files, but in an extra feature together with the two polar bears at Ocean World as there had been a few more pics and articles recently.

Xinhua/Wang Zhenwu
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Das sind die beiden Eisbären Lele, ein männliches Jungtier und JingJing, Leles Zwillingsschwester. Dies war eines der ersten Bilder aus Wuhan, nachdem sie in ihrem kurzen Leben im März 2012 bereits zum 3.Mal umgezogen waren. Geboren am 07.Januar 2011 in Dalian wurden sie mit der Hand aufgezogen, da ihre Mutter sie nicht annahm.-

The twin polar bears Lele (L), a male cub, and Jingjing, a female cub, play beside a pool during a show-up to the public at a sea world in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, March 27, 2012. Born in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Jan. 7, 2011, the hand-raised twin polar bear cubs settled in Wuhan after 2 transfers to other zoos before.

Laut eines Artikels hier vom 20.04.2012 sind ihre Eltern aus Finnland und kamen als Geschenk vom Finnischen National Park.-

An article here from 20 April 2012 mentioned that their father and mother had been both gifts from Finland presented by Finland National Park.

 

 

Letztes Jahr gab es ein paar hübsche Fotos von den spielenden Zwillingen im Pool.-
Some nice pics of LeLe and JingJing in August 2012 playing together in the pool can be seen here.

Die folgenden Fotos sind vom letzten Monat und haben eine Kontroverse ausgelöst.-
The following pics are from last month and have caused quite some stir in China.

A polar bear does exercise with a tyre at Wuhan Polar Ocean World, Hubei province.

Photos: CFP

 Hungernde Eisbären vs Eisbären im Fitness Training
Ein Besucher, der die beiden Eisbären auf Reifen hat beißen sehen, nachdem sie zuvor nur ein paar kleine Fische und zwei Stücke Brot bei der Fütterung um 14 Uhr erhalten hatten, schlussfolgerte öffentlich, dass die Pfleger sie nicht ausreichend füttern und dass die Bären, aus Hunger getrieben, Zuflucht zu Reifen genommen hätten. Duan Xiaoxi, ein Mitarbeiter aus dem Ocean Park erklärte, "dass die Reifen zum Training da sind. Die Eisbären erhalten eine sehr nahrhafte Diät und brauchen, deshalb Bewegung. 14 Uhr ist die Zeit für Snacks. Die Ernährung der Bären beinhaltet Rindfleisch, Gemüse und Mais. Reifen sind das einzige solide Spielmaterial für sie. Sie sehen kräftig aus und haben sich fit zu halten. "

Starving polar bears vs. exercising polar bears
A visitor who had seen the two polar bears biting on the tyres after they had been fed before only a few small fish and two pieces of bread at 2 p.m.concluded publicly that the keepers fed them too little and that the bears resorted to eating tyres out of starvation. Duan Xiaoxi a staff member from the ocean park explained "that the tyres are for exercising with; the polar bears have a very nutritious diet and need to keep fit by doing exercise. At 2 p.m. it is the time for snacks. The bears diet includes beef, vegetable and corn. Tyres are the only solid equipment for them to play with. They look strong and have to keep fit."

In diesem Fall mag das tatsächlich eine aus Unkenntnis entstandene Überreaktion gewesen sein, aber bei dem, was man zwischendurch von Zoos in Asien hört und weiß, ist es einfach nicht schlecht, wenn den Zoos auch mal über die Schulter geschaut wird. Der Ocean Park gehört mit zu den vielen Zoos, die mit Tiervorführungen und Dressur geworben haben, eine Praxis, die im Juli diesen Jahres erstmals auch von der Chinesischen Regierung in einem Plan für bessere Zoopflege aufgegriffen wurde. (mehr hier)

In this case, it may actually have been an over-reaction resulting from ignorance about the bears' diet, but from what one knows about zoos in Asia it does not seem too bad if sometimes also visitors look over the keepers' shoulder. The Ocean Park is one of the many zoos which do/have done (?) animal shows including animal acts, a practice which has been picked up in July this year for the first time by the Chinese government in a plan for better care in zoos. (more here)

Sources:

- Panting Panda & Ice Block article/ Daily Mail 13.07.2013

- Wuhan Zoo Helps Animals Drive Away Summer Heat/ChinaOrg.CN 01.08.2013

- Animals in Wuhan Zoo relieves summer heat/Hubai China 5.08.2013 incl. pics

- Orange and red heat alert issued across large area/Hubei China 07.08.2013 

- Twin polar bears settle in Wuhan, central China/Xinhuanet 27.03.2012

- Wuhan: LeLe und JingJing ziehen erneut um/ Ulli J's Eisbärblog 28.03.2012

- Polar bears play in zoo in Wuhan, Hubei Province/Xinhuanet 08.08.2012 (pics)
- 'Starving' polar bears create online controversy/Ecns 24.07.2013

- Polar bears play with tyres to lose weight/ Xinhuanet 24.07.2013
- Video: Zoo animals in China given ice cream to keep cool/ The Independent 01.08.2013

Critical:

- About Wuhan Zoo/ Hubei China 21.05.2013(engl.)

- The Wuhan Zoo: Lions and Tigers and Pandas, Oh my/Driftwood & Daydreams 05.02.2013

- China bans animal circuses/Huffington Post 20.01.2011
- Chinese government releases plan for better zoo care/Animals Asia 09.07.2013

Spielende Bären....Bears at play - creative, pushy and very cute...))

Category "Cute"

The twins of Ilka

Photo: Skandinavisk Dyrepark

Und hier kommen 2 Videos von Animal Asia, die einfach nur klasse sind...-
And now find here two videos posted by Animal Asia, I am sure you will love them...

"Can I have a push please?"

A must for everyone who has had a liking for swings...:))

 Billy & Bill have a minor disagreement over whose turn it is on to sit in the tyre. Filmed at Animals Asia's sanctuary in Chengdu, China.

Pic of the Day: Künstler in Aktion...Ganuk the Artist

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"Thank goodness Ganuk loves to paint!! And just to show you how much ... we hope you enjoy this shot of him in action."

 Polar Bear Habitat

"And how do you get a polar bear to paint?
The keepers at the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat in northern Ontario say very carefully — and with a lot of peanut butter....

The keepers spread Ganuk’s favourite treat on walls in his holding pen and place various colours of edible, non-toxic paints near the entrance and paper on the floor. Once Ganuk has circled the pen a few times, he’s coaxed out of the pen so his artwork can be retrieved.

Ganuk’s original art is priced between $50 for an unframed piece to $130 for one that’s large and framed.Zoos have long used painting as an activity for primates and elephants, but the Cochrane facility believes it’s the only one currently painting with polar bears.

“On the day he painted with red I had to post what we were doing with him on Facebook and tell guests so people wouldn’t think he had an accident,” said Karen Cummings, manager of the polar bear habitat."

By the way, former known polar bear artists are Kavec from Tulsa Zoo, who died in May 2009, and Aurora from Rochester Seneca Zoo.

Related & more:

- Cochrane: Der Nachwuchskünstler Ganuk/ Ulli J's Eisbärblog 06.01.2013

- Peanut butter prompts polar bear paintings/Herald News 14.01.2013

- Keepersblog

- Aurora paints-Video

- Untamed Art in Tulsa

T-Day Treat for Axhi and Jim...

 Gestern war Thanksgiving Day in Amerika, für Jim und Axhi, 2 Grizzly Bären im Brookfield Zoo gab es deshalb etwas Besonderes. Die beiden Bärenbrüder wurden 1995 als Waisen gerettet, kamen erst nach Angoon/Angoon Alaska und leben nun in der "Great Wilderness Exhibit" im Brookfield Zoo.-

Jim, a 17-year-old grizzly bear at Brookfield Zoo seems to be enjoying his own turkey this Thanksgiving Day. Jim, and his brother Axhi, were orphaned in 1995 and were rescued through a cooperative effort among the zoo, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and residents of Angoon, Alaska. The two grizzly bears can be seen at Brookfield Zoo's Great Bear Wilderness exhibit.

 

 Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving Day in the US...

Source:

- Brookfield Zoo's bears enjoy T-day turkey/ ABC Photos 22.11.2012

All photos: Brookfield Zoo

Kind of cake...Meet the pedalo bears Nellie and Loki!

Animal Keeper Nicola McCleery covers a pedalo in jam and grapes 

And the fun begins...

Being shown the ropes (or pedals)

Loki enjoys a light snack aboard his very own boat 

Nellie struggles to get aboard 

""Smarter than the average bear these two can bear-ly believe their luck.
European brown bear Nellie and her seven-month-old cub Loki found an exciting edition left in their enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling.

They were given a pedalo smeared with their favourite jam and grapes to keep them entertained.

But once the food was polished off pair made the most of their new toy, splashing around on-board, in an apparent attempt to learn to sail.

The bears were given the pedalo to help stimulate them and keep them active at their home in

Keeper Nicola McCleery daubed jam on the vessel and hid grapes inside

We are always thinking up different types of enrichment we can give them. It makes feeding a bit more of a challenge and gives them mental stimulation and physical stimulation.

The bears' keepers have previously put food in a shaker, chopped it into tiny pieces to make it harder to find, and given them piles of wood shavings scented with essential oils.

But their favourite treat is elephant dung.

Ms McCleery said: "They love it for some reason. They roll around in it and absolutely stink for the rest of the day."

Nellie came to the park nearly two years ago and gave birth to Loki in January, named after the Norse god of mischief because he displayed naughty characteristics.

"It was quite suited to him, he is always in some kind of trouble," Ms McCleery said."

All photos by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire  

Source:
- Baby bear at Scottish zoo given pedalo lessons/itv 19.07.2012

Let the Games begin!....Venus and Pentu just having fun!

Photo: Zoo Ranua

Die Olympischen Spiele nahen und wie man sieht, sind auch finnische Eisbären voll im Fieber, Venus und Pentu aus Ranua hatten ganz offensichtlich viel Spaß...-

With the Olympics just two days away, here some great pics of Venus and Pentu from Zoo Ranua in Finland, obviously enjoying their special enrichment program due to the upcoming event..

A polar bear cub at Ranua Zoo in Lapland has been captivated by a Finnish flag and a set of tyres painted to look like Olympic rings. The cub’s curiosity doesn’t stem from a love of sports -- for Pentu it's all about having fun.

Photo: Zoo Ranua

"The polar bears at the Ranua zoo have caught a fever -- Olympic fever. Zoo keepers have ensured that the bears have not been left out of the Olympic excitement in Finland.

The ursine mammals are observing the event in their own way – with a set of used tyres painted in the colours of the Olympic rings. While the tyres are a reminder of the upcoming games, they also double as a handy set of toys for the junior member of the family.

“The idea for the Olympic rings came from the pup itself. Pentu (the cub) has doubled the number visitors we get daily in July. Normally we have one thousand visitors a day, but now we have a few thousand,” explained zookeeper Pertti Saarijärvi.

The novelty of the rings caught the fancy of the young cub immediately, and according to Saarijärvi, the young bear even puts them around his neck.

Photo: Zoo Ranua

Pentu was equally fascinated by the replica of a Finnish flag, often carrying it on his head as he prowls along the enclosure and occasionally chewing on the fabric.

“Pentu really represents Finland here in Ranua. He has received a great deal of international visibility and is therefore a representative of Finland,” Saarijärvi declared."

 

Pentu and the Finnish flag

Photo: Zoo Ranua

Pentu ist der Sohn von Venus (7) und Manasse (22) und das erste Eisbärjungtier, das in Finnland in einem Zoo geboren wurde und die kritischen ersten Tage überlebt hat.Bereits 2009 und 2010 hatte Venus Jungtiere zur Welt gebracht, die aber nicht überlebten.-

Pentu is the son of Venus (7) and Manasse (22) and the first polar bear cub born in a Finnish zoo and having survived the critical first days. In 2009 and 2010, Venus had already given birth to cubs but they did not survive.

Here Pentu as tiny little cub

Photo: Zoo Ranua

Pentu wurde am 18.November 2011 geboren, zusammen mit noch einem weiteren Jungtier, das jedoch nicht überlebte. Mehr über Pentu und seine Eltern Venus und Manasse kann man bei Ulli J finden, zusammen mit Videos und Fotos.-

Pentu was born on 18 November 2011. His twin did not survive. More about Pentu, Venus and Manasse you can find here, including photos and videos.

Source:

- Ranua zoo polar bear cub gets into Olympic spirit/uutiset 23.07.2012

- Erster Eisbärennachwuchs in Finnland wird in Ranua großgezogen/ Ulli J

Related:

- Good news and bad news/05.01.2010

Pictures of the Day...Food Fun

Lucy from Edinburgh Zoo

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 Hudson at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago

 Brookfield Zoo

A rainbow of colourful cheese-cream at Oregon Zoo in Portland

Wer wissen will, was es mit dem Kleeblatt und dem Käse-Creme-Regenbogen auf sich hat, der findet die Geschichten dazu bei Ulli J.. Es lohnt sich!

Who wants to know what is behind the shamrock for Hudson and the gorgeous cheese cream rainbow, should read Ulli J's article here, it's worth it!!!

Source:

- Saint Patrick’s Enrichment/ Ulli J's Eisbärblog 17.03.2012

Von Schafen, Wölfen und Klobürsten...Knut and his toilet brush

Remember this collage from Deta?

Knut mal als Schaf inmitten von Schafen...-
Knut as sheep among sheep

Kein Wunder, dass sich da auch mal ein Wolf vergriffen hat...-

Probably the wolf no.1 must have seen Knut earlier among the sheep
before he was fortunately stopped by wolf no.2 with the words
"Ooops, that's no SHEEP, it's a famous POLAR BEAR!"

Während ich zum "Monatsgedenktag" an Knut nach Bildern suchte, fand ich obigen Cartoon versteckt in einem alten Wolfsfolder von Simba, nun ja, und weil es dann so passend war, kommt dann gleich noch das... -

While I was looking for a pic to post on Knut's monthly commemorating day, I found this old cartoon somewhere hidden in one of Simba's old wolves' folders. So I thought OK, now it's time for...

The adorable toilet brush...

Enriching Knut's life even later on...

Proving once again that even polar bears share inseparable bonds
with objects cherished as young

Nicht zum Einsatz kam ein eher farbenfreudigeres Mdell das seinerzeit Simba zu einem Geburtstag ihres besten Freundes ausgesucht hatte, um damit den Beschwerden von Besuchern ein Ende zu machen, die Knut lieber mit anspruchsvollerem Spielzeug gesehen hätten...-

A new and more colour-friendly model selected by Simba and sent to her best friend in order to stop remarks of complaining visitors, who would have preferred seeing him with more sophisticated toys, never seemed to have seen the light of his enclosure...))

Und da wir gerade von Verbindungen sprechen...
Von Kindesbeinen an hatte Knut ja eine sehr besondere zu den Wölfen,
seinen Freunden aus dem Nachbargehege...-

From early childhood on, Knut had a special one to the wolves,
his friends in the neighbouring enclosure...

Unvergesslich der Tag als er mal kurz die Verabredung zu einem seiner monatlichen Geburtstagstreffen mit den Wölfen bestätigt-

Unforgettable the day
when he confirmed the appointment
for one of his monthly birthday parties with the wolves...
Must have been in July 2007 witnessed by Frau Schnatterliese

Source: Frau Schnatterliese & Réné Meier

Wir erinnern uns,
jeden Monat in der Nacht zwischen dem 5. und dem 6. eines Monats wurde gekegelt...

Bowling time in the night between each 5th and 6th of a month

Aber nicht genug mit 1a Haltungsnoten, es zeigte sich auch, dass Knut sehr schnell anderer Sprachen mächtig wurde, aber das führe nun zu weit...-

But not enough with 1a style points, it showed as well, that Knut very quickly managed to communicate in other languages but that would lead too far away now...

Credits:
- Knut among sheep/Bernadeta

- Klobürste 1/Marion K, Klobürste 2/rbb, Klobürste 3/Frau Schnatterliese, Klobürste4/ Simba, Weitere Klobürsten werden übrigens noch immer gerne entgegengenommen...:))

- Wolfscartoon...Keine Ahnung, wo Simba den gefunden hatte...Sorry, Simba didn't leave the link

- Mehr zum Geburtstagskegeln im Oktober 2007 /More about the monthly bowling events here

Note:
Knut als Wolf/Hartmuth, dessen Forum bzw. das KnutTagebuch wieder online ist...
The last pic was taken by Hartmuth, his forum incl. Knut's Diary is online again...!!!

Paul ist tot - Es lebe Paul!....A belated thank you to the most elegant octopus ever

Während alle Welt dabei ist, Heidi, das schielende Opossum aus dem Zoo Leipzig zu entdecken und ins Herz zu schließen, wollen wir hier nochmal die Gelegenheit nutzen um auf den Medienliebling 2010 zurückzublicken...-

While the whole world is about to discover and to love Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum of Zoo Leipzig, we would like to use the occasion to look back on the media star of 2010....

Paul

26.08.2008 - 26.10.2010

Paul ist tot. Diese Meldung ging in Windeseile um die Welt, selbst Mauritius überschlug sich förmlich und berichtete bereits wie alle anderen gleich nach der Bekanntgabe dienstags in den Hauptnachrichten. Der elegante Tintenfisch mit seinen hellseherischen Fähigkeiten aus meiner sonst eher mit weniger Attraktionen gesegneten Heimatstadt Oberhausen, hatte sich über Nacht ganz einfach aus dieser Welt begeben, nun um acht Arme ärmer was die Hoffnung auf künftige Fußballwetten angeht. Ein kleiner Paul aus Frankreich hätte an sich noch von Paul angelernt werden sollen, doch der muss nun allein zusehen, ob er als Medium taugt.

Paul II, the little one...

In einem der ersten Artikel, die ich im Sommer über Paul gelesen hatte, bezeichnete ihn jemand in einem Kommentar als den 'Knut unter den Kraken', einiges wie den Medienauflauf hatten sie in der Tat gemeinsam, auch die Überwachung nach Morddrohungen. Soviel Geld wie Knut hat Paul ganz sicher nicht gemacht, aber es reichte, um ein Schildkrötenerhaltungsprojekt auf der griechischen Insel Zakynthos zu finanzieren. Paul also auch ein Botschafter für bedrohte Tierarten. Dass seine Wahl ausgerechnet auf Schildkröten fiel, verdeutlicht nur wie genial er wirklich war, nicht nur in die Zukunft konnte er schauen, nein, er hatte auch ein außergewöhnlich ausgeprägtes Gedächtnis....

Little Turtle....

Paul is dead. The message went like wildfire around the world, even Mauritius reported without missing a beat. The elegant octopus with his clairvoyant abilities from my home town of Oberhausen, usually not that much blessed with attention drawing attractions, had simply passed away overnight, gone from this world, which has now become an eight-armed hope poorer in terms of future football betting. A little Paul from France was supposed to be trained soon by Paul, it was not to be, he has to see for himself if clairvoyance can be added to his job profile.

In one of the first articles which I found about Paul in summer, someone called him in his comment as 'the Knut among the octopuses', in fact, the polar bear and the octopus had something in common, the media overrun for instance, or the surveillance after receiving death threats. Although Paul certainly did not make that much money compared to Knut, it was enough to finance a turtle conservation project on the Greek island of Zakynthos. So, Paul was an ambassador for endangered species too.That he, from all endangered species, had chosen turtles, showed how much a genius Paul really was, not only he could look into the future, no, he also had an extraordinary unique memory...

...and Knut Encounter - click & enjoy...!

Über Pauls Methode Fußballergebnisse richtig vorherzusagen haben andere genug geschrieben und spekuliert, ob er seinen eigenen Tod vorhersah werden wir auch nicht beantwortet bekommen, was bleibt ist die Erinnerung an das unterhaltsamste Sommerloch überhaupt, zu verdanken der Überzeugung, das selbst Tintenfische in Aquarien Anspruch auf alltagsbereichernde Erfahrungen haben, auch Enrichment genannt ...

About Paul's method to forecast soccer results others have written and speculated enough, if he was able to forecast also his death (Brian Keenum "I wonder if he saw that coming??"), we won't know, what remains is the memory of the most entertaining silly season ever, thanks to the conviction that even octopuses in aquariums are entitled to quality-of-life-every-day- events simply called enrichment....

Related:
- Krake Paul ist tot/Spiegel 26.10.2010
- Rest in Peace Paul the Octopus/Spiegel 26.10.2010
- Paul the Octopus dies/People 26.10.2010
- Nach dem Paul ist vor dem Paul/Stern 26.10.2010 - Fußballorakel Paul ist tot/Welt Online 26.10.2010
- Oberhausen trauert um das Orakel/Hamburger Abendblatt 26.10.2010
- WM Orakel trieb leblos im Aquarium/Focus 26.10.2010
- Spiegel Photo Gallery/26.10.2010 - Paul Nachfolger kommt gut an/rp online 19.11.2010 - Paul on wikipedia engl./dt.

In Erinnerung an Paul, das elegante Orakel aus Oberhausen oder wie jemand anderes es ausdrückte, " die coolste Kreatur namens Paul im Universum", hier noch einmal der auch etwas andere Rückblick auf die Fußball-WM...

In Memoriam Paul, the elegant oracle from Oberhausen,or as someone put it , "the coolest creature named Paul in the universe", here again the FIFA World Cup 2010 album 2010: Knuts Belated WM Ticker -Soccer Enriched