Wild Animal News

Tonka, a 38-year old chimpanzee with a substantial Hollywood career behind him, has been removed from a Florida basement and is now in a sanctuary for chimpanzees.

The story has many heroes and villains and is in many ways similar to stories of human actors who became victims after their lucrative careers ended. The story is also similar to legal fights between human families and caretakers.

Tonka was the animal lead in a series of major films. He was featured in George of the Jungle, a 1997 spoof of the original Tarzan story starring Brendan Fraser. He was featured in a number of other movies as well.

Eventually, he fell under the ownership of Tonia Haddix who owned Tonka and several other chimpanzees. Haddix ran afoul of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and became the target of a lawsuit alleging poor treatment of Tonka. He was allegedly kept confined and without companionship of other chimpanzees. PETA was prevailing in court. That is when the case took a “Joe Exotic” style twist. Haddix allegedly faked Tonka’s death. She claimed he had died a year ago and had been cremated. Her ruse was discovered and PETA succeeded in getting an emergency authorization to remove him from her basement and take him to a sanctuary.

In a twist, Haddix told media outlooks that Tonka is more attuned to humans due to his career and really does not want to be around other chimps.

Haddix was allegedly preparing to euthanize the chimp when he was reovered. She says he is in poor health but some news reports say otherwise.

The legal rights of animals. and whether they should legally be treated as humans, is an emerging area of law. Top legal schools including Northwestern, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, and Georgetown have courses or specializations in animal rights law. As do the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia and Lewis and Clark College.

Cases such as that of Tonka bring more legal attention to the issues raised. Currently, the highest court in New York is preparing to rule on a case involving an Asian elephant. Is Happy really happy at the Bronx zoo or is she mistreated as Tonka allegedly is?

As noted earlier there are some strong parallels to human mistreatment of other human celebrities. Child actors had to fight to get their earnings back from rapacious relatives. Even such superstars as Mickey Rooney could be mistreated by relatives in their later years.

Two large owls and two otters are missing after someone cuts the locks on their enclosure, according to police in Wisconsin.

The incident occurred at the Ochsner Zoo in Baraboo Wisconsin. The owls are great horned owls. Which type of otters were released was not stated except to note that the otters are “very friendly.” Zoo officials and police urged the public not to try and catch the animals if sighted but to call (608) 356 4895.

Although a number of habitats were tampered with only the four animals were missing. No animals considered a threat to public safety were released.

The Ochsner Zoo is a small facility with about 30 animal species living there. It receives about 40,000 visitors a year. Most of the zoos inhabitants are creatures that needed rehabilitation and cannot be released or rescues from the exotic animal trade. The zoo dates back to 1926 when it opened with two bear cubs and some fawns. Capuchin monkeys, wolves, llamas, goats, pot-bellied pigs and river otters are now among the inhabitants. It is an accredited facility that participates in Species Survival Plans with the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Baraboo is a city of about 12,000 located on the Baraboo River in the south-central part of the state. It is perhaps most famous as the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus and the modern Circus World Museum. The Baraboo Police Department was founded in 1993 and has 318 sworn officers. Theft of exotic animals is a serious issue with some serious consequences.

This has been a topic of scientific discussion for some time but now a new study clarifies things a bit. The study shows that the two species actually began to separate about 1,5 million years ago. What is striking to researchers is that the bears continued to interbreed frequently for quite some time.

This makes their history more like human history. Human evolutionary history is no longer thought to be linear bur much more complex with breeding and interbreeding among many separate populations. Brown bears swimming to isolated polar bear populations are now thought to have brought much-needed genetic diversity to the polar bears.

A startling discovery is that most of the introduction of new genetic material into polar bears has come from brown bears. The study was based on the genetic material from 64 modern polar and brown bears. Genetic material from a Norwegian bear which lived over 100,000 years ago was also sampled.

In fact polar bears are now thought to have undergone several population bottlenecks. Introduction of new genetic material from brown bear populations has happened more than once. Polar bears have undergone many superficial changes over the years. They have become smaller, their body shape has changed and their ears are smaller. The most striking adaptation is their white appearance. Their skin is actually quite dark but the hairs on their body have adapted to reflect the colors of the surroundings, which are usually white. They can, however, look reddish at sunset.

The recent study was conducted by scientists and the University at Buffalo. It was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Advances in genetic science have led to numerous discoveries regarding animal evolution. A recent paper on Australian dingo evolution was discussed here.

An underweight juvenile cougar was captured in Pescadero California when a janitor closed a door behind him before school opened. The male was seen entering the room and the janitor closed the door.

The young cat wandered onto the Pescadero High School campus before students or faculty arrived. He was spotted wandering into an English classroom and the janitor took action.

He was tranquilized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and taken to the Oakland Zoo for evaluation. He weighs about 40 pounds and appeared scared according to officials. He has a bad tooth that has to be extracted before he can be released, if authorities think he can survive on his own. The fish and wildlife department is involved in cougar rescues throughout the state. In April the zoo participated in rescuing an emaciated cougar kitten spotted by hikers in the San Mateo area. After a five day search the kitten was rescued and brought to the zoo. In such cases a decision is made whether the animal can survive on its own. Some are released others relocated to permanent homes.

Young male cougars have to travel long distances to establish territory. One such adventure is chronicled here. California has a fairly large population of cougars which can inhabit most parts of the state. Increasingly they are coming into contact with people. Humans move into their regions and their habitat becomes fragmented. CalTrans works actively to help provideover and under crossings to minimize human/animal conflict.

A Chinese newspaper and website is saying snow leopard populations are stable in Tibet, a formerly autonomous nation China controls.

An article in China Daily made the claim late last month. China Daily describes itself as the largest English language portal.

According to the website, the area around Nagchu in Tibet has been under study for snow leopard populations since 2021. The city’s forestry and grasslands center and the Shan Shui Conservation Center have been behind the study. Nagchu is sited between three mountain ranges and is an alpine ecosystem. Shan Shui was founded in 2007 and is a non-profit NGO dedicated to conservation issues. Although the wildlife in the Nagchu area may be stable many other issues exist between the Chinese government and Tibetan locals.

China Daily said 143 infrared cameras have been placed in the region and have caught more than 100 images. Snow leopards, wolves, Eurasian lynx, brown bears, Tibetan brown bears and Dhole wild dogs have all been caught on camera. Local officials were quoted as saying that the apex predators appear to have adequate food supplies.

In addition to official park patrol officers local herders are being trained in management techniques to help protect the snow leopards and other species. China Daily said other protected and threatened species also inhabit the region including Tibetan wild asses, musk deer and Tibetan gazelle.

Snow leopards are not true leopards despite their spotted coats and are more closely elated to tigers than they are to leopards. They are considered endangered but many countries in their home range are working to protect them. The cats are believed to number about 5,000 worldwide. Snow leopards are well adapted to their high altitude life and are acrobatic hunters in the mountains they call home.

We have reported on the status of critically endangered red wolves, which one were quite common in the United States. The wolves, which are smaller than their gray wolf cousins, became critically endangered. They are said to be the most critically endangered canine species on earth.

The situation was so bad that in 1967 the species was declared functionally extinct and the 100 or so remaining in the wild were captured and used to start a captive breeding stock. The goal has been the reintroduction of wolves beyond North Carolina. Wolves have been reintroduced there but the program has faced many challenges. It is estimated that only 20 wolves are in the wild in a small section of North Carolina. About 200 are believed to be in the captive breeding program. They are spread among 45 institutions seeking to pull the species back from the edge of extinction.

Good news came recently in the the announcement that pups have been delivered and may help in the fight against extinction. The Roger Williams Park Zoo made their announcement May 5. The six-year-old mother, Named Brave, delivered a single pup in early May and so far the pup appears to be gaining weight. Meanwhile, a surprise occurred at Woodlands Nature Station in Land Between the Lakes. Jasper and Ember delivered a litter of four puppies recently. It is surprising because Jasper is 13 and was thought to be too old to be a father. Woodlands Nature Station is a member of the team of 45 zoos and other research facilities trying to save the wolves. Land Between the Lakes is a National Recreation Area in western Kentucky and Tennessee. The Roger Williams Zoo is a facility in Rhode Island that is also the efforts.

The bad news is that one of the few remaining red wolves in North Carolina was killed. Authorities are looking for the killer who shot a red wolf in the spine in a muddy area of Tyrrell County, North Carolina. The wolf was necropsied and its lungs were full of mud, suggesting a slow and cruel death. Tyrrell County is the least populous in the state and one of five in which the wolves survive. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has offered $5,000 in rewards. Other groups have chipped in and the total is over $20,000.

Authorities ask anyone with information about the killing to call North Carolina Division of Refuge Law Enforcement Capt. Frank Simms at (252) 216 7504 or special agent Jason Keith at 919 856 4786 ext. 34

Conservationists worldwide are realizing that wild animals are increasingly locked into pockets by freeways and highways. Staying in the pockets leads to inbreeding and local extinction. Trying to venture out too often leads to death on roads and highways.

In California, Caltrans, the state transit agency, is partnering with the public and conservation groups to identify areas for over and under crossings and to find other ways to facilitate the safe crossing of roadways. Animals saved by these projects range from salamanders to California black bears.

The headline animal in this drive is the Santa Monica Mountain cougar. These animals are confined by freeways into a narrow area and often risk death crossing busy roadways, Caltrans says about a dozen were killed by cars in the area in a 7 year stretch.

The Liberty Canyon overpass broke ground in April and is expected to help alleviate the situation by creating a safe passage over the 101 Freeway. But Liberty Canyon is only one of more than 50 such projects completed with more coming. An underpass is nearing completion near Santa Cruz.

In addition to under and overpasses Caltrans will build larger culverts under freeways to facilitate animal travel and install fencing to lead them there. The agency will also open median barriers to permit pass through and create what they call jump outs to allow deer caught in right-0f-way to jump to safety.

Times have changed. Where once roadway construction paid no heed to wildlife concerns, every project now addresses them. Caltrans also looks backward to existing structures to improve them.

As of 2019 Caltrans had two projects in development on State Route 17, The Laurel Curve project near Santa Cruz has broken ground.

The process begins with research and Caltrans and academic partners research animal movements and use techniques including collars and trail cams to further the work. Those cams also help provide proof that the completed projects are working.

As we have noted in other posts. deer are frequent victims of crashes. In the area near Bishop more than 1,800 deer died in crashes in about one decade. The cost in animal lives, human life and property damage is huge. About 6,600 car-wildlife accidents were reported in 2017. Those accidents caused an estimated $307 million in damage.

He isn’t as famous as P-22 the male cougar who has roamed the Hollywood Hills for years, but M317 is living an adventurous life in Orange County as he tries to establish a range and find a mate.

About 20 months old, the cat has wandered more than 100 miles from mountains to shore in his quest. He has crossed a highway and been near freeways. He has leaped walls to get away from people and apparently found enough to eat. He has wandered through residential areas and been captured. His capture resulted in his being tagged and tracked as researchers see if he beats the heavy odds. He may have only a 50-50 chance of surviving roadways and confrontations with older males and humans. Recently, P-97 a subject of the National Park Service Santa Monica Mountain Study, was killed crossing the 405 freeway near Brentwood.

Orange County is home to a number of lions living in the Santa Ana Mountains. It is to those mountains he was returned after collaring. But there he faces confrontations with a number of established males. He has skillfully used cover and patches of green terrain to navigate.

An over crossing is being built to accommodate cougars in the Santa Monica Mountain as the 101 Freeway blocks their access to open country and potential mates. An under crossing is being built near Santa Cruz where mountain lions, bobcats and other wildlife risk all for to eat and breed.

The cats face danger everywhere in the state. In a recent 5 year period 300 cougars were killed in California trying to cross roads. Authorities have begun to identify very dangerous areas and work to make them safer. The Annenberg over crossing is said to be the largest in the world. It has a hefty price tag of $87 million and required public and private support to go through.

Cougars are very widely, but thinly distributed in the Western Hemisphere. Although they can be found from Canada south to Patagonia, their populations are not dense. Many of the United States have none, whereas California and Oregon may have 6,000 each. In South and Central America, habitat loss has cut their numbers drastically.

Happy, an Asian elephant in the Bronx Zoo, is at the center of a legal dispute over the rights of animals in custodial situations. Her case is before the New York State Court of Appeals and a decision is expected within a few months. The zoo is being sued claiming Happy is essentially a prisoner.

Whether non-human animals have rights similar to or equal to human rights is an emerging legal question. The concept is controversial and could create enormous changes in social structure. At the moment there are laws regulating how animals are treated but advocates are seeking to recognize humans and non-human animals as essentially equal. In theory this could put an end to farming and pet ownership. It could also drastically alter who makes decisions about how you treat companion animals. At the very least it creates the specter of lawyers “representing” specific animals in court.

A court in Ecuador has recently expanded animal rights in a case involving a monkey living with a person. That court went even further arguing that nature itself has enforceable rights to protect itself from human activity. It is still unclear exactly who can represent “nature” in court.

Happy’s case is before the New York Court of Appeal, the court of last resort in the state. The chief judge and six associates are faced with a habeas corpus request for Happy. Habeas corpus is a key legal right for people allowing them to challenge their detention and seek release. The Nonhuman Rights Project is suing, so far unsuccessfully, to challenge the living conditions the Bronx Zoo has for Happy. The project seeks to grant all the rights humans share to non-human animals. Their habeas corpus lawsuit is based on the argument that Happy’s living conditions are substandard and amount to a prison, They want her transferred to a more spacious facility.

The zoo, which was founded in November 1899 defends itself by saying in is a premier agent for conservation and home to 10,000 animals, many endangered, on 200 acres. The zoo also built an early veterinary hospital in 1910.

NPR and WBEZ Chicago quoted an Associated Press Story:

“She has an interest in exercising her choices and deciding who she wants to be with, and where to go, and what to do, and what to eat,” project attorney Monica Miller told The Associated Press ahead of the oral arguments. “And the zoo is prohibiting her from making any of those choices herself.”

Exactly how the project knows what the elephant is thinking and what she wants to do was not revealed. Attorney Miller may have spotlighted the key issue. Animals can not directly communicate with humans and what they want and need is determined by humans based on observation and study. So exactly who decides what their rights are? At least in theory zoos are professional managers of wild animals and provide adequate care. If they fail to do so they are currently liable under animal cruelty laws. Based on Miller’s quote it sounds like Happy should be returned to the wild, which might prove fatal.

Many other questions arise For example:

What would happen if Happy were removed to another facility and failed to thrive or missed her previous keepers? Or if someone else deemed that facility unsuitable?

The Bronx Zoo rejects the idea that Happy’s one-acre enclosure is a prison as the project calls it and says she is a beloved elephant, but not a person.

Happy was born wild in the early 1970’s and came to the zoo some years later. She and her companion, Grumpy, lived together. They were named after Disney characters in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Grumpy died after a confrontation with two other elephants. Currently, Happy lives near but not with another elephant. The zoo feels her enclosure is spacious and allows her to engage in normal elephant behaviors. She can swim and forage and they say she has good quality care. She has lived there for more than 40 years.

Some might find the idea of an animal rights group suing an accredited zoo somewhat ironic. Zoos and sanctuaries are at the heart of efforts to prevent extinction of many animals. The also maintain records of bloodlines to prevent inbreeding for future rewilding efforts. Tigers are an example. Although there has been a recent uptick estimates are that only 5,000 or so tigers are alive in the wild. A larger number than that is believed to be in zoos, sanctuaries and other private hands in the United States. Zoos are critical, zoo operators say, to animal survival.