zoo news stories on Newser

Lion Tries to Eat Zebra-Striped Toddler

Rob Quinn — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:29:00 CDT

In his black-and-white striped hoodie, one-year-old Jack Baltzor must have looked a lot like a tasty little zebra to a hungry lioness. In video taken by his parents, the 250-pound predator at the Oregon Zoo swipes furiously at the glass separating her from the toddler, even trying to take him...

Newt Gingrich Bit by Penguin

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:28:00 CDT

At least one penguin at the St. Louis Zoo appears to be a feisty opponent of Newt Gingrich. The GOP candidate is sporting a bandage on his finger after getting nipped by a small penguin during his tour of the zoo on Friday. Gingrich was in St. Louis to speak...

Mystery Illness Kills 4 White Rhinos in Aussie Zoo

Rob Quinn — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:27:00 CDT

Rhino experts from around the world have been stumped by an illness killing off white rhinos at an Australian zoo. Four white rhinos have died at the New South Wales zoo over the last few weeks. All of them died suddenly after displaying neurological problems like stumbling, the Age reports....

Escaped Gorilla Bites Buffalo Zookeeper

Rob Quinn — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:18:09 CDT

A quick-thinking Buffalo zookeeper locked herself in with a female gorilla and her newborn after being attacked by an escaped 400-pound silverback male. The 24-year-old gorilla, which had escaped through an unsecured door, remained in an area closed to the public. It was tranquilized by a zoo worker using a...

Nightmare Zoo's Giraffe Dies, Stomach Full of Plastic

Matt Cantor — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:25:57 CDT

The death of a giraffe that had 40 pounds of plastic in its stomach—it ate trash routinely tossed into its pen—is just the latest crisis at Indonesia's biggest zoo. Two years back, a report said 25 of Surabaya Zoo's animals were dying monthly; that figure has been brought...

Lion Kills S. African Zookeeper

Rob Quinn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:00:00 CST

A Johannesburg Zoo employee who came out of retirement because of staff shortages was killed by a lioness at a breeding facility outside the city. The 63-year-old, who had nearly 40 years of experience working with animals, was attacked while feeding the lions, the BBC reports. An enclosure was found...

Ram, Doe to Marry in China

Mark Russell — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:49:32 CST

A ram and a deer living in a southwestern Chinese zoo who have formed an "unconventional relationship" are set to be "married" on Valentine's Day, reports the BBC . The zoo tried to separate the animals in November, but found that the ram acted violently toward other sheep—and the doe...

Female Splits Up 'Gay' Penguins

Rob Quinn — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:36:05 CST

The penguin love affair dubbed "Brokeback Iceberg" by Jimmy Kimmel is now definitely over. Pedro and Buddy, the "gay" African penguins the Toronto Zoo decided to split up last month , are now both more interested in females, the BBC reports. Buddy, who shared a nest with Pedro for a year,...

Gorilla Death Stymies Zoo Workers

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:31:18 CST

The death of a 9-day-old baby gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago has left authorities scratching their heads, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Yesterday, first-time mom Bana carried her baby's lifeless body to the zoo's gorilla enclosure, but zoo officials couldn't spot any serious wounds. "There are no bite...