Get in to the Oklahoma City Zoo for FREE next week!
Admission is free to the Oklahoma City Zoo on July 17. Here’s some more information from the good folks at the zoo:
We thank you, Oklahoma City Zoo supporters, for all you do! Tuesday, July 17, 2012, marks the twenty-second anniversary of the 1/8 of a cent dedicated sales tax being passed by Oklahoma City citizens for the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, and to celebrate, the Zoo is offering free admission to all on Tuesday, July 17.
Passed by Oklahoma City citizens in 1990, the sales tax has made numerous capitol improvements possible at the Zoo including Great EscApe, Cat Forest/Lion Overlook, the main entrance facility, the Canopy Food Court, Oklahoma Trails, the Children’s Zoo and the Elephant Habitat. Moving forward the sales tax will help fund a new animal hospital slated to open in 2014.
“We are extremely grateful to the citizens of Oklahoma City for their ongoing dedication to the Zoo. The significant support we receive from the community enables the Zoo to continue to grow and strive for excellence in our mission of conservation, education, research and recreation; while becoming a world class attraction that Oklahomans are proud to call their zoo.” said Dwight Scott, Executive Director/CEO.
Take advantage of the free admission and make plans to visit the Zoo on Sales Tax Appreciation Day, Tuesday, July 17. Group reservations are not required. Regular prices apply for all rides and attractions.
Visit Oklahoma’s #1 attraction and one of the top three zoos in the country as named in the 2012 10Besties Readers’ Choice Travel Awards. The Oklahoma City Zoo is a proud member of Oklahoma City’s Adventure District located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children ages three-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free.
Now through August 26, the Zoo is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Morning Zoo Rise. Guests can take advantage of our late Saturdays through September 1, and stay and play until 8 p.m. All guests must leave grounds at closing. Become a Zoo fan at http://www.facebook.com/okczoobg or follow us on Twitter @okczoo. To learn more about these and other happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.com.
Snake with a bad habit
Apparently some guy in Taiwan taught his snake how to smoke.
I’m not sure how much of this story I trust, and not just because of how ridiculous it sounds. The story identifies the nicotine-addicted snake as Po the pit viper, but the snake in the picture is obviously not a pit viper, which is a venomous subset of snake you would want nowhere near you. 
The commenters on the story say it is a Taiwanese beauty snake, and a quick search on Google seems to indicate that is correct.
Either way, this is just wrong.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Pets in the paper – some feel-good stories
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman today -
- Fire crew rescues stranded kitten. (Midwest City)
- Zoo seeks volunteers. (Oklahoma City)
- Davey’s a snake charmer. (Washington, Okla.)
- Dogs drifts 75 miles on ice. (Poland)
Those two rescue stories are a great pick-me-up for a dreary day like this.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pets in the paper – food and yoga
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman since Saturday -
- Zoo’s new elephant habitat to house expectant mother. (Oklahoma City)
- Instructor offers way to help animals. (Oklahoma City)
- City’s six-day horse show keeps eyes on ranking prize. (Oklahoma City)
- Safari park adds new tiger, center. (Tuttle)
- Nature loves flock to state’s salt plaines. (Great Salt Plaines)
- Pony Express to celebrate anniversary in re-enactment. (Missouri)
- Tortoises highlight disputes in energy. (California)
- Slithery pets are rescued. (Utah)
- “Best Job” winner stung by dangerous jellyfish. (Australia)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Dogs are funniest … not on purpose
So just in case you were wondering, dogs outshine cats when it comes to wins for America’s Funniest Home Videos. I’m not sure that’s a good thing, though. Most of the time winners on America’s Funniest Home Videos have either done something ridiculously stupid or just been hit in the groin.
The show marks its 20th anniversary at 6 p.m. Sunday on ABC. (Read more about TV on the NewsOK Television Blog!)
And in honor of their anniversary, show officials calculated all the animal winners during the past 20 years. Dogs finished first with cats close behind. But there are all kinds of other animals that have won. (Who knew whales could be funny? And who knew that a praying mantis would win not once but twice?)
- 1 ANT
- 3 BEARS
- 22 BIRDS
- 1 BULL
- 1 CAMEL
- 34 CATS
- 1 CHIMP
- 1 DEER
- 136 DOGS
- 1 ELK
- 1 FERRET
- 1 FISH
- 1 FLY
- 1 FROG
- 4 GIRAFFES
- 4 GOATS
- 1 GORILLA
- 1 GUINEA PIG
- 3 HAMSTERS
- 4 HORSES
- 1 KANGAROO
- 1 LIZARD
- 2 LLAMAS
- 5 MONKEYS
- 2 MICE
- 1 ORANGUTAN
- 1 OSTRICH
- 2 PRAYING MANTIS
- 5 RACOONS
- 1 RAM
- 1 RAT
- 1 RHINO
- 1 SEA LION
- 1 SPIDER
- 1 SNAKES
- 9 SQUIRRELS
- 1 TARANTULA
- 1 TOAD
- 2 WHALES
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Books, beer and man’s best friend
When I was in college, I kept one pet. That poor fish. He didn’t make it to graduation. But there are plenty of college students out there who are more responsible than I was. For them, Petside.com has ranked the Top 10 college for pet owners. Here’s the list:
1. Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., has four pet-friendly dorm “clusters” that allow cats and dogs that weigh less than 40 pounds. Snakes and fish are welcome, too.
2. Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., has a “pet dorm” where dogs, cats, hamsters and guinea pigs are allowed.
3. Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Penn., has a “Pet House” dorm, which allows cats, dogs, small birds, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, turtles and fish. Have something more exotic? The college evaluates them on individually.
4. Principa College in Elsah, Ill., has seven dorms and university apartments that allow pets. Students may bring dogs, cats, rabbits, caged animals and aquatic life.
5. California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., lets students have cats in all dorms. Small cage animals and aquatic life can come to school, too.
6. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign allows students in the Ashton Woods housing to keep dogs, cats, fish and rabbits.
7. The University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, makes room for cats and birds in the school’s apartment-style housing buildings. Fish are allowed in all dorms.
8. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., requires written consent from roommates before a cat is introduced. And the dorms even have a “Pet Chairman.”
9. The State University of New York at Canton is known for Mohawk Hall, which accomodates up to 48 pets. Those animals are allowed to wander freely if their owner is around. Sadly, dogs and snakes aren’t allowed.
10. Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., allows one dog or cat in each fraternity and sorority house on campus.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Are wild animals good pets?
Here’s the latest installment of the “Veterinarian on Call” column put out by Oklahoma State University.
Is it okay to keep wildlife as pets?
So you found a baby bird, bunny, squirrel, turtle, opossum, raccoon or deer. The nest blew out of the tree, the bunny or turtle was in the garden, the squirrel, opossum or raccoon was in your yard, the deer was laying down alongside a fence….what do you do? The tendency of most good Samaritans is to pick the animal up and take it home with them or into the house. Now what?
First you should know that essentially all wild animals are protected by State and Federal laws that prohibit possessing them as pets. There are fines for having live wild animals in your possession illegally, good Samaritan or not. The penalties for possessing live wild animals can be very stiff especially for birds of prey and rare or endangered wildlife species. Wildlife belongs to the people (plural and collectively) not to any individual …even individual land owners.
Wildlife is held in trust for the people by the State and Federal agencies that are empowered to manage them. To legally have or work with wildlife requires special State and Federal permits and these permits are not handed out to just anyone who wants one.
Permits generally specify 1) the activity allowed such as education, rehabilitation, etc., 2) the types of animals or species that are permitted such as song birds, mammals, etc., and 3) the length of time that the wild animals can be held. These “special purpose” permits generally require individuals to demonstrate a level of knowledge of training with the species they are going to posses. This often includes prior supervised experience in handling them.
It also may require inspection and approval of the facility where the wild animals are to be kept by State and Federal wildlife agencies before a special purpose permit is granted, or renewed. Yes, renewed. Renewal of these special purpose permits may be yearly (Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation) or every three years (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Maintaining records of activities and filling annual reports for the animals covered under these permits are generally required.
Still not dissuaded from picking up that baby animal you just found? Well then, read on. You must appreciate or learn the hard way that wild animals do NOT become tamed through social contact with human, and we as humans do NOT make good surrogate mothers for wild animals.
You say “why not”? First, wildlife have specific diets to meet their nutritional requirements and special behaviors for survival that have been developed over many thousands of years in nature. These diets cannot be easily replicated by humans nor can their natural behaviors be maintained or often permitted in captivity.
Second, once a wild animal has been socialized by human contact, they lose much, if not all, of their fear of humans. It is this fear of humans that is paramount for survival in populated areas. More urban wildlife are killed by humans and human activities than everything else. Keeping a sufficient distance from humans (both well meaning and otherwise) just as with other predators is essential for their long-term survival.
Third, although wild animals, especially babies, appeal to our human emotions to save them because they are so “cute” or pretty, as adults they can be very destructive and even dangerous to have around and they are no longer “cute.” Some of the wild animals become even more dangerous to humans, once they have lost their fear of humans.
So now that you have the adult animal, what are your options? Well you can try to release the animal back into the wild …where they never learned to survive and likely can no longer successfully compete in. You may try to place the animal in a “zoo” or other captive facility where they live out their lives as something quite different from what they were created to be ….free and a part of nature. However, all too often given the shrinking habitat available for wildlife and limited places available for wildlife in captivity, the animal often must be destroyed.
Lastly, wildlife or their external parasites (fleas and ticks) can carry and may transmit diseases that affect humans …especially the children that will want to “play” with them. A wild animal may not be sick when you pick it up, but may become sick along with you, your child and your house hold pets.
For a wild animal that was born in the wild, captivity can be very stressful. A wild animal that is under a lot of stress from handling, inadequate housing, temperature and diet, will have a compromised immune system and become more susceptible to any diseases. This will allow diseases that the animal was successfully fighting before to break out under human care. Our household pets may be carrier of “simple diseases” that they have learned to live with or are vaccinated against, but a wild animal may be naïve to this disease and it may become sick while in contact with our house pets.
So what should you do when you come across wildlife? If it is a baby bird, put it back in the nest or put the nest back in a tree. The parents are around and will take care of it even if you have touched it.
If it is a baby bunny, squirrel, possum, raccoon or deer, just leave it where it is. The mother is most likely watching you steal her baby and she will return when it is safe (you are gone and it is dark out).If it is a turtle, help it across the road or take it out of your garden and put it in the adjacent ground cover. Don’t put it in a box or take it home to put in your sand box for the kids. If you know that the animal’s mother is actually dead, call the State wildlife agent in your district and get names of people that have the necessary permits to raise or rehabilitate the animal. Contact them and let them take the animal into human custody.
If the animal is injured, either notify the State or Federal wildlife agent to assist or else to provide you with names of people that have permits that can assist. This way, you will have done your best for the animal.
However, if you feel that you must put the animal in a box, or wrap it in a blanket, etc., then, do so very carefully so as not to injure the animal further or get injured yourself. Then, take the animal directly to a veterinarian, ideally one that is experienced with wildlife and has the permits to work with them, where they can examine the nature and extent of its injuries and determine what must be done.
In the case you or someone else has been scratched or bitten during the attempt to pick up a wild animal, you should notify the State wildlife agent, veterinarian, but also your personal physician, since you may have gotten in contact with a transmissible disease (such as rabies, tularemia, etc).
At times, we all feel compelled to help wild animals that we encounter; after all, it was likely humans that caused or contributed to the animal’s peril. Unfortunately less human help is most often more beneficial as far more times than not, humans do more harm than good when they intervene in nature.
Bottom line, wild animals really do NOT make good pets! Appreciate and enjoy wild animals as a part of nature (urban, rural, or wilderness) at a respectful distance whenever and wherever you have the good fortune to encounter them. Rejoice in the fact that these creatures are able to be and live free, and realize that it is because they are free they are able do and be many things that we humans cannot.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
All hail the scales!
If you’re into things that hop, slither or hang out under a shell, check out this event from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Thursday at the Midwest City Library, 8143 E Reno.
Come join the Oklahoma City Herpetological Society on the first Thursday of each month at the Midwest City Library! If you are interested in reptiles and amphibians, these meetings are for you. The OCHS promotes the scientific study and conservation of herps, emphasizing regional herpetology. This is your chance to learn about herps, and even show off your own. Any properly caged, nonvenomous reptiles or amphibians are welcome. For more information, call Larry Daniel at 737-8331, or send him an e-mail at jostoy1@aol.com.
The event is free and open to all ages.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Responsible snake ownership
An unfortunate story out of Florida last week brings up an issue I feel very strongly about — responsible snake ownership.
A 2 year old girl in Oxford, Fla. died when an 8 foot pet Burmese python owned by her mother’s boyfriend escaped from a terrarium and strangled the child to death.
My girlfriend, Sarah, has a pet store, and reptiles are one of her specialties. She’s always been a big fan of snakes and lizards, and I too am fascinated by them. Sarah doesn’t carry Burmese or reticulated pythons. Both species are common in the pet industry, and they grow to lengths of 15 feet or more.
What people don’t realize is that owning a snake that size isn’t much different from owning a leopard or grizzly bear. They are capable of hurting or killing a human and should be kept only by professionals or others who are very experienced.
If you are interested in keeping a snake as a pet, I would highly recommend sticking with something smaller. Corn snakes and king snakes grow to about five feet. If you want a python, try a ball python. They look similar to larger pythons but stay a manageable four feet. All of these snaked tend to have good temperaments and make good pets.
Because they stay a reasonable size, they also can be kept in a decent-sized aquarium. Larger snakes need huge enclosures that can be very expensive.
If you insist on owning a large snake, do your homework and know what you are getting into. And for goodness sake, keep the snake in a secure area where it absolutely can’t reach children.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Pets in the paper – deadly python attack
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman today -
- Python blamed in girl’s death. (Florida)
- Beef recalled in outbreak. (nationwide)
- A muddy good time with slime, scales. (Norman)
- Pet project raises awareness for animals’ needs. (Enid / nationwide)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
