Peta working for animal rights, has demanded that the Alipore Zoo should be closed down by the government for its alleged mishandling of animals. A giraffe died after being electrocuted while being taken from the Alipore zoo to the Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar.

An 11-year-old male giraffe died after being electrocuted at Bagnan in Howrah yesterday. It was being transported to Nandankanan, in Orissa from Alipore Zoo. A senior zoo official said a low-bed trailer was used to ferry the giraffe. Zoo authorities received a call on Thursday night from Nandankanan saying that the animal was injured following an electric shock. Sundar was brought back to the city on Friday and it died in the zoo around 9.50 p.m. yesterday. The giraffe was buried after an autopsy. A probe has been ordered. SNS

The Central Zoo Authority wants to shed its responsibility of monitoring the upkeep of elephants in circuses, saying the task should be entrusted with the Animal Welfare Board in view of frequent instances of violation of norms by the owners. It has written to the environment ministry to keep the circuses out of its ambit, citing inability of circus owners to comply with the provisions of its Recognition of Zoo Rules 1992 in the upkeep of elephants.

With the death last week of a blackbuck, the species' population at the Karachi Zoological Gardens has been reduced from 28 to a mere three over five years, and there is little hope of any increase since the remaining females have no mates. The female blackbuck was discovered dead about a week ago. It was assumed that she died after colliding with the fence whilst running, since the animal had been healthy and no other reason was apparent, said a source. Zoo officials failed to respond to Dawn's inquiries about the real cause of death.

SHILLONG

The "Friends of Zoo" scheme launched by the Kamala Nehru Zoological Park is going beyond its usual list of donors. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) authorities have sent letters to leading cricket stars, superstars like Amitabh Bachchan and socialites in the city like Geet Sethi and even those outside the state to adopt animals in the zoo. AMC has also resolved to increase the adoption limit from the present one year to 10 years. This period can even go up to the lifetime period of the adopted animal.

If you thought that finding Mr Right or Ms Right was complicated enough in the world of humans, just think about the plight of the hundreds of wild animals housed in zoos across India. In what seems like a move to facilitate the matchmaking process, the Central Zoo Authority of India has signed up as a member of the US-based International Species Information System (ISIS), a global network, which enables the 700 members affiliated under it to exchange information about the animals living in zoos in these countries.

Not just elephants, even cobras and pheasants have found admirers in children. These new-found attractions have rekindled kids' interest in animals, reports Paul John They may not be celebrities in the Kamala Nehru Zoological Park, unlike Ashok, the elephant, Devi, the hippo, and Raja, the tiger, but these ubiquitous creatures sure do elicit the curiosity of kids who visit them. Meet the cobra, pheasants, emus, lovebirds, badgers, pythons and Nicobar pigeons who are now the new-found attractions for adoption among kids.

The Prague zoo has launched a test programme to save the Indian crocodile-like gharial from the brink of extinction with a million-dollar pavilion for the animals to bask, and hopefully reproduce, in. There are only between 150 and 200 of this species, the Gavialis gangeticus, also known as the gavial, living in the wild along India's rivers today. Another 20 or so are in captivity in India, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the United States, according to the zoo. "All conservation plans launched in the world have failed until now.

Huge Numbers Of Aggressive Birds Are Causing Blackouts, Even Attacking Kids Martin Fackler Kagoshima (Japan): Fanning out in small teams, the men in gray jumpsuits scour the streets and rooftops with binoculars, seeking to guard this city from a growing menace. They look for telltale signs: a torn garbage bag, a pile of twigs atop an electric pole or one of the black, winged culprits themselves. "There's one!' a shout goes up. Sure enough, one of their quarry flies brazenly overhead: a crow, giving a loud, taunting caw as it passed.