Zoornalism

Not Everyone Loves Marineland

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:44:51 -0400

Marineland animals suffering, former staffers say
By Linda Diebel
The Toronto Star, August, 2012

What’s wrong with the water? An investigation into how the happy animals on display in Ontario are suffering skin loss and eye damage, including blindness at one of the country’s most celebrated marine parks.

Clucking into History

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:59:29 -0400

How the Chicken Conquered the World
By Jerry Adler and Andrew Lawler
Smithsonian Magazine, June 2012

Why did the chicken cross … er, from the jungle onto our dinner plates. A noble tale of fowl and folly.

Booze Bears

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:18:00 -0400

Ukraine attempts to avert PR disaster by sending ‘vodka bears’ to rehab
By Oliver Moore
The Globe & Mail, June 2012

After a life of stumbling for entertainment, Ukraine’s bears sober up for the Euro Cup.

Shamu Shame

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:02:54 -0400

The Killer in the Pool
By Tim Zimmermann
Outside, July 2010

Suburbia and the Big Black Bears

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:51:59 -0400

Bear Country
By Jennifer Pagliaro
Toronto Star, May 2012

At a standoff with black bears in suburbia, a nearly non-existent management strategy has left little between bears and us except the gun.

Foal Life

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:46:22 -0400

Born to die? Ontario horse racing crisis
By Jayme Poisson
Toronto Star, May 2012

A young foal may never get fulfill his Seabiscuit potential.

Pudgy Pigeons

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:09:00 -0400

Animal obesity: Are pigeons getting fatter?
By David Merritt Johns
Slate, April 2012

The science behind urban rodent overeating.

The Monster of Matane

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:19:00 -0400

Hunter and guide lock horns over moose’s legendary antlers
By Ingrid Peritz
The Globe & Mail, April 2012

A moose menace meets his end, but the spoils spark legal debate.

“For some, that moose was like a flying saucer,” Mr. Paradis said Tuesday from his home in the Gaspé. “Unless people could touch it, they didn’t think it was real.”

The Tortoise and the Hippo

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:03:23 -0400

Hippo and tortoise pals may find three’s a crowd
By John Roach
National Geographic, January 2006

An unusual bond.

“For now, the hippo and tortoise are best buddies. The story of their friendship, formed in the wake of the tsunami, has been helping people in the region cope with their own losses, Kahumbu said.”

Falcon romance

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:31:00 -0400

Harlequin falcons are back, and they’ve laid eggs
By Jayme Poisson
Toronto Star, March 2012

Love and longing on the stoop.

“The way Mark Nash of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation tells it, Quest, a pretty American from Rochester, N.Y., didn’t seem too pleased with the “interloper,” but tolerated his presence because ‘he’s the opposite sex and you never know.’

The bird earned himself the nickname ‘Chester the molester.’”

Birds of a Feather

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:14:27 -0400

Great grey owl ruffles feathers in Kingsville, Ont.
By Josh Tapper
Toronto Star, January 2012

A beautiful and rare bird draws a captive audience.

Pride of London

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:35:53 -0400

Christian, the lion who lived in my London living room
By Victoria Moore
Daily Mail, May 2007

From King’s Road flat to Nairobi wilderness.

And if you haven’t seen it, just try not to cry watching the reunion video set to Aerosmith.

Life after death

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:04:07 -0400

Life at the taxidermy motel
By Gerald Hannon
Cottage Life, October 2009

How Kevin Hockley is preserving the wild.

Weird animals, Vol. I

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:25:19 -0400

And now … Return of the bald raccoon (via Torontoist)

So what’s the deal with this hairless, garbage thief?

Is a bald raccoon prowling Parkdale?
By Cathal Kelly
Toronto Star, August 2009

And more from Torontoist.

Think he’s friends with the white squirrel of Trinity-Bellwoods?

Tiny, the fat cat

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:40:10 -0400

Fat cat abandoned in Fredericton, now on diet
By Liam Casey
Toronto Star, January 2012

Tiny the cat rethinks his priorities after ditched by owners.

The Polar Bear Files

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:14:11 -0400

Keeping track of the big white bears as they find themselves hopelessly stranded on ice floats in our Great White North.

Polar bears put on ‘special concern’ list
By Emily Jackson
Toronto Star, November 2011

What’s a polar bear worth to you?
By Emily Jackson
Toronto Star, November 2011

Ontario polar bears doomed, expert says
By Emily Jackson
Toronto Star, December 2011

The sailor's first mate

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:53:11 -0400

Missing in the Caribbean
By Liam Casey
Toronto Star, February 2012

One dog survives alone at sea when his owner goes overboard and never comes back.

“Dingo lay curled, close to death, on a sailboat bobbing in Bahamas’ turquoise waters. A deep gash on his hind leg. Protruding ribs. Bulging eyes. The severely dehydrated 60-pound dog had somehow survived alone on the boat for nearly three weeks without his best friend.”

Lore of the ocean

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:08:31 -0400

The Squid Hunter
By David Grann
The New Yorker, May 2004

In search of the giant squid.

“The creature had glistening skin and long arms with suckers, which left impressions on the hull. “It was enormous,” Kersauson recalled. ‘I’ve been sailing for forty years and I’ve always had an answer for everything—for hurricanes and icebergs. But I didn’t have an answer for this. It was terrifying.’”

Piggy problems

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:55:00 -0400

Death of a Pig
By E.B. White
The Atlantic, January 1948

On losing livestock.

“I discovered, though, that once having given a pig an enema there is no turning back, no chance of resuming one of life’s more stereotyped roles. The pig’s lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord.”

E.B. White wrote Charlotte’s Web, the story of Wilbur the pig, in 1952, following this story.

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”

— Charlotte, Charlotte’s Web

Becoming the bear

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:47:00 -0400

The Man Who Loved Grizzlies
By Ned Zeman
Vanity Fair, May 2004

A love story in Grizzly Country.