(NECN) – You may remember seeing video of a circus elephant named Tyke rampaging through the streets of Hawaii or reading about the day Franklin Park’s gorilla Little Joe escaped.
These incidents couldn’t have been more different and yet we in the public may lump them together and misunderstand them equally.
Joining Vicki Croke on the Secret Life of Animals is John Linehan, head of Zoo New England.
He’s a man whose work Vicki really respects and who can thoughtfully give the viewer a little perspective on why zoo animals may attack or run away
John call also talk about what it does or-just as important-doesn’t mean about them and their life in captivity.
(NECN) – The president of SeaWorld last week defended the park’s killer whale shows following the death of a trainer.
One thing we’ve learned from all the coverage of the incident involving Tilikum the killer whale and trainer Dawn Brancheau is that there certainly are warring camps in the animal world.
Each side reads very different things into what happened.
Joining Vicki with a free-for-all analysis are two men much too civilized to fight — AJ Cady of IFAW and John Linehan of Zoo New England.
(NECN) – So what about the push to Free Tilly the killer whale?
Many scientists say Tilly could never survive in the wild, but are now suggesting the use of a sea pen
A sea pen is an enclosure in the ocean that would give him more space, while also keeping him away from humans.
But others point to the death of a whale named Keiko, star of the movie Free Willy back in the 1990s.
Millions of dollars were spent on attempts to return Keiko to the wild, including supervised swims in the open ocean.
In the end, Keiko died emaciated and suffering from pneumonia in Norway.
But while Keiko did not survive, many still say Tilly could be released to that sea pen we mentioned.
Dr. Naomi Rose is a marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States.
Dr Rose believes Tilly would benefit from the move.
Dr. Rose joins us Vicki from Washington DC to talk more.
Planning a family vacation this spring? Check out some of the animals you’ll find at SeaWorld – on The Secret Life of Animals!
To learn more about how you can plan a trip to any of SeaWorld’s three locations, just log on to their Web site:
http://www.seaworld.com/
Things got wild on NECN Morning, as a new group of friends made their way into the studio.
Angie Llanas, an animal ambassador at Sea World, showcased Dennis Hopper, the kangaroo, and friends Pete and Penny, a pair of Magellanic penguins. Among the group were an American alligator and black & white ruffed lemur.
These animals can be seen at the Boston Globe Travel Show:
- February 19th-21st
- Seaport World Trade Center in Boston
- Tickets are $ 10 for Saturday and Sunday; preview Friday night
- www.BostonGlobeTravelShow.com
Some fun facts on these animals:
Kangaroo baby
- Adult males box to determine dominance, with the strongest male becoming the head of the mob.
- While running at speeds of 12 mph, these kangaroos are able to reach 35 mph in short bursts
- Inhabit grasslands near water and with a nearby forest or woodland.
- They have short forearms, strong hind legs, and long broad back feet for hopping and standing upright.
Magellanic penguins
- Temperate species of penguin native to the coasts of Chile and Argentina
- 60 feathers per square inch for insulation
- Live in burrows
American alligator
- Can grow larger than 12 feet and 1,000 pounds
- Have a third eyelid that they can see through to protect their eyes while swimming/hunting underwater
- They were hunted nearly to extinction in the 1960s; now their populations are thriving
Black & white ruffed lemur
- Native to Madagascar; approximately 60 species of lemur live on the island off the east coast of Africa
- Use their fluffy tail to attract females
- This species of lemur spends the majority of its time in the treetops; may never touch the ground their entire life
Slow down – and get an up-close view of a tortoise living at the Museum of Science in Boston. Animal curator Bunny Watson gives us the rundown on this incredible reptile.
If you’d like to learn more about the education programs at the Museum of Science in Boston, just log on to their Web site:
http://www.mos.org/
(NECN) – On the Secret Life of Animals, Vicki Croke turns now to a bird that recently made headlines for its rare appearance in Massachusetts.
Video of a beautiful allen’s humming bird, a native species of California, was caught just a few weeks ago in snowy Harwich-Port on Cape Cod.
For a while, the bird was constantly sipping sugar-water from one woman’s feeder, trying to stay fueled to fight off the cold.
But eventually, the hummingbird ended up in the snow and needing help from a wildlife rehabilitator.
It died on January 19th.
The story led at least one of our viewers to ask: Did the bird stay here and get into trouble because someone was feeding it?
Here to answer that question and explain how the things we do might help or hinder migrating birds is Tia Pinney of Mass Audubon.
NECN videographer Dave Brosemer catches sight of some lovely moose in Greenville, Maine. They must be used to cars and people stopping to look, because they didn’t seem to mind having their pictures taken!
Moose spotting in Greenville, Maine
Ravens make comeback in northeast
(NECN) – Four times bigger than crows and maybe that much smarter too, ravens are among the most remarkable birds in the world.
They’ve been observed pretending to store food in places in order to trick other ravens and they’ve proved in experiments that they can figure out puzzles logically.
The good news for us?
Ravens are making a comeback in the northeast.
They’re expanding their range here in Massachusetts, and may be coming to a neighborhood near you.
Joining the Secret Life of Animals to tell Vicki Croke more about these clever, resourceful and returning neighbors of ours is Tom French of Mass Wildlife.
You may know them as Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen and so on, but around the world, reindeer are also known as a threatened species. The population of one sub-species, the Peary Caribou, has dropped by nearly 85% since the 1960s. Learn more about what the International Fund for Animal Welfare is doing to protect these majestic creatures by clicking on the following video.
Interested in learning more about IFAW?
Log on to their Web site at www.ifaw.org.
