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Gorilla born at Memphis Zoo dies
By Jody Callahan
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Born in Memphis on May 16, 1982, Kwashi the gorilla had an unusual start to life.
Beta, Kwashi's mom, rejected her son, a not-uncommon occurrence for gorilla mothers in captivity. Zoo officials feared that, without a nurturing maternal influence, Kwashi would have a rough time.
So, in an arrangement that animal experts would likely frown on today, Kwashi moved in with a human family, Debbie and Houston Winbigler. During the day, Kwashi was cared for at the zoo, where Houston Winbigler worked as an assistant curator. But every night, the handsome young ape went home with the Winbiglers, living in the same room as their son, Frank.
"Kwashi needed continuity of care, a mother figure," Debbie Winbigler told The Commercial Appeal in 1982. "And that's what I wanted to be."
Kwashi, who spent the first six years of his life here before moving on to a succession of zoos, died at the Cincinnati Zoo Monday, officials there announced. The 320-pound Western lowland gorilla, who captivated Memphians when he became just the second such ape to be born here, was 30.
The news saddened officials at the Memphis Zoo.
"He was raised by hand here at the zoo," Memphis Zoo president Chuck Brady said. "We had a really wonderful time with him. He was very popular here."
On Sunday, Cincinnati zookeepers noticed that Kwashi wasn't eating regularly and appeared dehydrated. Early Monday morning, the zoo called in a team of vets to try and help, but Kwashi deteriorated quickly. He died as they were trying to administer fluids to help rejuvenate him.
A necropsy later determined that Kwashi had a serious abdominal infection. During his time at the Knoxville Zoo, where he lived before going to Cincinnati in 2010, Kwashi also suffered from a heart ailment.
"As the evaluation began, keepers and medical staff noticed that Kwashi's temperature was low and his heart rate was nearly undetectable. Quick attempts to get Kwashi fluid were made, but his health was quickly deteriorating and he passed away shortly after the procedure began," the zoo said in a statement.
During his first months in Memphis, the Winbiglers treated him much like they would a human child. He got daily baths in the sink. He ate baby food in a high chair (he didn't like the food so much). He rode in a car seat and wore a diaper around the house. In fact, despite his growing strength, Kwashi was an easy infant to care for, Debbie said, learning quickly to tug her pants leg if he wanted to be held in her arms.
"Generally, Kwashi is a very good baby. He doesn't mind being bathed and when he goes to sleep at night, he rarely wakes up before morning," she told the newspaper. "He's a lot less trouble than Frank was at that age."
Winbigler knew her time with young Kwashi wouldn't last, she told the newspaper, but she hoped she was a good surrogate mother for the time she had him.
"I know there will be a time when he will have to go back and just be a zoo gorilla. When that happens, I want him to do OK as a gorilla. I want him to be a success."
"Despite all my rage
I'm still just a rat in a cage."
- - - Smashing Pumpkins, Bullet With Butterfly Wings
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A Sailfin Lizard at Crocolandia Park.
Quando anche la pelle assume forme e colori di quel che ci sta intorno...
c'è poco da fare: siamo integrati!
Cor Klaasen - An Appreciation
Known amongst a multitude of friends as "the oldest teenager in captivity" it's difficult to contemplate that the man who gave so much to Art in this country as designer and educator is no longer with us. Cor Klaasen lived in Ireland for 33 years and his only fault, if you could call it such, was that he was too far ahead of his time.
Cor came to Ireland in response to an advertisement of O'Kennedy Brindley's in an Amsterdam newspaper. However his ideas and style were too avant garde for 1956 and after nine months he was provided with his return fare!
Hard nosed and tenacious, however, Cor stayed, and soon brought his wife Tineka[sic] to join him. His endearing Dutch accent, which he never lost, combined with a few notable Irishisms, was one of Cor's hallmarks. Combined with his ambidextrous skills as a designer and writer, you had a formidable talent that easily disarmed the most stubborn client.
For a number of years, Cor worked as a freelance designer, building up his contacts through the small but thriving Dutch colony of artists and designers who had arrived in this country. In 1959, he joined Young Advertising, his first real taste of Irish Advertising before moving to McConnells. It was during this period that his three dimensional exhibition stand designs for clients such as ICI, Carrolls and Gouldings set many precedents at the RDS Spring Shows.
During the late 60's, he commenced freelance book design with Fallons, and his graphic cover designs set a style and trend in educational book publishing which is still being imitated today.
Although monetary rewards were meagre, this was no barrier to his original thinking. Deep down, Cor has a true love of teaching and in the evenings, he lectured at the National College of Art and in latter years in the Dun Laoghaire School of Art. He recognised that the future lay in younger minds, and he took great satisfaction in imparting his skills and in nurturing young talent. It is probably true to say that every Advertising Agency Design studio in Dublin employs a protoge of Cor Klaasen, as was evidenced by the huge attendance at his funeral service.
In 1972, he formed his own Advertising Agency, KMW Advertising and in 1984, he officially retired from the "worries of business and balance sheets" to commence a new phase of his career as a freelance designer and consultant to CTT, as well as increasing his lecturing commitments to young artists.
A series of photos trying to show how mopey the chimps were, that day, being stuck inside due to the cold.
Gore Island, Senegal a holding place where they kept the local people, enslaving them, fattening them up before transporting them to various parts of the world.
International Wolf Center
Ely, Minnesota
Although beautiful, it was sad to see them in captivity. We were very lucky. A fire engine drove by with sirens blaring. All 4 wolves came out of their den at the back of the enclosure to investigate the sound. They proceeded to all howl in unison. Awesome!
Finally, a little light sado-masochism to break up the monotony of waiting in a long line at the bar.
This one was in the NEC (National Eagle Center) in captivity. While we were watching them another wild bird got closer to the building and they started screaming. I haven't heard Bald Eagle before and it was very amazing.
This is one of a pair of captive whoopers at Homosassa SP. There are a number of injured birds there as well as a large population of wild wood ducks. The park is best known for its manatees, and it is a great place to spend the day with the kids.
Marc Gonsalves with Keith Stansell and Tom Howes at an event in their honor not long after they were rescued
The cougar (Puma concolor), also commonly known as the mountain lion, puma, or catamount. Unfortunately in captivity after being rescued.
Photo taken through glass with Nikon D750.
rlung rta, pronounced lungta, Tibetan for wind horse.
The wind horse is an allegory for the human soul in the shamanistic tradition of Central Asia. In Tibetan Buddhism, it was included as the pivotal element in the center of the four animals symbolizing the cardinal directions and a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. It has also given the name to a type of prayer flag that has the five animals printed on it.