nPostednon December 22, 2014
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nColonis the oldest living gorilla in captivity in the world.
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nANDnshe is the first gorilla ever to be born in captivity! In the world!
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Colo’snname is a shortened version of her birthplace: COLumbus, Ohio. Andnshe and four of her offspring are still delighting Columbus Zoonvisitors–especially on a day like today: Colo’s birthday!
Colo’snname is a shortened version of her birthplace: COLumbus, Ohio. Andnshe and four of her offspring are still delighting Columbus Zoonvisitors–especially on a day like today: Colo’s birthday!n
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nColo is 58 years old today.
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Colonwas called Cuddles for a short while after her birth on this date inn1956. Perhaps the zookeepers who called her that helped to raise her.nIt is sad to report that baby Colo had been rejected by her mothernand had to be hand-raised and bottle-fed by the zookeepers. Later,nthe zoo held a contest in order to choose the best official name.
Colonwas called Cuddles for a short while after her birth on this date inn1956. Perhaps the zookeepers who called her that helped to raise her.nIt is sad to report that baby Colo had been rejected by her mothernand had to be hand-raised and bottle-fed by the zookeepers. Later,nthe zoo held a contest in order to choose the best official name.n
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nColonapparently did far better in the parenting category than did hernmother. She had her first baby at age 11, and she and her mate Bongonhad three offspring. They were all named after awards: Emmy, Oscar,nand Toni.
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| Colo and Bongo on their first play date |
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nInn1979 Colo became a grandma when her granddaughter Cora was born. Inn1995, she became a great-grandma. Finally, in 2003, Colo became a –nyou got it! – great, great grandma! At this point, Colo is thendirect ancestor of 21 living gorillas and of other gorillas who havensince died.
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nWhatndo you think…? n
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n…Aboutnanimals being kept in zoos and put on display for humans to enjoy? Isnit a good thing? A bad thing?
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nDidnyou know that zoos are a tool used to help species recover from nearnextinction? Did you know that, when people actually get to see andn“meet” animals, they are much more passionate about helping themnand keeping their wild spaces intact? Did you know that zookeepersnoften help species maintain genetic diversity?
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nTonlearn more about why zoos and aquaria are important, read thisnor that.
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However,nsome zoos are not as good for animals as others, and certainly in thenpast zoos were pretty horrible to animals. “Are zoos good fornwildlife?” is a really complicated question with a complicatednanswer!
However,nsome zoos are not as good for animals as others, and certainly in thenpast zoos were pretty horrible to animals. “Are zoos good fornwildlife?” is a really complicated question with a complicatednanswer!n
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| You can see how small and unnatural the old-style zoo enclosures were… Nowadays we do a lot better. |
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof the formation of the U.S. Golf Association
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nNationalnHaiku Poetry Day
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nAnniversarynof first string of Christmas lights
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nFirstnday of winter in Hong Kong
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nDecembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in December
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in January
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