N. America's oldest Asian elephant dies

VALLEJO, Calif. -- North America's oldest Asian elephant has died at a Northern California theme park at the age of 71.

The average life expectancy for Asian elephants is 44.8 years.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Tuesday announced the death of Taj, who had lived at the Vallejo park for 33 years.

The elephant was one of Discovery Kingdom's most popular attractions. Her tricks included stacking logs and playing tug-of-war with guests. The park retired her three years ago.

AP Photo
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Pandas in kilts?

Giant pandas are to return to the UK for the first time in 17 years.

The pair of seven-year-old pandas, Tian Tian and Yangguang, will arrive at Edinburgh zoo this year, marking "the culmination of five years of political and diplomatic negotiation at the highest level" according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

The ambassador of China to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, said: "Pandas are a Chinese national treasure. This historical agreement is a gift to the people of the UK from China. It will represent an important symbol of our friendship and will bring our two people closer together."

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Prairie dogs on the lam from Ohio zoo

POWELL, Ohio -- An Ohio zoo is trying to round up runaway prairie dogs and is asking its neighbors for help.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Friday 11 of the critters wriggled their way out of temporary quarters and so far only four have been recovered.

Assistant Curator Jeremy Carpenter says in a statement there's no reason to believe the animals have left zoo property. But he says nearby residents are being asked to watch for prairie dogs, just in case.

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3 Times Cute!

Three white lion cubs are presented to the public for the first time at the city zoo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday Jan. 5, 2011. The cubs were born on Nov. 16, 2010. According to zoo officials these are the first white lions to be born in South America.

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AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia

Rare Baby Rhino Debuted At Madrid's Zoo

A month-old white rhino calf lies next to his mother, named Marina, at the Madrid Zoo, Thursday, June 4, 2009. The unnamed white rhino calf is only the third in the world to have been conceived through artificial insemination.

The baby has yet to be named. The zoo plans to hold a contest asking the people of Madrid to choose between Cronos and Olimpo.

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

A very brave little mouse

Even the imposing presence of an adult leopard at feeding time is not enough to get between plucky young Rattus Norvegicus (better known as the brown rat) and a free meal.

This extraordinary series of images were captured by photography student Casey Gutteridge, as he trained his camera on the leopard for a course project.







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Endangered and Adorable

In the end, Hannibal did not administer the fatal bite to his mate's neck. And Jao Chu did not immediately kill their offspring, as is often the case.

And so, early yesterday, despite murderous tendencies in the captive species, two newborn clouded leopard cubs were found alive, well and squealing at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va.

They were taken immediately from their gorgeous mother before she could do them harm, or do them in, placed in an incubator set at 88 degrees and fed salt water from baby bottles. Born with dappled, reptile-pattern fur, they were the first such births at the zoo in 16 years.

Their births were a coup, and the end of a complex reproduction saga involving an exotic, endangered and beautiful species of animal that experts call the ghost cat.

It was also a genetic home run: The zoo said the cubs' genes, which come from outside the captive population, make them among the most valuable clouded leopards in North America.

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Photo credit: Tracy A Woodward-The Washington Post