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Photo: Dr. Bivash Pandav

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, located on the coast of Orissa, India, is the largest of only three nesting areas for Olive Ridley sea turtles, which are considered endangered by the IUCN.  In fact, the mass nesting (or arribadas) include 200,000 – 500,000 female turtles coming on to the shore. [Watch a video of hatchlings traveling back to sea]

Now, in addition to the dangers of netting and trawlers, these endangered animals could be confronted with another threat to their survival. Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro are scheduled to build a major sea port just north of the sanctuary at the mouth of the Dharma River. If the construction takes place, then dredging, increased shipping traffic, artificial lights, oil spills, and other pollutants would be brought to the area causing a disruption to ecological balance of the area’s waters.

To learn more and get involved, see:
The Wild Foundation’s Olive Ridley Turtle Page
The Wild Foundation’s Olive Ridley Turtle Blog Update

Kyra, a resident of the Hutchinson Zoo in Kansas, escaped from her zoo habitat on Valentine’s day and spent the week pond-hopping. Easily catching fish in other area ponds, she was unfazed by zookeeper attempts to lure her back with fish treats. But finally, she succumbed to the temptation of a hard-boiled egg. Kyra is now safely back in the zoo.

For more info: http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/40215772.html

Animal Fact Guide was recently reviewed by Education World, an online resource that helps educators integrate the internet into the classroom. Our site was rated overall with an A, receiving an A+ for content and B+ for design.

We are thrilled to receive such a great review and will continually add more articles to our database of animal facts.  We will also strive to improve the site to make it even more accessible to a wide audience.

[Read the full site review here]

Although the jaguar was once commonly ranged from South America to the southern United States, hunting and habitat loss/fragmentation had crippled the population in North America.  In fact, no jaguars had been spotted in Mexico since the early 1900s.

However, two independent sightings this month prove that the big cat’s range does span as far north as Arizona.  The Arizona Game and Fish Department recently captured and collared a male jaguar southwest of Tucson. The collar, which can be tracked by satellite, will provide more data about the cat’s movements in the future.

Another male jaguar was captured on film by an automatic camera set up on a trail in Mexico. Scientists believe that area could be a corridor connecting jaguar populations. In this way, they have a better understanding of the areas of habitat crucial to jaguar survival.

For more information: LiveScience

(Photos: Rick Stevens/Associated Press)

Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is now home to baby meerkats Zanzibar and Nairobi, who are the first meerkats born at the zoo in nine years. Although they are only a month old, the pups are already eating solid food.  In the video you can see them happily gobbling up some grubs.

For more info about Zanzibar and Nairobi, see LA Times.

To learn more about meerkats in the wild, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Meerkat.

SeaWorld Orlando has recently welcomed a pair of tawny frogmouth chicks. Hoover and Sawyer were hatched last month. The chicks were bred as part of a program developed between SeaWorld and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in an effort to help increase the species numbers. Until recently the tawny frogmouth was facing extinction in North American zoos.

In the wild Frogmouths are found in the forest savannas and open woodland areas of Australia.

To learn more about the tawny frogmouth, vist Seaworld.org.

Named Blanca, this 2-week-old baby mandrill was born at Rome’s Bioparco Zoo. When fully grown, she will weigh up to 30 lbs. Mandrills, a relative of the baboon, are the largest species of monkey.  They are known for their colorful facial markings (especially the adult males). In the wild, mandrills inhabit rainforests in equatorial Africa.

For more information: LA Times

The Detroit River is once again home to a beaver. For the first time in nearly 75 years a beaver has been spotted along the river. Cameras at a Detroit Edison riverfront plant caught the beaver in November.  The return of the beaver is good news for the health of the river, which has undergone extensive clean-up.

At one time beavers had been wiped out in the Detroit area due to trapping.

Additional story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29222122/

An octopus named Sid spent 5 days on the lam after escaping from his tank in a New Zealand aquarium. Sid managed to elude detection for those days by hiding in a drain that pumped fresh sea water into the aquarium.  He was caught after being spotted making a dash for an open door. Though hungry, Sid was unhurt. The aquarium staff decided that it was best to release Sid, who is an older octopus, back into the wild.

Additional story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/13/2490473.htm

For more information on octopuses, read Animal Fact Guide’s article, Common Octopus.