The Nation Newspaper

Tag: zoo

  • Police capture lions, tigers, jaguar after escaping from zoo

    The police on Friday caught several large animals, including lions, tigers, a jaguar after they escaped from a zoo in the Eifel mountain range in western Germany on Friday.

    A spokesman for the district of Bitburg-Pruem, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, said earlier in the day that two lions, two tigers and a jaguar were on the loose.

    He said a bear had been shot.

    The animals escaped from the Eifel Zoo in the municipality of Luenebach. Local residents were advised to stay in their homes and to call the police if they saw the animals.

    A large search operation was carried out, involving the fire services, the police and veterinarians, the spokesman said.

    A recent storm caused damage in some parts of the region, though it was unclear whether the animals escaped because of damage caused by the storm.

    The district administration gave no further details, but said a press conference would be held on Friday afternoon in the city of Bitburg.

    The Eifel Zoo in Luenebach is located in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate, about 50 kilometres north of Trier.

    Large predators are among the main attractions at the zoo, which is home to about 60 different species, including Siberian tigers and African lions, on about 30 hectares of land.

    The zoo was opened in 1972 and is a private family business.(dpa/NAN)

  • Oyo shuts zoo as lion kills attendant

    Oyo shuts zoo as lion kills attendant

    An attendant at the Agodi zoo, Ibadan, Oyo state, Hamzat  Oyekunle, popularly known as Baba Olorunwa has been killed by one of the lions in the facility.

    The development forced the Oyo State Government to shut down the facility yesterday.

    It also ordered immediate evacuation of the lions pending further investigations.

    In a statement at the weekend by the Executive Secretary, Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP), Mr. Yinka Fatoki, the state expressed shock over the unfortunate incident.

    It said the closure of the facility followed reports from the company managing the zoo, AM & C, on the incident.

    Fatoki, in a statement by Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun, expressed shock over the incident because Oyekunle had fed the lion for over five years.

    The statement added the deceased was known to have had a very good relationship with all animals in the zoo.

    The government also claimed to have visited the deceased’s family.

     

  • Three policemen killed as gunmen kidnap Edo zoo chief

    Three policemen killed as gunmen kidnap Edo zoo chief

    Three policemen providing security for fun-seekers at the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State were killed yesterday by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers.

    They were killed at about 6pm and their arms and ammunition stolen by the attackers.

    The park’s director and chief executive Dr. Andy Ehanire was abducted by the gunmen.

    It was gathered that the killing disrupted activities at the zoo as many fun-seekers scampered for safety.

    Police spokesman  DSP Moses Nkombe, who confirmed the killings and abduction, said the situation has been brought under control.

    Nkombe said the attackers would soon be arrested as security has been strenthened in the area.

    He assured the public that the zoo is safe for fun-seekers.

  • Ogba Zoo and Nature Park in throes of death

    Ogba Zoo and Nature Park in throes of death

    The management of the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park and lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly are at loggerheads over alleged land grabbing at the Ogba Forest Reserve by some Principal Officers of the Assembly, writes OSAGIE OTABOR. 

    When Ogba Forest Reserve in Oredo local government was first established by the colonial masters, it occupies a land mass of 53 Square kilometers. It was established because of its rich biodiversity and the need to conserve the rare specie of trees found inside the forest.

    In 1971, the military administration of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia established the Ogba Zoo out of the forest reserve making it an arboretum, botanical garden and biological garden. The purpose of carving out a zoo out of the Ogba Forest Reserve was to serve as a recreational resort to the public, serves as educational center for teaching and research, being a center for conservation of wild animals and source of revenue.

    What is left today of the vast Ogba Forest Reserve is now an enclosure where the Zoo and Nature Park is located. Over 70 percent of the land has been encroached on by land grabbers. A large portion of the reserve which is across the Ogba River that used to house cages where lions are kept has been taken over. Some Principal officers in the State House of Assembly have been named as some of the grabbers.

    It was gathered that the grabbing of land in Ogba Forest reserve began in 2007 when the state government under Chief Lucky Igbinedion approved a gazette which gave communities in the area access to 10 percent of the land. Management of the Ogba Zoo was earlier in 2000 leased to a private consortium under a Public Private Sector partnership to help revive the Zoo which was totally abandoned.

    Last week, the management of the Ogba Zoo came under the radar of the State House of Assembly following a petition sent to it by one John Omoregie. The petitioner alleged that wild animals in the Zoo were being sold to foreign firms and that the place was not properly managed. Mr. Omoregie said his petition was to save the Zoo from mismanagement and urged the state government to revoke the contract leading the Zoo to its present management.

    Speaker Justin Okonoboh set up a three man committee headed by Kabiru Adjoto to investigate allegations in the petition and report back within three weeks.

    Peeved by the supposed negative publicity against the Zoo by the petition, Director and Chief Executive of the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park, Dr. Andy Ehanire, accused the lawmakers of sponsoring what he termed a fictitious petition because he instituted an N80m suit against some lawmakers for forcefully taking over the staff quarters of the Zoo.

    Dr. Ehanire in a chat with our reporter said soldiers were used to chase the workers away and construction work began on the land despite the suit he has filed against them.

    He noted that “The way and manner the lawmakers handled the petition was designed to cause damage to the reputation of the zoo. It was also to cause further harm to the economy of the zoo because its clientele which are tourists from various parts of the world may cancel visit to the state.”

    Ehanire assured that he would attend any invitation from the Adjoto- led committee because it was his duty to educate them about the circumstances in the Zoo.

    He expressed worry that issues about the encroachment on Ogba Z oo never attracted the attention of the lawmakers but a petition from no where caused the setting up of a committee.

    The Ogba Zoo boss described the lawmakers’ action as a witch hunt and an attempt to intimidate the Zoo management from defending government property.

    According to him, “We came in as a private sector initiative to rescue the zoo which was already declining. We actually came to resuscitate the zoo to its present status in the state. All the animals presently in the zoo are as a result of private effort. There is nothing here that can be alleged as being subject of misappropriation because it is not a government facility. No government fund has been involved in the management of this place. We have paid all our rent and dues to government. The petition is uncalled for but we suspect that this so called petition in the House is a panic measure by some Principal officers in the House of Assembly who we have taken to court on account of the demolition and conversion of Ogba Zoo staff quarters. Six blocks of of bungalows were demolished and converted to their private use. We have taken them to court. We have identified Elisabeth Ativie and three others.

    “The Zoo which is under two Square kilometers is the last vestige of the once 53 square kilometer of the Ogba Forest reserve. What is left of the Ogba Forest reserve is what is inside this zoo. More than 50 percent of what is in this zoo have been destroyed and taken over by land grabbers. Ogba Forest reserve is a land mark of the colonial administration when they discovered the rich bio-diversity in this part of the world. They tried to protect it but we have destroyed it.

    “The problem of encroachment has been going on in the past 14 years and it got to the highest point within the last two years. We made frantic calls to former Governor Oshiomhole. At best the governor would issue statement directing surveying of the Zoo land and dislodging encroachers but none of the action was carried out.

    “The zoo is a conservation facility and not a tourist facility in the first instance. It belongs to the Forestry Department. It was setup as a conservative project. Tourism is a spin off. In conservation, it was to protect the rich eco-system here. What we are protecting does not exist anywhere around anymore. This place is a gene-bank. Species that cannot be found anywhere are here.  Many international bodies have come here to study this place to underscore the significance. This place is now an urban forest. Efforts we have made to raise alarm have not yielded results. The various arms of government have become like onlookers.

    “The main zoo itself is where the attrocities have been taken place. Our lion cages have been destroyed. Three quarters of the zoo land is across Ogba River. All the land have been taken over and bulldozed by different set of people in which House of Assembly members are complicit. I took government to arbitration and we won. The arbitration was released in January.

    “The arbitration process was to compel government to salvage the zoo, to delineate, re-survey and dislodge all the encroachers. It was also to regenerate the forest. It was for government to return all the infrastructure that were destroyed because government was complicit in the whole process without us knowing. There is government gazette signed in 2007 that the arbitration also repealed. Various panels have found the gazette faulty. The gazette was a nuisance. That gazette gave 10 percent of the zoo land to the community. From 10 percent, the communities have moved to nearly 70 percent.”

    When contacted for comments, Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Omoruyi Isaac, said the state government has begun investigation into allegations of land grabbing at Ogba Forest Reserve.

    Hon Ativie declined comments saying that the matter was already before the court.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki has said that his administration would prosecute and punish those encroaching on the state’s forest reserve, especially Ogba Zoological Garden with a view to reviving forest reserve in the state.

    Obaseki said he would forward an executive bill to institutionalise a Forest Commission.

    He said, “The issue of forest reserve kept playing up when we had a workshop on environment and the determination to save the forest gave rise to the move to set up a forest commission to help regenerate our forest reserve,” he said, adding that the move was important and urgent.

    “Edo State has barely 15 percent of forest resources, and, as a government, we are committed to rebuilding our forest reserve. We will soon start rolling out our administration’s forestry plan.

    “We will need support and collaboration in this area and your visit is apt at this time as your institution has the experience, knowledge and capacity to collaborate with my administration to ensure we rebuild and re-grow our forest reserve. We have so many areas to partner with you so that you can help us bring back standard practices in our forest reserve”.

  • Port Harcourt gets new museum, zoo

    Port Harcourt gets new museum, zoo

    Top tourism industry stakeholders in Nigeria last week converged on Port Harcourt for the pre-opening facility tour of the Museum of African History and Culture and Zoo located in the Brooklyn Tourist Centre on  East-West Road, Rumuosi in Obio-Akpor council area on the outskirt of Port Harcourt, near the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The tourism complex is the brain child of one of the leading tourism practitioners in the country, Alabo Mike Amachree, the owner of Brooklyn Group of Hotels and former president of the Association Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN).

    The practitioners were taken round the new complex to see the new zoo and the museum.

    The museum has history of top monarchs that has left indelible marks in the history of Nigeria.

    After the tour, the practitioners  visited the chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Majesty Dandeson Douglas Jaja, the Amayanabo of Opobo.

    Amachree said tourism a major economic activity which generates income and create employment for the people. He added that for a country or state to attract tourists both local and inbound tourists, necessary infrastructures and superstructures that are capable of attracting tourists have to be put in place in addition to the tourists attractions. He said it was on that basis that the practitioners are visiting the monarchs to make suggestions on how the state could built its tourism profile and attrct tourists.

    According to him : “Rivers State with international airport, seaport and network of roads and the petroleum industry, has comparative advantage over other states in the country foe tourists’ inflow. Secondly, Rivers State was the first state in Nigeria to establish a tourist site known as the Isaka Holiday Resort in 1967 by the first military governor of old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete Spiff. The second tourist site was established by my humble self known as the Port Harcourt Tourist Beach. It is also on record that my association, the ATPN organised the first Abuja Carnival under my leadership in 1991 without government assistance. We organised the second Rivers State  Cultural and Musical Carnival in 1993, tagged RIVCAM ’93.”

    Amachree said tourism was not just about building hotels, fast food restaurants, organising carnival festivals that will attract the desired tourists to Rivers State as these facilities are mere ancillary or support service for tourism promotion and tourist delight. He said the state has to develop high class tourist sites and museums where our history and cultural relics, artifacts and monuments would be permanently exhibited for admiration by our visiting tourists. The tour operators would then market the sites and bring in visitors. He said also that development and promotion of tourism was entirely a private sector affair, and that government was to provide enabling environment.

    Amachree said traditional rulers, as custodians of culture, history and tradition, should be assisted by the government to equip their palaces with relics and artifacts to promote tourism in their various communities.

    He also called on the private sector and the government to jointly open up the rural areas by establishing private tourist sites, monuments, museums, tour operating and tour guiding enterprises which will create more jobs for people like the one he had just built.

    In his response, the Amayanabo of Opobo praised the Alabo Amachree for the consistency in his efforts in developing tourism in the country. He also praised him for the new project, the new Museum of African History and Culture.

    He said: “Tourism is a product that enhances the dignity and prestige of most countries and provides so many opportunities, employment and entertainment. It helps in boosting national economies. We are lucky so many tourist sites abound in Nigeria.

    “In Nigeria, we have so many places to go to. It requires government assistance to private sector to develop them. Your call came at the right time. We will try to talk to the government to look at that area for developing in the area of employment possibilities.”

    The monarch said if tourism was developed to its full potentials, oil would take a back seat. He said people want to see new things in Africa. He promised to be at the commissioning of the tourist centre later in the year.

    The monarch also used the opportunity to call on the government to return History as a subject in secondary school.

    Among the stakeholders on the trip were Malan Garba, President, ATPN, Dr. Mumbo Eniola, ex-permanent secretary, Kogi State Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Dike, former director general, National Gallery of Arts, Prof Alegoa and many others.

  • Pupils relax at resort, zoo

    Pupils of Abbot Day Spring Schools let their hair down during their yearly excursion at the Whispering Palms resort and Q-brat zoos and Garden in Badagry.

    The event was organised in partnership with a tour company, D’groove Entertainment and Communication.

    Tour coordinator Mr Benjamin Awogbayila, enlightened the pupils on the benefits of the exercise to their all-round education.

    At the Whispering Palms owned by Prof Femi Pearls, the pupils visited the mini zoo, slave museum, gym, restaurant, games village, lagoon front, and coconut dispensary.  They also enjoyed paddle boat and bicycle rides.

    After having fun pupils visited Q-brat zoo and Garden in Okoafo, Badagry where they saw various kinds of animals.

    Proprietress of the school, Mrs Ayansiji, advised parents allow their wards to partake in extra curricula activities as it helps to develop the child.

    She also advised educationists not to limit education to classrooms alone.

    In appreciation, the pupils expressed their satisfaction and thanked their parents for the financial support.

  • Inside Southeast’s surviving zoo

    Inside Southeast’s surviving zoo

    It is not cheery that of all the zoological gardens in the whole of the Southeast, only one is operational. But it is heart-lifting that the lone survivor, the Nekede Zoological Garden in Imo State, is not faring that badly, thanks to the administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    The Nekede zoo is located in Owerri West Local Government Area of the state.

    The zoological garden established in 1976 under the state Ministry of Agriculture as an animal park, the Nekede Zoological Garden which sits on 10 hectares of reserved forest, houses a variety of animals, including lions, chimpanzees, monkeys, pythons, ostriches and crocodiles, among other animals.

    Although the zoo had suffered obvious neglect under successive administrations in the state, it has managed to exist until the current administration of Rochas Okorocha intervened by providing funds for the upgrade of existing infrastructure and the upkeep of the animals.

    The zoo serves as a centre for recreation, entertainment and education across the five Southeast states and beyond. Families, schools and other professional bodies throng there to enjoy the beauty of nature and carry out academic research in nature and wildlife.

    With a massive land mass of rain forest, which has been guided strictly against any form of encroachment, the Nekede Zoological Gardens has a natural appeal which holds visitors spellbound, coupled with the nerve calming chirrup  from more than 1,000 species of birds that nest on the huge trees in the rich forest.

    Another interesting feature of the garden is its proximity to Owerri, the Imo State capital. This proximity provides a sharp contrast and a soothing escape from the noise and pollution of the city.

    The General Manager of the Zoo, Mr. Francis Abioye, who took over the management of the gardens a few months ago, said he inherited almost a collapsed zoo, adding that he had been committed to reviving the garden with the support of the state government.

    According to him, the importance of sustaining the zoo cannot be over-emphasised, adding that the best way to tackle natural disasters is to return to nature.

    “We are living in a society that is far from nature. Nature supports our existence. Forests and wild animals help to check climate change,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “In advanced countries, infrastructure are giving way for nature. Infrastructure are demolished and gardens planted in their places to check the effect of climate change. But here, forests are destroyed to build infrastructure with its attendant effects on climate.”

    Further highlighting the benefits of the zoo, Abioye noted that it was not only established for revenue generation but also for posterity and conservation of animals and plants genetic pool, adding that, “our children will not forgive us if we allow these animals and plants go extinct. The zoo is one place everyone should be at least twice a week to have the quietness of nature. This helps to prolong one’s life span because study has shown that those living close to natural parks tend to live longer.”

    He said before he assumed duty, the zoo was in a very poor shape with the few surviving animals looking pale as a result of lack of care.

    “When we came in, the lions, for instance, were fed once in four days, which contravenes the rights of caged animals.

    “A mature lion should take about 35kg of meat daily or an average of two goats a day. But the management then could not meet the target due to paucity of funds. This resulted in the lions looking very pale. But today, they have bounced back and the visitors are happy.

    “Previous administrations did not invest in the zoo until Governor Okorocha, who noticed the good work we are doing, intervened and increased our subvention. Since then, the animals are well taken care of because we are aware of the criminality of punishing caged animals,” he said.

    He further revealed that “we have a proposal which is currently before the Governor, to turn the zoo into an Animal Team Park, where we will combine the zoo with a park where children and adults can come and have fun. This idea is conceived to maximise the economic potential of the zoo and to generate revenue for government.”