North Korea: Creepy to Animals, Too

What do you get for a fellow despot of an impoverished country? How about a menagerie? Conservation groups are pissed that Zimbabwe is sending North Korea a mini-menagerie--two of every species from Hwange National Park.

Somalia gave Kim Il Sung an Ass photo by (stephan)

You can only imagine how a nation that can't provide food and electricity for its own people will treat elephants and lions from Africa. Actually, you don't have to imagine. Some news reports make it seem ambiguous where they might go. But there's only one zoo in North Korea and it's totally sad, crappy, creepy and unaccredited.


Asia Times reports that a bunch of animal fighting films have come out of North Korea and pits animals against each other to fight to the death--just the kind of flick our Supreme Court endorsed.

"In all probability, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sanctioned the filming of Fighting Animals, or at least gave it his curious approval - though there is no evidence he was directly involved despite his well-documented interest in filmmaking," the Asia Times says. "The film's producers would have needed access to rare and valuable animals and the only place in the country that holds them is the Central Zoo in Pyongyang."

The Pyongyang Central Zoo was hit by bird flu

Aside from the animal fighting scandal, Lonely Planet says all the animals at the Korea Central Zoo, also known as the Pyongyang Central Zoo, "look pretty forlorn Worst off are the big cats...kept in woefully inadequate compounds." Visitors also describe and photograph lots of cats and dogs at the zoo. Of course, North Korea has a different way to describe it: "Working people and school youth and children have a pleasant time, seeing animals associated with meaningful stories." They also report renovations.

Zimbabwe defended the deal as just a business transaction, not political. Is that better? They're selling two elephants too young to be separated from their mother for $10,000 each, $900 each giraffe, $600 per zebra and then, the AP reports, some cheap birds: $10 each for blue crane, saddle-billed stork and white pelican. The blue crane seems like a real bargain: they're listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with only 26,000 left and falling and range maps don't even show them in Zimbabwe.

Some animals do get out of North Korea. In 1995 a Siberian tiger named Rail went to the south. In 2005 Seoul got a bear and lynx--but sent in a hippo and llama.  

The only good thing that can be said of the deal is that wild animals are pretty much doomed under Mugabe anyway. Zimbabwe's Conservation Task Force explains that Mugabe didn't just take land from white farmers, he took it from parks and wildlife, too.

Where to Go See Big Cats

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Actual White Elephant Becomes High Maintenance Burden to Burmese Farmers

The 2003 white elephant Rati Malar

Boy, some elephant handler in Myanmar must regret that day in January when he saw a white elephant. The handler told forest officials and eventually the military junta came to look for the animal that has mystical powers in local culture and Buddhism. Now, the Independent reports, the 50 soldiers have conscripted tons of local, forcing them to abandon their families and farms in search of the talisman of prosperity and power.

I wonder if because of this ordeal the Burmese will take the western meaning of "white elephant" as an overly demanding luxury item.

This white elephant is wily in addition to being sacred. It was first sighted in 2008, but no one was able to catch it then, either.  White animals can either be leucistic (fur or skin is white, but eyes  normal) or albino (white skin, red eyes, and often vision and sunburn problems).

In a previous white elephant situation in 2001, many locals speculated that a white elephant claimed by the junta was really an imposter, a pedestrian grey elephant that had undergone some kind of makeover at "an elephant-shed at Athak-naing-ra village" and renamed appropriately, Naringara News reported.  The Independent says that elephant eventually "fell out of favor" along with the government it was supposed to be lucky to. No word on where it went; it's not like washed up white elephants can just get some low-key gig in the hinterlands.

The other elephants in Burma don't get nearly the love his white one does. An elephant advocacy group, EleAid says that there are maybe 5,000 wild elephants left in the country and probably more kept in captivity, working in logging, tourism or sacred ceremonies.  The IUCN Red List says the Asian elephant is endangered and has a "a wide, but highly fragmented, distribution in Myanmar." If they catch this white elephant, it will be treated like royalty, with jewels and fancy dishes. Of course, that's the human idea of fun; the elephant would rather just hang out with its herd.

Survivor China: 3 Kids Camp Out with Tigers in a Safari Park

In China 667 people competed to spend three days in a safari park's tiger compound, enbar.net reports. Three twenty-somethings will get to stay in a cage/cabin at Qinling Safari Park to kick off the Year of the Tiger, which starts February 14.

This is the kind of thing you'd never see in an American safari park, what with the liability issues and common sense we have. From 10 a.m. Sunday to 11 a.m. Wednesday, the two men and one woman will stay in "a 10-square-meter cabin made out of a cage which has been placed at the center of the 'tiger mountain area,' the habitat of 48 wild tigers. The cabin has no electricity, heating or furniture and is covered only with straw to protect the three from the cold."

It's like Survivor, Chinese-style with tigers thrown in. The three bring their own food and tents and keep track of the tigers, with cameras, sound recordings and writings. Li Hang, a 25-year-old TV reporter, also brought his guitar to "kill time and hopefully communicate with the tigers." Oh, he'll be the first one they'll want to eat.

The park claims this stunt is supposed to promote protection and study of the tiger. They could certainly use the help; China recently said it had only 50 wild tigers left. Qinling Safari Park (in northern China's Shaanxi province) seems to be more about gimmicks than protection. This Chinese zoo tourist shows pictures of circus tigers at Qinling. They also had a chimp addicted to cigarettes for 16 years. It's like they're living in 1970s Florida. Still, if given the chance, I'd love to be one of the people in the cage.

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Where to Go to See Tigers and Other Big Cats

  Photo Courtesy of Tree of Life Web Project

China Says It Has Only 50 Wild Tigers Left

China's own wildlife officials estimate that only 50 tigers survive within its borders, Xinhua News reports. And those shockingly low numbers include four subspecies. The World Wildlife Fund figures they'll go extinct within 30 years, an estimate which seems optimistic. The IUCN range maps show that tigers are doing much better outside China, sometimes just outside its borders.

China's State Forestry Administration (SFA) says only 20 Siberian tigers remain in China's northeast, 20 Bengal tigers in Tibet, and 10 Indochinese tigers in the southwest. And you can pretty much forget about the South China tiger. Zhu Chunquan, conservation director of biodiversity at WWF China, told AFP: "After the late 1970s, there has been no concrete evidence to show that there are any left."

Siberian Tiger (Pantera tigris ssp. altaic) : endangered (20 in China)

What's weird here is that there's a Siberian Tiger Breeding Center in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, that brags that it's bred 1,000 cats (some pictured here).

The center combines breeding and tourism, but has come under fire for animal cruelty. Specifically, it got in trouble for feeding the tigers live cows and sheep. That wouldn't be bad if they were training tigers to hunt in the wild, but the videos show it's more to make a buck off tourists. The bigger the animal killed, the more the tourist pays. Tourists on this video paid $60 (1,500 renminbi) to see a sheep slaughtered, not splurging $180 to witness a cow death.

The best hope for the Siberian tiger seems to be Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who fancies them a national symbol.

South China Tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis) critically endangered and possibly extinct 虎

No one is sure if these cats live in the wild anymore. WWF's estimate that there are zero South China tigers contradicts the group's estimate on its Chinese website of 30-40.

The IUCN says reintroduction is sketchy, but progressing. The UK group Save China’s Tigers, is releasing cats in Zixi, Jiangxi, and Liuyang, Hunan. The controversy is that they're retraining captive, closely-related tigers on private reserves in South Africa. About 70 captives survive, but they're not even 100% genetically South China tigers. The range map shows the animal does much better just outside China.

Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) -Endangered (20 in Tibet)

Most Bengal tigers now live in India. The rangemap tell the story best: The animals live in many countries bordering China to the north and east, but have been wiped out in China.

Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris ssp. corbetti) - (10 in the Southwest)

In the IUCN's count, they don't even bother listing China as a habitat anymore. Most live in Thailand.

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Chinese Workers Save Ice-Blocked Harbor Seals

Animal-watching must be catching on in China. Government workers broke the ice to free 60 resident harbor seals trapped by a cold spell, then fed them fish.  Xinhuanet describes the rescuers as "workers of the scenic area."

Even the big Chinese news agency views the animals plight with sympathy. "Poor Harbor Seals Trapped by Ice," read the headline of their adorable slideshow.

Zinhuanet says the rescuers work at "ecological seal bay near Yantai City." I think they're talking about this giant tourist project, the Great Nanshan Ecological Park. Whatever the place is, they seem to realize how much people like to watch animals. Or maybe they're just suckers for a cute, whiskered face.

Elephant Baby Drama

Ever wonder how elephants give birth? Me neither. But this Bali Adventure Tours video--which does have a lot of birthy gore--shows you. There's a dramatic twist at the end. Hint: They probably wouldn't publicize a graphic video of a stillbirth.

Siberian Tiger Disappearing But At Least Putin's Cat is Okay

Just when news is breaking that Chinese poachers are wiping out 10-16% of the critically endangered Siberian tiger population each year, Vladmir Putin's tiger went missing. Russians had grown to love (or at least geographically track) this female tiger through Putin's tiger website. But her collar hadn't pinged in three months, exciting worries of poachers, who are wiping out tigers worldwide. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is in special trouble from  poachers who use tiger parts for traditional medicine.

But, Putin's spokesman announced, the only thing that died were the batteries in her collar. She's fine and so is a cub she had recently. 

Which of Putin's tigers is this? It's hard to keep track since Putin has a special relationship with (at least) two tigers. This is the 5-year-old female one he shot with a tranquilizer dart last summer while touring the Usuri Reserve. The other one was a two-month old tiger he got as birthday present.

The first incident with this tiger -- it apparently escaped from trap just as Putin approached, was hit by another dart, but not felled till Putin shot her again -- prompted speculation that it was a dramatic stunt to show off Putin's toughness. But no one questions his fondness for tigers, which he sees as a symbol of Russia. While this tiger slept he talked gently with her, shook her paw and then said good-bye by kissing her on the forehead.

It's certainly good news for the tigers to have Putin as a friend. The Russian Academy of Sciences  (near Vladivostock) is tracking the Siberian or Amur tiger, the world's largest subspecies of tiger. Once considered a big environmental success story because the population recovered to about 500 from only 50. But now scientists fear the number has dropped down to 300 because of Chinese poachers, who leave explosives smeared with fat for the rare cats to swallow. (As usual, no one is sure about the numbers.)

Putin is going to host a worldwide tiger summit in Vladivostock next year as part of a $1 billion drive with the World Wildlife Foundation to double the world's tiger population to 6,500 by 2022. The tigers (and even more endangered Amur leopards) live in a tiny area near the Sea of Japan.

Wanna visit? Russian travel agencies do offer a few options--but not the type of ecotourism Americans may be used to with spas and massages. If you don't get a tip from a park ranger on where a tiger is, this tour guide warns you may have to wait for days in an isolated "hide-out tent" for the tiger to show. Well, at least there's room for ecotourism to grow to support the Amur Tiger.

Want to see big cats? Here's an AnimalTourism.com map and guide to places to see lions, tigers and cougars around the globe

Map of Russian Tiger Hotspots

The jaguar photo was contributed by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ permanent exhibition


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