Polar bears, cheetah, tigers and other large carnivores with huge ranges just aren't being cared for well enough in captivity, a study published in Nature says, and the authors think that zoos either need to seriously rethink their habitats for these big animals, or phase them out for smaller, easier to satisfy creatures.
For example, polar bears have ranges that cover hundreds of miles of territory in the Artic but are generally kept in small, tank and rock environments which are a million times smaller. They also are notorious for behavioral problems and health problems related to captivity stress, problems that the research said can be predicted because of the large space they need.
Zoos counter that this is "nothing new" and that they're constantly working to enrich the enviroment of animals to help them adjust to captivity.

The free on line magazine, Chronicle of the Winged Serpent, was changed into the Dragon Erotica web site's newsletter due to a lack of interest. The next issue is now posted. Topics this issue:
Drawing a furry Cyber'Mon
Comic Updates
Cyber'Mon: the game?
Printer Quest
A short poem
Many color illustartions & mini gallery
Conventions & events
Dragon People (Comic)
Mystic Fox (Comic)

Since Winged Serpent is now the DE newsletter, it will contain adult material but not this issue (unless the nude herm Dracomon is considered adult). Submissions are always welcome.

Seems tigers are in the news a lot, lately...
Does anyone know if the "...wildlife refuge in Ohio..." is Tiger Haven?
(I know Tiger Haven is in TN, but the news could have gotten the state wrong...(sometimes I think NY ppl lump everything w of Appalachians and E of Mississippi river together...))

There may be less than 20,000 lions now, not in a park or country, but the whole African continent. That's a drop from an estimated 200,000 lions in the early 80's. Scientists say they're not going extinct... yet. But the impact of game hunting, especially in the removal of most adult male lions from the gene pool, and pest animal control, is decimating the social structure and species survival of lions in the wild. The research team noted no instance of finding a lion in their four years in a wildlife preserve who had died of natural causes. Instead, they were "poisoned, trapped and shot".

Timothy Treadwell, a well-known author and filmmaker who professed a deep love and kinship for bears, was killed and partially eaten by bears during a trip to Alaska. Also killed was his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard.

Treadwell liked getting close to bears, even singing to them, and tried to promote the idea that getting close to bears in the wild was not dangerous. He had been repeatedly warned that getting too close to bears was risky, and had even survived other bear encounters that threatened his life.

The full article can be seen at the Anchorage Daily News website.