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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Fat elephants put on the treadmill |
| 2005-09-17 |
| From correspondents in Anchorage THE Alaska Zoo in Anchorage is home to what is believed to be the world's first elephant treadmill. The zoo took the unusual step of installing the 6m by 2 1/2m treadmill to help Maggie the elephant fight the battle of the bulge. At last weigh-in in August 2004, Maggie tipped the scales at 4132kg - about 450kg overweight. Good news: that really puts my 20kg (44lbs) of lard in perspective. Bad News: with a 11-12% overweight, Maggie's actually slimmer than me... damn! Zoo director Tex Edwards said the elephant could learn to use the treadmill to lose weight. "Every time we've undertaken to teach Maggie something new she has always learned it faster than we anticipated," Mr Edwards said. Zoo officials said one challenge facing captive elephants was making sure they exercised. In the wild, African elephants spend their time foraging for food. To simulate that experience, Maggie now has to reach for her food. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #1 The Anchorage zoo is best known for, of all things, a polar bear. Twice now, drunks have snuck into the polar bear's compound to fight the bear. The first one bopped the bear on the nose with his fist, so the bear whapped him with a paw, sending him flying backwards 25 feet into a wall. He sobered up quick. The second drunk realized his mistake early, and in trying to get back out, lost a tennis shoe. A photograph of the bear gnawing on a Nike soon graced t-shirts all over town, captioned "bear: 2, drunks: 0" I visited early in the morning, about 10:30am, and heard a beautiful wolf pack group howl. I just had to see the wolves, so I walked to where I heard the pack, only to find a single wolf, who was recuperating from some leg injury. "Where are the wolves?", I asked a zoo employee, who replied, "Oh, those aren't *our* wolves. They just hang out outside the fence over there." I recommend visiting Anchorage the first week in July. It is a paradise, with weather in the 70's, about 20 hours of sunlight a day (what a trip!), greenery, animals and brilliantly-colored flowers everywhere. There is a direct flight from Phoenix, of all places. Prices are ordinary, except there are few gas stations, convenience stores, or even grocery stores. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-09-17 17:38 |