Our spring chill will continue 'til Thu. as lows tonight drop to the mid 30s to low 40s very near the record low of 39 at Jax set in 1950. Wed. night will be another cold one with a low very near the record of 38 set in 1983. High temps. have been a story too. Tue. could break the record low high of 63 degrees set in 1950.
It'll be a little milder Wed. afternoon -- in the upper 60s -- but still a good 10 degrees below avg. Thu. will be the beginning of much warmer temps. with afternoon highs in the low to mid 70s warming to near 80 Fri. & 80-85 for the weekend. If you can handle the chill in the near term, we have some gorgeous weather on the way!
There's a new baby our beautiful Jax Zoo & Gardens............
JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS ANNOUNCES BONGO ANTELOPE BIRTH
April 15, 2008 – Jacksonville, FL – The staff at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is celebrating the birth of a female Eastern Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) born on exhibit Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 3:30 p.m. The calf was born to Sequoia, a five-year-old female born at and owned by the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, and Abe, the father, who came here in 2007 from the Cape May County Park Zoo in New Jersey where he was born, and is on loan from the Los Angeles Zoo. Only 30 minutes after the birth, the calf was standing. She weighed in at 43.1 pounds the following day. This is Sequoia’s first offspring and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ eighth Eastern Bongo birth.
A neonatal examination or “well baby” check was performed by the animal health staff on the calf to assess its health status on Monday. Both mother and calf are now doing well. The calf will continue to be monitored closely by animal health and keeper staff. Visitors can see the baby and its mother on exhibit at the Plains of East Africa.
Zoos have been involved in the conservation of this rare antelope, which is native to the Mt. Kenya region of Africa, over the last 50 years in response to the animal's rapid population decline. Nearly four decades ago, US zoos began breeding the species in hopes of maintaining a genetically diverse population. In 2004, 20 captive-bred bongos –including one from the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens—were repatriated back to Africa.
The bongo is a species that has benefitted from zoo assisted reproduction technologies, such as artificial insemination and incubation of embryos. From implanting eland (a related species) cows with rare bongo embryos to transporting embryos to Kenya to implant in bongo females, this last chance to preserve genetic viability can provide a hedge against extinction.
"Cancer Update":
** Late in Feb., I posted about Randy Pausch & his moving "Last Lecture". His website details his battle with pancreatic cancer which is ongoing. He's also written book which was just recently published.........
** Very interesting story on "60 Minutes" Sun. night about John Kanzius -- battling leukemia -- who has helped develop the "Kanzius Machine" which could possibly cure cancer! Click here for the fascinating story as it aired.
** And an emotional article written in this month's National Geographic by Joel Sartore regarding his wife's battle vs. *** cancer. Click here.
Trying to get back in the saddle....thanks for your patience, encouragement, thoughts & prayers.
