Guest guest Posted March 15, 2001 Report Share Posted March 15, 2001 http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/0315/asahi031505.html Zoo pins hopes on owls Asahi Shimbun March 15, 2001 Ueno Zoo hopes the public gives a hoot. From Saturday, visitors to the zoo in Taito Ward have been given the rare opportunity to view owls close up, even though the birds are mostly nocturnal. Zoo officials, trying to reverse dwindling attendance figures, hit on the idea of owl viewing because they believe there is a growing public fascination with the birds. Some people even keep them as pets. Three types of owl are on show: Ural owls, which are found in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Japan, as well as on the Korean Peninsula; snowy owls, which live mainly in frozen highland and desert areas; and eagle owls, which are common to the Eurasian continent. They are all internationally recognized under the Washington Treaty as endangered species. At Ueno Zoo, veteran keepers with a traditional takajo license-awarded to people who have tamed birds of prey such as hawks-have been training the owls since the beginning of the year. Owls at Ueno Zoo are kept in cages, but from Saturday they have been taken out for daytime demonstrations. The keepers explain the characteristics of the owls while the birds are perched on their outstretched arms. Attendance at Ueno Zoo between April 1999 and the end of March last year came to 3.48 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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