If you’re a supporter of PopcornPark, chances are pretty good thatthese photos will put a smile on yourface. Why? Because Simba the lion(left), Maryann the black bear (right),and Aragorn the baboon are clearlyexpressing as close to a smile asyou’re going to see, and ... clearly,they are totally relaxed. And trusting.When an animal rolls on its back, it isat its most vulnerable, just like yourown dog or cat when they roll ontheir back to you. Behaviorally, theyare telling you they trust you to nothurt them by offering you their throat.You will see this in the wild in wolfpacks, in lion prides, and even in

play among young wildanimals of many differ-ent species. It is one ofthe biggest compli-ments an animal cangive you. Why do weknow that this is agreat accomplishmentat Popcorn Park?Because these animalshave a life of low stresswith us. They haveadequate space toexpress natural behav-iors; are secure in there

being a constant source of water and good food, as well as being in good health;they have enrichments to occupy their time; and a staff with whom they are famil-iar and who respect their boundaries. While the big cats may quietly pace theirareas at times, it is not the compulsive and repetitive behavior you see when big

FALL 2017 Vol. 26, No 3

Founding Members of the`Try & Relax’ Club

Who’sZoo?

1. We actually have quite a few of these at Popcorn Park,but only two on the Wildlife Club. These two are domestic,but when sponsored, they happily share their good fortunewith their wild resident cousins. Who are they?

2. Almost all of our monkeys at Popcorn Park were once kept as pets,and were surrendered when they reached maturity and becameaggressive to one or more family members. This particular monkey’sstory is the same, but she especially enjoys opening mail. Who is it?3. We also have a number of these animals at the refuge, but this is theonly one rescued with indications that he was going to be used in a rit-ual sacrifice. Who is it? Answers Page 2

cats, or other animals like elephants, are confinedto small cages or chained in one place. That kindof confinement is now known to be deeply psy-chologically abusive, although it is still found inmany zoos, roadside zoos, and other circum-stances.But here, the animals are inquisitive. Who are you?(And yes ... maybe they’d like some of your pop-corn, but that’s not the whole story.) What do yousmell like? Why do you move that way?We’ve nominated Simba, Maryann, and Aragornas founding members of the `Try & Relax’ Clubbecause they have mastered the art of relaxation.Look for numerous other members throughoutPopcorn Park, as well. Perhaps we humansshould start up a club like that of our own. It mightprove to be more of a challenge than it is for thesethree!Learn more about Simba, Maryann, and Aragornin the Wildlife Club at ahscares.org, where you canalso sponsor them.

What do a cell phone and achimpanzee have in com-mon? More than you mightthink. Coltan and other min-erals used to manufacturecell phones are being minedfrom the African rainforest inthe DRC (DemocraticRepublic of Congo). Miningresults in the clear-cuttingand destruction of this sen-sitive land where alreadyendangered chimpanzees

and other great apes live. To make it worse, the miningindustry increases the bush meat trade, i.e., the killing ofchimpanzees and great apes for human consumption. A highprice is also being paid by young children who are being sentinto the mines.Your recycling your cell phone and other electronics allowsfor the re-use of the coltan in your phone, reducing the needfor mining expansionin the DRC. Pleaseread about how youcan help in a pro-gram where recycledphones make a dif-ference in saving therainforest and chim-panzees’ lives.There’s also a shorteducational videoshowing the chim-panzees, the ravaged land, and children miners.http://www.janegoodall.org.au/mobile-phone-recycling/

As is the case with many of our residents, Raz the red-tailedhawk is with us due to handicap. He has a broken clavicleand cannot fly. He was originally rescued by a bird-rescuegroup, but when they ascertained he could never bereleased into his natural environment, they turned to us.Red-tailed hawks are very adaptable birds of prey and arefound throughout all of North America from far westernAlaska all the way down to Panama. They can live in desertsor forest, mountains or agricultural fields, or coastal areas.They weigh 1.5 to 3.5 pounds and are 18 - 26” in length.When soaring, the red-tail travels at about 40 mph, but whendiving to its prey, can reach speeds of 120 mph! They are acarnivorous bird, with rodents making up about 85% of theirdiet, regardless of where it may live. The red-tailed hawk is amajestic bird in appearance, and although our Raz may nolonger soar the skies, the word majestic still fits him just fine.

Page 2 ZoonooZ - Fall 2017

The Importance of Recycling Your Cell Phone

1. Pete and Melissaare two domesticwhite ducks, amongmany living here whowere once cuteducklings given asEaster pets, but nolonger wanted whenthey grew up.2. Pixie was verymuch loved by herfamily, but when shematured, she be-

came aggressive, not uncommon at all in monkeys who are raised aspets. She attacked the wife, and could no longer be kept. Pixie is a tuft-ed capuchin, and a real love with staff.3. Hoover the goat (above) was so named because when we rescuedhim from North Bergen in early 2009, he was sick and starving; he vac-uumed up every morsel we gave him with great gusto. Our ACO wascalled to a site of ritualistic sacrifice, but for some reason, Hoover hadescaped or was let go - one lucky goat!

Answers to Who’sZoo?

Life Today for Elmo

Thanks to the efforts of many caring peo-ple, Elmo was saved from being sent toslaughter. As part of a living history farmin Monmouth County, he had outlived his

usefulness, and this friendly pig, who had only known human handlinghis entire life, was now to be killed. Elmo was loaded on to a trailer andtaken to our Tinton Falls facility where he has a very spacious yard, anice little red house all his own, and plenty of rescued chickens androosters for buddies - his own small barnyard.Elmo enjoys being petted by staff, but can get a little pushy at times, sohe does not entertain visitors. He is very happy with his easy day - helikes to push things about with his snout, scarfs down apples, and hasa great appetite. And of course, Elmo’s favorite thing to do ... relax!

PHOTO: ICE VIKING

Raz the Handsome Hawk

Good morning, Elmo!

There are a great many differing opinionsabout the construction of a border wallbetween the United States and Mexico,but never do you hear about the effect itwould have on animals. According toDefenders of Wildlife, 89 endangered orthreatened species would be impacted bythe construction of such a wall, includingthe jaguar, gray wolf, ocelot, and Sonoranpronghorn sheep.The genetic diversity needed to sustainhealthy populations of these and otheranimals would decrease if the border con-nectivity of these two countries were cutoff. Other wildlife that would be negativelyaffected by a border wall are mountainlions, desert tortoises, coatimundi, quail,wild turkey, bighorn sheep, and certaintypes of owl.

ZoonooZ - Fall 2017 Page 3

Join the Zoological Society & Saveon Visits All Year Long

Yes! I want to help support Popcorn Park. Sign me up for theZoological Society!

� Please sign me up as a new member at the membership levelbelow:

� Please renew my membership at the level below:

� Enclosed is a donation of $ _________________ for Popcorn Park

� $40 - Family � $30 - Single� $30 - Golden Opportunity � $75 - Sustaining � $150 - Donor � $500 - Patron � $1,000 - Sponsor

My Name: ______________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

City. State, Zip: _________________________________________

You can also learn more and join online - www.ahscares.org and click on Zoological Society!

How Building A Border WallWould Affect Animals

The Humble (and Underrated) Bean

Appaloosas are a very specialbreed of horse, and that sure fitsour Mickey. One of the classicmarkings of this breed (found inmost, but not all), is the spotting ofcolor over part or all of the body ona solid coat. Of all horse breeds,the Appaloosa has the most varia-tion in appearance.We would need a true specialist tobe sure, but based on Mickey’scolor and markings, he is most like-ly a blue roan Appaloosa. He alsohas the required white sclera (whitearea showing around the iris), andvertical stripes on at least one of hishooves. What is also fascinatingabout Appaloosas is that theirmarkings change over time. If one looks at photos of Mickey from when he first came to usin 2009 to today, you would notice some spots are more pronounced; some “blotches” ofcolor didn’t exist; and his mane is sometimes different colors. Mickey is also handicapped. He is blind in one eye and lame with a slightly turned out leftfront hoof. It is because of his handicaps that we accepted Mickey at Popcorn Park. Oneof the owners of Mickey’s farm had passed away, resulting in a need for all the horses to beplaced. All were ridable but Mickey. All found placements but Mickey, due to his handicaps.The surviving owner didn’t want Mickey to go to auction, and thankfully, found us. Now 18 years old, Mickey has a good life with us. He’s a sweet boy and an easy keeper.He has three staff that regularly take care of him, and he’s good for them all. He’s also easyto work around for the farrier and vet, although he can, at times, be a little stubborn. Hishandicaps don’t affect his life in any way. We did try putting Mickey and Seven together, butit was not a match made in heaven, so instead they keep each other company from a shortdistance away. Something you may notice right away when you come visit is that Mickey isa real beggar for popcorn. You can indulge him a little - it makes him happy.

Beans sometimes get abad rap, but as a staplein your diet, they can besuperstars and go head-to-head with beef forhealth advantages. Notto mention they reduceand/or eliminate the suf-fering and death of ani-mals.

Did you know that beans ...� are fat and cholesterol free?� are environmentally sustainable and need only 1/10 theamount of water to produce 1 kg of beans as compared to 1 kgof beef?� lower cholesterol and the risk for Type 2 diabetes?� provide protein, iron, potassium, fiber, antioxidants, magne-sium, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and folate?� reduce the risk for breast cancer, colorectal, and other typesof cancer?� reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease?What a winner, that bean!Replace some (or all) of your meat ingredients with tasty legumes-- Make up some chili; throw some black beans into a salad; eatsome hummus; make some pasta e fagioli, split pea or lentilsoup - and gain the benefits of this wonderful food! Save lives!

OCELOT PHOTO COURTESY OF SPENCER WRIGHT

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCIANO SALOMONI

DRIVE CAREFULLY!Hunters are in the woods and deer are running for their lives. It is also mating season.

Get to Know ... Mickey the Appaloosa

Popcorn ParkP.O. Box 43Forked River, NJ 08731-0043

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDASSOCIATED

HUMANE SOCIETIES

ZoonooZ

ZoonooZ is published by theAssociated Humane Societies/Popcorn Park

Executive Director ..... Roseann TrezzaPopcorn Park Gen. Mgr. .. John BergmannEditor .......................... Jeanne Balsam

Photographers

John Bergmann, Judy BohsLindsay Papa

Please address all correspondence to:

John Bergmann/ ZoonooZPopcorn ParkPO Box 43Forked River, NJ 08731-0043

ZoonooZ

www.ahscares.orgInformation filed with the Attorney General concern-ing this charitable solicitation may be obtained fromthe Attorney General of the State of New Jersey bycalling (973) 504-6215. Registration with theAttorney General does not imply endorsement.

Charitable Registration #-CH012-6200, Tax Exempt # 221 487122.

Mythbuster!Myth: Bats are blind.Busted! There is that old saying of someonebeing blind as a bat, but it’s just not true.Whilebats primarily use sonar, or echolocation, to findtheir prey and avoid obstacles, they have fullyfunctioning eyes. Bats’ eyes may be small andsometimes poorly developed, but they work justfine. Added to their keen sense of hearing andsmell, bats are highly attuned to all around them.

Did you know?

Say hello to the vaquita, the small-est porpoise in the world, and socritically endangered that there areonly 30 left in existence. They livein Mexico’s northern Gulf ofCalifornia and are predicted to dieout by 2019 unless more is done.Their nemesis? How Mexicanshrimp are caught. The vaquita’sbiggest threat is the catch-all gillnet used by the fishermen in the

area. Mexico has proposed and enacted numerous initiatives to limit gill net fishing to savethe vaquita. However, according to the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC),enforcement of these well-intentioned efforts is dismal; recent searches in the Gulf ofCalifornia uncovered scores of illegal gill nets as well as shrimp vessels continuing to fishfor shrimp in protected waters. This tiny porpoise, only 53 - 55 inches long, has very littlechance of survival without strong and immediate intervention.That’s where you come in. Americans are the largest consumers of Mexican shrimp.NRDC asks Americans to boycott Mexican shrimp; check labels at the supermarketseafood section, or in seafood stores and don’t purchase them; ask waitstaff at restau-rants as to the source of their shrimp and order accordingly. Let people know the impor-tance of this issue. Until enough of a concern is heard that Mexican enforcementbecomes a reality, this little porpoise will have taken his last swim in the near future.Visit: boycottmexicanshrimp.com to find additional ways to help the vaquita survive.p.s. Recently, in a period of 46 days, those same gill nets also caused the death of over300 marine animals, including totoaba, sharks, rays, guitarfish, dolphins, sea lions,seabirds, a sea turtle, and a Bryde's whale.

Facing Extinction, but You Can Help Save Them!

PHOTO COURTESY: PAULA OLSON, NOAA

� Octopuses are the most highly intelligent of all invertebrates?Like chimpanzees, dolphins and crows, they use tools, cansolve puzzles, and navigate mazes.� They are masters of camouflage and can completely mimictheir environment in just 3/10 of a second!� They are very curious and engage in what humans call “playbehavior”.� Octopuses (the correct plural) have 3 hearts, 9 brains, andblue blood.