Tori is by far one of the best known primates around the world due to her terrible habit of smoking cigarettes but now, approximately 10 years after she started this bad habit, Tori is finally going to kick it. Tori has been smoking for almost 10 years as zoo visitors would throw cigarette butts and eventually entire cigarettes into the habitat where she lives.

Now that Tori is getting older the zookeepers are finally going to help her kick the habit, although they’re not exactly sure how successful they will be. By moving Tori to a secluded island habitat the zookeepers are hopeful that Tori will completely forget her desire to smoke and once again become a healthy and lively primate.

It is not terribly uncommon for orangutans in zoos to start smoking when given the opportunity, but many are hopeful that this type of environment change might make Tori kick the habit. This is truly an incredible endeavor to undertake and will definitely be watched by millions around the world. Hopefully someday the world famous smoking orangutan will stop smoking for good and be able to live a healthy and happy life. It may hurt the number of visitors to the zoo according to some analysts, but zookeepers say that the lives of their animals are significantly more important.

A family found this American black bear cub in Oregon and believing him to be lost or orphaned, took him home in April. Realizing they were ill-equipped to care for the animal, they soon called the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who stepped in and found him lodging at the Oregon Zoo.

The two-and-a-half month old cub, was lucky to receive such an immediate response and the round the clock care he needed. However, getting this type of attention means he bonded with humans and would not be able to return to life in the wild. Further complicating the cub’s chances for a permanent home was the fact that the Oregon zoo already had four American black bears and their enclosure could not support another.

The Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo stepped up to bat and offered to take the cub in the hopes that he would grow into a good companion for their lone black bear, Winnie. When the cub arrived at the NEW Zoo, he was dubbed Aldo. Curator Carmen Murach adopted Aldo & brought him home with her so he could have a parental figure until he adjusted to his new surroundings. Recently Aldo has been able to spend his nights at the Zoo so long as Murach visits frequently.

It will be some time until Aldo and Winnie can spend time together. He could be seriously harmed by even the slightest swipe from her paw if he got in her way. Since he has no mom to protect him - and Murach is only willing to carry the parental role so far – he will have to be introduced to Winnie slowly, over time.

Murach believes that in all likelihood, the family who “rescued” him, thought well-intentioned, probably took him from his mother. Adults often spend a great deal of time away from their young so as not to draw attention to the babies. She warns that unless an infant is found next to a dead parent, it is probably not alone and should be left where it is. Humans should not mistake a cub’s willingness to be handled by humans as an attempt to get help. Cubs haven’t learned yet to be wary and his mother could be just over the horizon.

Lesser pandas, or red Pandas as most people call them are an incredibly rare and highly endangered species that is rarely spotted in the wild. As a result of this they are often taken care of very carefully when in captivity; recently however a new group of red pandas has begun to emerge in a Chinese zoo.

Just this week the group of more than 40 red pandas was moved out of the park into a Chinese national park in southwest China where they will be monitored but allowed to live on their own rather than in captivity. Experts say this is a great sign for the pandas because it indicates that the population is growing as hoped and will eventually be back to a full size population hopefully.

Zoo workers say that the 44 pandas, 13 male and 31 female, are living well together and seem to be adapting well to their new home. Many of the pandas are mating as well so the population is expected to continue growing now that they have much more open area.

In the end zoo workers say it is sad to see the pandas leave but great to see them finally out on their own living in a protected yet open environment. No word on if any of the red pandas will be put back into captivity for any reason, at this time they seem to be having no problem however. You can see the pandas in the video below.

Red Pandas