News Brief: March 20-24

Overview

Crane Confiscated in India

Trump’s Troubles

OKC Zoo Euthanized Bison

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International

Crane Confiscated in India

Despite being home to thousands of the rare Sarus crane, it remains illegal to keep or feed one of the birds in Uttar Pradesh. However, Mohammad Arif, a farmer, found one on his property last year and nursed it back to health. Arif expected it to fly away when it was able, but it never did.

On Tuesday, officials from the wildlife department confiscated the bird.

“I don’t know about wildlife laws. I’m a farmer. But if I had caged it, tied it up and hadn’t allowed it to go anywhere, then I could understand why the forest department would want to take it away,” Arif said. “But you saw that it flew around and came and went as it pleased. Did you ever see me constricting its movements?”

Wildlife expert Samir Kumar Sinha, who heads the Sarus Crane Conservation Project at the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said despite controversy, moving the bird to a sanctuary was the right thing to do.

“Conservation and compassion are two different things,” Sinha said. “You can rescue a bird in distress, but you have to hand it over to the custodians of law.”

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National

Trump’s Troubles

Among the various ongoing cases and investigations against the former-president is Evan Corcoran, Donald Trump’s defense attorney, who is scheduled to testify before a grand jury on Friday about the classified documents found in Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.

This follows a new order from a federal appeals court, which may aid the special counsel investigation as it seeks to secure evidence that could make or break a federal criminal case against Trump.

A Trump spokesperson said “prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever.”

However, if this does not prove to be the case, Trump could face as much as 33 years in prison.

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Local

OKC Zoo Euthanizes Bison

Transferred in 2007 and spending around 16 years at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, the 22-year-old female American bison, Mary Ann, was humanely euthanized Tuesday.

Most bison live anywhere from 10 to 20 years; Mary Ann was considered geriatric, and it showed. She recently exhibited a decrease in appetite and an increase in respiratory effort, compromising her quality of life as it became clear that medications and treatment were no longer helping.

“Caring for Mary Ann was a joy and privilege for myself and the entire team,” OKC Zoo’s curator of hoofstock and primates, Tracey Dolphin, said. “She brought smiles to guests of all ages through experiences like our Wild Encounters and annual enrichment activities and will be missed by many.”

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