Latest news with #TimBennett
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Beloved giraffe and unborn calf die suddenly
A Sydney Zoo giraffe and its calf have died following complications during labour. Late last Thursday night, zoo staff noticed signs of active labour in female giraffe Nzuri. In a statement, staff said as Nzuri's labour progressed 'it became apparent that the birth was not proceeding normally'. 'A dedicated team of three veterinarians and two veterinary nurses from several institutions were immediately mobilised to intervene and assist with the delivery,' the statement read. Staff discovered the calf's head and neck were poorly positioned, and despite the team's best efforts it became evident that the calf had died. Not long after, due to the stress and difficulty of the birth, Nzuri's condition 'severely deteriorated'. Faced with no viable options to save her, staff made 'the very difficult decision to humanely euthanise Nzuri to prevent her from further suffering'. Sydney Zoo said Nzuri's death had deeply affected staff who cared for her. 'This is an incredibly heartbreaking outcome for all involved,' exotic animals care manager Tim Bennett said. 'Our animal care team did everything possible to try and save both the calf and the mother, Nzuri. 'Decisions like this are never made lightly. The animal's welfare is always our primary concern.' Giraffe births are notoriously problematic due to the animal's trademark long limbs and neck, with a roughly six-foot drop to the ground immedietly following birth. Giraffes typically socialise in small groups or pairs of the same sex. Nzuri's companion was a similarly aged giraffe named Eyelean. When Nzuri arrived from Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium in November last year, the two quickly formed a strong bond. 'When Nzuri spotted Eyelean, the bond was instant,' said Sydney Zoo zookeeper Frankie Douglass. 'Giraffes communicate through sniffing each other and rubbing noses, which is exactly what we witnessed within moments of the giraffes meeting each other. 'Nzuri and Eyelean are very similar in nature, both gentle yet outgoing.' Nzuri celebrated her sixth birthday just one month ago with keepers describing her as a 'shy' and 'lovely' giraffe. Giraffes in the wild typically live about 25 years.
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Incredibly heartbreaking': Sydney Zoo giraffe and unborn calf die suddenly
A Sydney Zoo giraffe and its calf have died following complications during labour. Late last Thursday night, zoo staff noticed signs of active labour in female giraffe Nzuri. In a statement, staff said as Nzuri's labour progressed 'it became apparent that the birth was not proceeding normally'. 'A dedicated team of three veterinarians and two veterinary nurses from several institutions were immediately mobilised to intervene and assist with the delivery,' the statement read. Staff discovered the calf's head and neck were poorly positioned, and despite the team's best efforts it became evident that the calf had died. Not long after, due to the stress and difficulty of the birth, Nzuri's condition 'severely deteriorated'. Faced with no viable options to save her, staff made 'the very difficult decision to humanely euthanise Nzuri to prevent her from further suffering'. Sydney Zoo said Nzuri's death had deeply affected staff who cared for her. 'This is an incredibly heartbreaking outcome for all involved,' exotic animals care manager Tim Bennett said. 'Our animal care team did everything possible to try and save both the calf and the mother, Nzuri. 'Decisions like this are never made lightly. The animal's welfare is always our primary concern.' Giraffe births are notoriously problematic due to the animal's trademark long limbs and neck, with a roughly six-foot drop to the ground immedietly following birth. Giraffes typically socialise in small groups or pairs of the same sex. Nzuri's companion was a similarly aged giraffe named Eyelean. When Nzuri arrived from Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium in November last year, the two quickly formed a strong bond. 'When Nzuri spotted Eyelean, the bond was instant,' said Sydney Zoo zookeeper Frankie Douglass. 'Giraffes communicate through sniffing each other and rubbing noses, which is exactly what we witnessed within moments of the giraffes meeting each other. 'Nzuri and Eyelean are very similar in nature, both gentle yet outgoing.' Nzuri celebrated her sixth birthday just one month ago with keepers describing her as a 'shy' and 'lovely' giraffe. Giraffes in the wild typically live about 25 years.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Price hike warning for Aussies travelling to Europe as US-Iran tensions escalate
Australians eager to escape the winter blues and travel to Europe at short notice could soon be paying much more for their holidays. While many who head to the other side of the world in June, July and August have their flights booked well in advance, those booking last minute are likely to be hit by fare hikes and higher travel insurance premiums due to disruptions and uncertainty arising from the Middle East conflict. Tim Bennett, expert at consumer group Finder, told Yahoo Finance travellers should book their travel insurance sooner rather than later. "If you have a flight booked and you have travel insurance, you're fine, because any sort of disruptions to your flight are covered, even if that disruption happens well before your trip starts," he said. RELATED Major warning over $50,000 act during popular Aussie travel period Centrelink payment alert for 58,000 Aussies in caravans Young Aussie reveals $390,000 property regret after falling into common trap "If you've got flights booked, but you haven't got travel insurance yet, which happens for many people, you might be in a bit of a sticky situation." Your flights might get cancelled or diverted suddenly, and sometimes it's up to the airline to sort you out. But in exceptional circumstances, like the outbreak of war, Bennett said every carrier will have a different said the Smart Traveller website recently upgraded Qatar to a level two alert. Qatar closed its airspace for several hours but reopened it on Tuesday. "Your travel insurance will change what it can cover based on what the travel alert is," he said. "If you took out travel insurance yesterday on a travel alert level two, you're covered in a way that you potentially might not be if it went up to travel alert level three in a couple of days." He said not only will your policy start to have more exclusions with a higher travel alert, but the premiums will also be far more expensive. Those price hikes might be avoided if you're reaching Europe by going around the Middle East (like from Singapore or Perth). However, they could kick in if you're stopping through one of the big travel hubs like Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The US recently got involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran by bombing a series of key Iranian sites over the weekend. Iran has responded by launching a series of missiles at an American base in Qatar. This escalation has caused airlines to avoid airspace where the fighting has erupted, adding a decent amount of flying time to a journey. Some have chosen to fly north over the Caspian Sea, while others are going south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia. A British Airways flight from London to Mumbai normally takes just over nine hours from A to B. However on June 22, it took 10 hours and 40 minutes because it flew around Iran. A Qantas plane headed for Europe was returned to Perth following the Qatar attack, while another was rerouted to Singapore. The national carrier said 'significant delays' to its flight schedule are expected once 'usual operations resume'. Two services operated by Qatar Airways for Virgin Australia were also diverted on the way to Doha. Qatar Airways announced a 'temporary suspension' of its services while tensions remained high. With planes potentially flying for longer in the air to avoid certain airspaces, they could be burning much more fuel. JLS Consulting's John Strickland said airlines could even be forced to cancel routes taking longer because it makes it unsafe for the flight crew to work past a certain point. Bennett said, much like travel insurance, it's probably best to lock in a good price now in case there's a price hike for those routes. "I don't think prices are going to go down," he told Yahoo Finance. "Also, consider whether or not there are better routes that don't go via the Middle East. "It does depend on what airline, and what frequent flyer program you're with, and things like that. But that's a thought if you want to reduce the amount of risk." Bennett said airline tickets could soon go up across the board as a result of the conflict. There are fears the outbreak could spike the price of oil, which happened following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. There are even bigger concerns the Middle Eastern country could close the Strait of Hormuz, which is a huge naval passageway used to transport oil out of the Persian Gulf to places around the world. If that happened, airlines could have to weigh up copping that extra cost or passing it onto consumers. You might be asking that question, especially considering a long-haul flight can become very expensive as your travel date gets closer. But it seems plenty of Aussies are last minute organisers. According to a study commissioned by the Tourism & Transport Forum, 62 per cent of Aussies would book a holiday less than a month in advance. Just under a third would book with a few weeks to go, 24 per cent said they would do it a few days before, 6 per cent the night before, and 2 per cent would book the day of. Comedian Matt Hey said he booked his trip to Europe just over two weeks before he wanted to fly and he was shocked that people did it the other way around and paid for everything months in advance. "That's scary to me, because I could be in a different financial position, [or] different circumstances in my life," he said. "I could have a new job, I could be doing something else with my life, I might not even want to go anymore, a war could break out, the world could be completely different. If I'm going with a friend, we might not be friends anymore. "There's so much risk with booking so far in advance." Booking site SkyScanner said some flights can be cheaper as the travel date approaches, but usually only if that's a quieter route or during off-peak travel days. "But on popular routes or peak dates, fares often increase as the flight fills up," it said. There can also be some frequent flyer programs where you can book cheap flights with only a few days' in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
