I read Zoos Aim to Ward Off a Penguin Killer by Donald G. McNeil. The
article is about how malaria, the disease carried by mosquitos, is one of the
largest killers of penguins living in zoo habitats. Since penguins mostly live
in either the very hot or very cold weather, so they are not exposed to
mosquitos. Most other animals have built up at least some sort of resistance to
malaria from the exposure to mosquitos. But when penguins are moved to warmer
regions where mosquitos are popular, they have almost no immune to fight
against the disease, which in turn kills them off. So, many zoos have been
trying to help these penguins have a better habitat within the zoo and/or
immunize and treat them. For example, in Central Park Zoo, the King penguins
are kept in a refrigerator type environment that is completely sealed. The
temperature is so low in the room that even if a bug were to enter, it would
quickly die. Other zoos have vets “bleed” the penguin, which means that when
the animals first arrive to the zoo, they give blood that can be tested for
malaria. Then a malaria pill is given to them, similar to the one us humans
take.
This
article/news is very important to the world because it could cause for depletion
in the population of many different kinds of penguins. This would be sad
because it could eventually lead to penguins becoming an almost extinct
species. However, this is good information for the public to know when thinking
about the effect of changing a penguin’s environment. Though zoos are great for
people to see animals, we, as a community, have to learn to take special
precaution for penguins in particular. With the new technology today, hopefully
scientists can help penguins start to become immune to malaria.
I
thought the author did an excellent job in writing this article. He did use
many persuasive appeals to drag he reader in, but he also had some good points
that made me think about how our desire to have zoos can have harmful effects.
I learned a lot about the safety of penguins in reading this. But it also made
me sad to realize that many have died due to a disease that is hard to detect.
McNeil, Donald G., Jr. "Zoos
Aim to Ward Off a Penguin Killer." New York Times. New York Times, 6 Oct.
2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/science/earth/zoos-aim-to-ward-off-a-penguin-killer.html?ref=science&_r=0>.
I read Gabriela Diaz’s summary of the article ‘Zoo’s Aim to Ward Off Penguin Killer.’ This article was especially interesting to me because it discussed a topic that I was previously unaware of. There were three aspects of this article that were particularly well presented. First, Gabriela gave a great summary of the natural habitat of penguins and how that in turn related to their inability to handle malaria. This was very important because without such a good explanation of the habitat of the penguins, it would be very hard to understand the logistics behind the malaria break out and how that affected the penguins. In addition, Gabriela used an example of the penguins in the Central Park Zoo as the appropriate way that a zoo has discovered to store the penguins. She mentions that in the Central Park Zoo the penguins are kept in a refrigerator like environment which kills any bugs that may enter the space and therefore prevents the penguins from getting any diseases. This is important because it shows that many zoos are not taking out these procedures, and gives us a reason for the outbreak of malaria among the penguins. Lastly, Gabriela incorporated the idea that penguins might become extinct in the near future. This is important because it raises awareness of the risk that we are taking by exposing these penguins to malaria.
ReplyDeleteTo make this review better I think that Gabby should have done two things. First, she should have read over her summary because there were many grammar mistakes that distracted from the main focus of the summary. Second, she should have related this issue to other animals and species that are experiencing the same thing. The penguin cannot be the only animal that has not built up an immunity to malaria, and Gabriela should have addressed these other animals to make her summary more fascinating.
One thing I was impressed to learn by reading this article was that some zoos ‘bleed’ the penguins by taking some of their blood and testing it for malaria and then giving them the malaria pill. I thought this was interesting because I was not familiar with the process of ‘bleeding’ and I did not know it was used in zoos today.
AP Biology
ReplyDeleteLucy Whitney
Current Event Comment #3
October 18, 2013
After reading Gabby’s summary of the article Zoos Aim to Ward Off a Penguin Killer by Donald G. McNeil, I now have a much greater sense of the risk animals encounter by being put in a so-called “protected” environment we call zoos. I thought Gabby did a really great job of explaining why penguins in particular are heavily affected by malaria, which is because in their natural habitat, they don’t encounter mosquitos and so they are not immune when they enter a zoo. Also, I thought the example of the penguins in the Central Park Zoo was a really nice addition because it illustrated the steps being taken today to try and decrease the problem that penguins encounter in zoos. Also, I could personally relate because I have been to the Central Park Zoo many times and have seen those exact penguins. Finally, I thought Gaby was very thoughtful in her personal opinion of the article. She mentioned the persuasive style the author used to pull her in to the article and she talked about how this article made her feel sad due to the harmful effects of enclosed penguins.
One thing Gabby could improve on is starting the review with an intriguing sentence to pull in the reader instead of just the name of the article. Also, I loved reading her reaction but next time she could expand on her reaction and discuss in greater detail what the author did well and what the author did poorly.
After reading the article, the one fact that sticks out at me that I didn’t know before is the fact that the climate that penguins live in would kill a bug as soon as they entered. This is fascinating and proves how animals all have different structures and features that have allowed them to adapt to their given environment. Overall, I loved reading about the penguins and I think Gaby wrote an organized, informative review of the article. Good job!
One aspect of the review which was particularly well presented was how Gaby introduced the problem defined in the article, and why it has such a devastating effect on the penguins. Gaby highlighted the fact that in zoos, penguins are taken out of their natural habitat. Penguins are used to living in cold places at the poles of the earth. Places were penguins live are places in which insects such as mosquitoes could never survive. However, in zoos, penguins are exposed to mosquitoes, and do not have immunity to the diseases that the mosquitoes may carry, such as malaria. Penguins at zoos located in warmer climates are catching these diseases and are in turn dying off. Another thing Gaby did well was that she then described the action that different zoos are taking in order to fix the problem. Gaby explained that at the Central Park Zoo, penguins are kept in a sealed off environment that mimics their natural habitats. Insects could not enter this sealed off compartment, and they would die if they could enter due to the cold temperature. Other zoos give malaria pills to penguins. A third thing that Gaby did well was that she applied the information in the article to the world, and discussed why the information presented is significant on the global scale. Gaby did a really great job incorporating her personal opinion of both the issue, and the way in which the author presented the information.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that penguins live in such cold temperatures. Both the author of the article and Gaby mentioned that an insect would die upon entering a penguin’s natural habitat due to the cold. I really enjoyed reading this article and Gaby’s review, and learned about an issue that I was unaware of.
Caroline McGrath
ReplyDelete11/05/19
Current Event 5
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-read-zoos-aim-to-ward-off-penguin.html
McNeil, Donald G., Jr. "Zoos Aim to Ward Off a Penguin Killer." New York Times. New York
Times, 6 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
.
I read a summary of the article “Zoo’s Aim To Ward Off Penguin Killer”, this biggest thing the author did write was name the title of her review after the article because it immediately got my attention and made me want to read the article. Secondly, the author did a great job summarizing the penguin habitat in a descriptive way that kept me intrigued. This is important because without the knowledge of that “ penguins are moved to warmer regions where mosquitos are popular, they have almost no immune to fight against the disease, which in turn kills them off.” I wouldn’t understand the point of the article. Finally, the author used an example from the Central Park Zoo as an appropriate way that a zoo has discovered to the penguins, and by mentioning a local zoo, I was able to visualize this display and making the review personal and more effective.
Although the review was very well written, there were multiple grammar mistakes, especially in her summary of the penguins habitats that distracted from the important information. Secondly, I think she should have related the issue to other species or animals and made the argument that it is a global issue that needs to be taken care of, instead of just stopping at penguins.
This article was very interesting, especially with new information about global warming, because it showed how deadly warmer temperatures can be for artic animals. It described it in a different way that I had never heard of before, and thus made me more intrigued in the information provided and made me want to do something about it.