The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 16, 2003, Page 7, Image 7
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 16, 2003 ~J
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Newborn cubs headlined
_at mvernanks
BY BRIAN RAY
THE GAMECOCK
Foli and Kisa were as energetic
and playful as the dozens of chil
dren pressed against the glass
watching them. Photographers big
and small, amateur and profes
sional alike*bathed the cubs in
blue as they wrestled and tongue -
bathed one another like celebrity
kittens in their display, a block
away from their parents.
Riverbanks Zoo could have been
Hollywood. The scene was cine
matic.
And the scene has also been a
long time coming. These two cool
cats are the first to be born at
Riverbanks in 14 years.
It takes more than a night at the
drive-in to make a pair of tigers
fall in love and hop in the sack.
The staff at Riverbanks had been
crossing their fingers for three
years while tigers Globus and
Koshka rolled around in the hay
once the tiger Species Survival
Program, based in Minnesota, had
sanctioned their mating.
“These cubs represent a new ge
netic line,” said Riverbanks
Spokeswoman Sharon Bergeron.
Tiger studbook keepers—who
maintain records on every cap
tive tiger in the world — can trace
Globus’s lineage directly to the
wild, so they know his offspring
will strengthen the genetic di
versity of captive tigers because
he’s bringing fresh genes to the
pool.
The SSP avoids inbreeding, as
it dilutes diversity. Sumatrar
tigers, for example, could face
tough times because a large num
ber of the subspecies in captivity
are now related.
Globus, cover boy for the
February 1997 issue of National
Geographic, comes from a three
acre enclosure in Gayvoron, a
snow-covered village near the
Russo-Chinese border. According
to the article, he was abandoned
by his mother, Niukura, and
raised by Victor Yudin, who cud
dled and bottle-fed him to maturi
ty.
Then Globus was shipped to
the Minnesota Zoo where he fa
thered four cubs, and then to
Riverbanks Zoo, where the staff
urged him on as he made love to
Koshka in a barn be
hind the tiger ^
habitat.
Head
mam
mal cu
rator
Steve
Wing joined us at the tiger exhibit
to watch Koshka strut up and
down a rocky cliff flanked by fo
liage. Wing and Bergeron said that
the curators had to separate
Koshka from her cubs because her
glands were unable to produce
milk.
Once separated, they said, the
mother might not toler
ate her cubs, having
>, been handled by hu
- mans. There’s even a
slight chance
. Koshka would
kill her
Riverbanks Zoo’s first animal
Stan Smith, owner of Constan Car Wash, bought a Bengal tiger named Happy in
1964 from the Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago for $900 and showcased her at his
carwash on Gervais Street until Riverbanks opened in 1974. Happy was used as part
of Smith's ad campaign "Put a Tiger in Your Tank" with Humble Oil. Information
gathered from The State, and Riverbanks Magazine.
RESTAURANT REVIEW
A healthy alternative
AL-AMIR
Owned by Mohammed Saadeddin
★★★ out of
BY TRISHA SHADWELL
THE GAMECOCK
Diet experts say the healthy
food to eat this summer is
Mediterranean. If this is true then
we should all be eating at Al
Amir.
Seated immediately on Al
Amir’s outdoor patio, I was giv
en a menu. Although the menu
gave me a description of what
was in the dishes, names such as
falfal, shawarma and tabouli
overwhelmed this hamburger
and-coke college kid. I was un
sure of what the food would taste
like.
The friendly staff understood
and was more than happy to sug
gest some of their favorites.
Mohammed Saadeddin, the own
er of the restaurant, made a few
suggestions and explained how
the food was cooked.
A native of Syria, Saaddeddin
demonstrated a passion for keep
ing the food as authentic as possi
ble. He said he uses genuine
Syrian spices. He also said the
meat is cooked on a spit, not on a
♦ AL-AMIR, SEE PAGE 9
Local band actually makes it
PHOTO BY PASCALE SEXTON/THE GAMECOCK
Singer Alderman Douglas, above, works on
his music with guitarist Nic Thompson.
BY COREY GARRIOTT
THE GAMECOCK
Working a blue-collar
job doesn’t necessarily
mean you’re not an artist.
But busing tables in a
restaurant won’t neces
sarily make you the next
Tom York, either. New
York could probably pay
for all of its public utili
ties with the labor of
failed actors and singers.
But local jam band
Alderman Douglas will
make you think twice
about the waiters and cof
fee jerks who skip college
to pursue their dreams.
Some of them end up
with $20,000 contracts.
Lead singer and gui
tarist Alderman Douglas,
a 20-year-old waiter at
TGI Friday’s, was signed
by an old friend of his
mother’s, who writes
songs for pop-country
stars. While in Columbia
on a break from her
record company, she lis
tened to his CD, and then
he sealed the deal by
playing for her live.
♦ BAND, SEE PAGE 8