Bears Eat Monkey at Amsterdam Zoo

by Karen Walrond on

I admit that I’m not a fan of the zoo.  It bothers me to see these poor creatures penned up in small cages, kept from doing what would be more natural for them to do in the wild.

I guess, however, if I was in Amsterdam on Sunday, I wouldn’t have that excuse.

From Yahoo!News:  Bears caught, mauled, killed and ate a macaque monkey in front of horrified visitors on Sunday at Beekse Bergen Safari Park, in Amsterdam.  According to the article, several Sloth bears chased the monkey into an electrified fence where it was stunned. The monkey then tried to run away, but a bear caught and mauled the poor animal.

A statement released by the park noted:  “In an area where Sloth bears, great apes and Barbary macaques have coexisted peacefully for a long time, the harmony was temporarily disturbed during opening hours on Sunday… Of course the habitats here in the safari park are arranged in such a way that one animal almost never kills another, but they are and remain wild animals.”

The park plans to move the remaining monkeys to another area.

World Cup Sick Days

by Neil Woodburn on

We’ve all called in sick at one time or another to squeeze out more vacation days from our employees.  God knows I’ve never done so (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) but some of you other reprobates out there certainly have. 

Spread across the course of a year, such sick day abuse isn’t a major concern for most companies.  As long as everyone doesn’t call in on the same day, I suppose it’s manageable.

Such a scenario, however, is becoming a serious concern for many employers in Europe as the World Cup approaches.  In fact, fears of numerous employees calling in sick to watch the matches has prompted one Dutch company to offer insurance to protect employers against such a possibility.  When the European Championships were last held in 2004, Dutch companies recorded a “sickness” increase of 20% on the days the Dutch team was playing. 

I’d love to be sitting in HR on those days, listening to one hooligan after another call in and fake an illness.  Knowing your company’s insured is only going to exasperate the situation. 

Miffy Museum

by Erik Olsen on

Man, they’ll build a museum for just about anything
these days. To wit: The Dutch have actually built a museum for the author of
children’s picture books. That’s like creating a Shel Silverstein or Charles Schultz museum…wait, that’s not
such a bad idea. OK, for my skepticism. That’s kinda cool.

Well what it’s all about is a guy named
Dick Bruna, one of the world’s most popular creators of picture books, who will be joining the ranks of other Dutch
masters like Rembrandt and Van Gogh. To many, Bruna is best known for Miffy, the cutesy white bunny (of whom, I will
confess, I have never heard). But others certainly have. Bruna’s books have been translated into more than 40
languages, and 85 million copies have been sold worldwide. And so the museum will display many of these books as well
as 2,000 book covers, more than 100 posters, and dozens of postcards and pictures. The 4,000-square-foot facility is
part of the Central Museum in Utrecht.

Photo of the Day (4/17/06)

by Karen Walrond on


I’ve mentioned before my love of European
cities at night — and this photograph of the canals of Amsterdam, taken by Fred Hsu, illustrates my point beautifully.  I love how the
stillness of the water reflects the lights of the buildings above — the bridge from which the photo was taken looks
like a very romantic place, indeed.

If you’d like one of your travel photos to be featured in our Image of
the Day, be sure to visit our Flickr Pool, and upload your best
shots there.  Every day we’ll pick one to be featured here on Gadling.  Thanks!

Queen's Day Festival

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’m all over world festivals now since going to
Carnival. Nothing surpasses the energy (or intoxication) people seem to have during these day-long celebrations. Next
up in the festival circuit worth joining in comes right out of Amsterdam. On April 28-29, 2006 the Dutch and a tourist
or two will take to the streets of Amsterdam dressed in orange
colored clothing or paint to observe the former Queen Juliana’s birthday. (Queen’s Day is normally held on April 30 unless it falls on a Sunday
like this year.) Like most large festivals the area will be lined with street vendors, tons of local food and Oranje  Bitter, folklore performers, features outdoor concerts, and
fireworks to eventually explode in the night sky. Awesome event to check out will hanging around Holland.