Zebras

Diane von Furstenberg is bringing her signature prints and vibrant colors to Gap Kids and Baby Gap. The designer collaborated with the children's clothing line on a spring collection inspired by an African safari. The collection hits Gap Kids and Baby Gap stores April 25 and is Von Furstenberg's second collaboration with the brand. "This time it is all about adventure, with the same attention to color and print," Von Furstenberg said in a release. "I think the result is playful and perfect for the little explorers of the world.

Diane von Furstenberg is bringing her signature prints and vibrant colors to Gap Kids and Baby Gap. The designer collaborated with the children's clothing line on a spring collection inspired by an African safari. The collection hits Gap Kids and Baby Gap stores April 25 and is Von Furstenberg's second collaboration with the brand. "This time it is all about adventure, with the same attention to color and print," Von Furstenberg said in a release. "I think the result is playful and perfect for the little explorers of the world.

Along with hairpin curves and heart-stopping views of the Pacific, motorists on Highway 1 near San Simeon may glimpse a most exotic sight: a herd of zebras grazing in pastures along the road. They are what is left of what was once the world's largest private zoo ? a menagerie of camels, kangaroos, emus and giraffes that roamed the estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Last week three zebras ? a buck, a mare and a yearling ? escaped from Hearst Ranch and wandered over to nearby Cambria.

Norma Yuskos had thought for decades about going on a safari. Earlier this year, she finally did it, traveling to Tanzania in February. At Serengeti National Park, she photographed these timid zebras at a watering hole. "They would drink, scatter, drink, scatter, and repeat the pattern over and over," she said. "For a brief moment, amid the chaos, several zebra lined up perfectly and drank calmly before fear trumped thirst, and they again bolted. " The Encinitas resident used a Panasonic DMC-ZS20.

Two young zebras of an endangered species died at National Zoo facilities this winter, apparently because keepers failed to feed them enough fat and protein and keep them sufficiently warm during Washington's frigid nights, officials said Friday. A 1-year-old male zebra from the Detroit Zoo spending his first winter in the nation's capital, was discovered dead in a heated barn at the zoo Feb. 1 after a night when the temperature fell to 24 degrees.

The parking lot guy Re "Bell's Rizzo serving time behind cars," Column, Jan. 13 I had to laugh while reading Steve Lopez's column about Robert "Ratso" Rizzo. First of all, the picture is classic. He doesn't quite fit the image of someone working at a surfing museum. I loved that Lopez asked him if he surfed. I don't believe for a second that Rizzo was there out of the goodness of his heart. He said he was a volunteer. His job there apparently was to make sure nobody parked there improperly.

A zebra in a Yugoslav zoo chose death over captivity and killed herself by smashing her head against the ground. The state news agency Tanjug said Thursday that the zebra broke her spine after keepers foiled an attempt by her and her mate to escape from the Sarajevo zoo.

Steve Martin Wild animal trainer Current project: The family film "Racing Stripes," about a plucky zebra (voiced by Frankie Muniz) that becomes a racehorse. (Hayden Panettiere and Bruce Greenwood are the two-legged stars.) Challenge: Training a group of wild zebras to play the zebra called Stripes. Credits: The 1960s TV series "Daktari," "Dances With Wolves," "The Bear." "We have an exotic animal ranch here in California, Working Wildlife.

When Mara Baygulova first laid eyes on the "zonkey" 13 years ago in Shadow Hills, she knew she had to have the rare equine — a zebra-donkey hybrid. Lucky for her, the owner did not know what he had, Baygulova said, and she ended up getting for free what could have cost thousands of dollars. "He didn't know her value," she said. Baygulova grew up with a donkey named Mona Lisa and had promised her son, Andreas, one just like hers. On his 5th birthday, she presented him with the zonkey instead.

If you’ve dreamed of seeing lions, zebras and elephants on their own turf, now you can help them while watching them. Humane Society International has launched Humane Travels, which organizes trips to sites where the nonprofit group has worked with animal protection programs. A portion of participants' fees will help fund these efforts. The first trips, starting in January, will be to a wildlife sanctuary that is a short flight from Johannesburg, South Africa . Sixteen travelers, accompanied by a Humane Society staff member, will spend a week at  the SanWild wildlife sanctuary , where they can enjoy the reserve’s gardens, swimming pools and wildlife-viewing drives and walks.

Robert the Talking Zebra from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park will speak to you at the L.A. Times Travel Show on Sunday but if you want to see some real animals, you can see them at the booth every 45 minutes starting about 11 a.m. Animal guests include a python, a cockatoo and a cerval. The show closes at 5 p.m. (Robert talks with L.A. TImes Travel Editor Catharine Hamm in the above clip.)  

When Mara Baygulova first laid eyes on the "zonkey" 13 years ago in Shadow Hills, she knew she had to have the rare equine — a zebra-donkey hybrid. Lucky for her, the owner did not know what he had, Baygulova said, and she ended up getting for free what could have cost thousands of dollars. "He didn't know her value," she said. Baygulova grew up with a donkey named Mona Lisa and had promised her son, Andreas, one just like hers. On his 5th birthday, she presented him with the zonkey instead.

The parking lot guy Re "Bell's Rizzo serving time behind cars," Column, Jan. 13 I had to laugh while reading Steve Lopez's column about Robert "Ratso" Rizzo. First of all, the picture is classic. He doesn't quite fit the image of someone working at a surfing museum. I loved that Lopez asked him if he surfed. I don't believe for a second that Rizzo was there out of the goodness of his heart. He said he was a volunteer. His job there apparently was to make sure nobody parked there improperly.

Along with hairpin curves and heart-stopping views of the Pacific, motorists on Highway 1 near San Simeon may glimpse a most exotic sight: a herd of zebras grazing in pastures along the road. They are what is left of what was once the world's largest private zoo ? a menagerie of camels, kangaroos, emus and giraffes that roamed the estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Last week three zebras ? a buck, a mare and a yearling ? escaped from Hearst Ranch and wandered over to nearby Cambria.

If you’ve dreamed of seeing lions, zebras and elephants on their own turf, now you can help them while watching them. Humane Society International has launched Humane Travels, which organizes trips to sites where the nonprofit group has worked with animal protection programs. A portion of participants' fees will help fund these efforts. The first trips, starting in January, will be to a wildlife sanctuary that is a short flight from Johannesburg, South Africa . Sixteen travelers, accompanied by a Humane Society staff member, will spend a week at  the SanWild wildlife sanctuary , where they can enjoy the reserve’s gardens, swimming pools and wildlife-viewing drives and walks.

AAmsterdam Girard, Electra cruiser bike designed by midcentury artist Alexander Girard Amsterdam Girard, Electra cruiser bike designed by midcentury artist Alexander Girard Electra Bicycle Co., based in San Diego, introduces the Amsterdam Girard featuring midcentury graphics by Alexander Girard adorning a modernized Dutch city bike. Fenders and an enclosed chain case make it easier to run errands in an Alexander Wang dress. FOR THE RECORD: Gift guide: The A to Z holiday gift guide in Sunday's Image section said a Marc by Marc Jacobs leopard print scarf at www.netaporter.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz--wearing a khaki safari hat and a sometimes impatient look--watched for almost an hour Sunday as U.S. security agents, diplomats and Kenyan drivers tried to push his van out of a quagmire of sticky, black mud at the Masai Mara game reserve. Shultz's Toyota van skidded into a muddy rut shortly after he arrived at the sprawling park, which contains one of the world's largest collections of free-roaming lions, elephants, zebras and other animals.

For more than a quarter-century, the locally based Avaz International Dance Theatre has specialized in adaptations of folklore -- adaptations more abstract and impressionistic in recent years, but still identifiably in a world dance tradition. That artistic identity radically changed Saturday with the premiere of "Guran" in the Luckman Theatre at Cal State L.A.

Eight hours of practice and an utter lack of common sense have brought me here, poised to descend 19 steep steps to the ballroom floor of "Dancing With the Stars." I lean heavily on a backstage railing, hyperventilating, and await the cue. Outwardly, I have undergone the transformation from entertainment reporter to salsa dancer, ready to perform before a live audience in strappy heels and a zebra dress with a plunging neckline and beaded fringe that sways with every teetering step.

After the Lakers' loss in Game 4, Phil Jackson "criticized" the referees by saying that Dahntay Jones' intentional trip of Kobe Bryant should have been called a flagrant foul and that Andrew Bynum's flagrant foul in the fourth quarter was merely a hard personal foul. The next day, the NBA agreed with Jackson's assessment by changing these calls and then proceeded to assess him a $25,000 fine for "criticizing" the referees. Go figure! William Um Rancho Palos Verdes -- David Stern, please give these referees a big raise for controlling both conference finals on the way to the money-making Finals -- Lakers-Cleveland.